At this week’s Fast Company Innovation Festival, we asked some of the most creative minds in business what single attribute prospective employees must possess if they want to work for their companies:

advertisement

advertisement

1. Own It “Our company is based on seven tenets, one of which is, ‘Own it’,” says 360 Live Media’s Liz Carlton. “That really embodies coming up with ideas–coming up with them, and executing them.” Liz Carlton Of course, we’ve all learned the hard way, at some point or another, that coming up with great ideas and actually turning them into reality isn’t always easy. Here’s some great advice about actually executing on all those brilliant projects in your mind. 2. Know Yourself Susan Reilly Salgado, managing partner at Hospitality Quotient (Union Square Hospitality Group), is unequivocally clear about the quality her employees must possess. “Self-awareness. If you don’t understand how you come across and impact other people with your behavior and energy, it’s really hard to build meaningful relationships,” she says, “and relationships are at the heart of hospitality.” Now it’s time for a hard truth: You are probably less self-aware than you think you are. But the good news is, you can do something about it. 3. Be Tenacious Ralph Dandrea, CEO of Rochester, New York-based ITX, firmly believes in the power of tenacity. “People who are tenacious don’t give up easily,” he says. “They don’t stay broken down . . . they don’t weasel out of [problems]. Tenacious people come up with the best new ideas because they don’t give up.”

advertisement

Ralph Dandrea Blogger/butcher/author Cara Nicoletti agrees: “When we’re looking for butchers, I definitely look for someone who is willing to put in a lot of hours on the front end. People that will work hard over and over again–even when they get frustrated. Persistence.” Indeed, persistence and tenacity are often named as key characteristics of successful people. Do you give up too easily? To help inspire necessary change in yourself, check out these seven habits of highly persistent people. 4. Be Brave “Prospective employees need to be brave,” says Leslie Ali, the cofounder of You/We. “Brave enough to try new things, to get comfortable with the uncomfortable, be okay going fast, and fine with the unpredictable. Being a little reckless is the only way to make real strides.” Obviously, becoming braver and more of a risk taker isn’t something you can just tell yourself to do–it’s not as simple as that. Here are seven ways to become more courageous, even in difficult circumstances. 5. Be Curious KC Ifeanyi, assistant editor at Fast Company, is looking for one thing in new teammates: “insatiable curiosity.” “You need to always want to know the answers, and never stop asking,” Ifeanyi says.

advertisement

advertisement

advertisement