It takes talent to succeed, but also luck and hard work. Experts say that early childhood education can increase students’ intelligence quotient.

Finding the magic formula LENS for success has long been an elusive goal. A few recent Times articles, however, offer some insights into how best to ascend the corporate ladder, advance your career or just plain strike it rich.

Raising your intelligence quotient is a good place to start.“A higher I.Q. correlates to greater success in life,”The Times’s Nicholas D.Kristof wrote. And best of all, I.Q. is no longer thought to be determined by genetics. Referring to the book“Intelligence and How to Get It,”by Richard Nisbett, Mr.Kristof cites studies showing that the I.Q.’s of underprivileged children rose 12 to 18 points when they were given the proper schooling.

“Professor Nisbett strongly advocates intensive early childhood education because of its proven ability to raise I.Q. and improve long-term outcomes,”Mr.Kristof wrote.

While few would argue with the merits of raising I.Q.’s for children, Warren Buffett, whose investment prowess is legendary, advises those with a naturally high I.Q. to stop congratulating themselves.“If you have a 150 I.Q.,”he told shareholders at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, this month, “sell 30 points to someone else. You need to be smart, but not a genius.”

As The Times’s Andrew Ross Sorkin reported, Mr.Buffett believes that the financial system became too dependent on the complex computer models of a handful of Wall Street wizards. His formula for success- Keep things simple, and follow your instincts.“If you need a computer or a calculator to make the calculation, you shouldn’t buy it,”Mr.Buffett said.

Another factor in success is a trait called executive function: how well people resist distractions, make use of allotted time, remember details and adapt when demands change. As Benedict Carey reported in The Times, some cognitive scientists believe executive function to be a more vital predictor of future achievement than I.Q.

That executive ability to focus, along with a propensity for hard work, may even trump a more mercurial and celebrated ingredient, talent. As David Brooks of The Times wrote, citing recent research,“top performers spend more hours (many more hours) practicing their craft.”

He added,“what Mozart had, we now believe, was the same thing Tiger Woods had - the ability to focus for long periods of time and a father intent on improving his skills.”

Luck can also play a role. As Robert H.Frank, an economist, wrote in The Times, “people born with good genes and raised in nurturing families can claim little moral credit for their talent and industriousness. They were just lucky.”

Similarly, Malcolm Gladwell argues in his book“Outliers”that highly successful people often benefit from social and genetic patterns that interlock to form a culture of achievement.

Bill Gates, for instance,“was lucky enough to go to a great private school with its own computer at the dawn of the information revolution,”as Mr.Brooks wrote in another column, referring to Mr.Gladwell’s book.

“Exceptionally successful people are not lone pioneers who created their own success,”Mr.Brooks wrote.

Or, as Mr.Gladwell has said,“Great people aren’t so great.”