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The 7 Traits That Lead to Success

What does it take to become a CEO? A 17-year old high-school student raised thisquestion to 150 top execs in the U,S,A The Following are the respondents answers.

What does it take to become successful? How can you become accomplished inbusiness today?High-schooler Douglas Barry asked more than 150 top executives, Whatdoes it take to become a CEO?The result: sincere, heartfelt and personal responses fromsome of the most accomplished and influential business leaders today. Barry collected theletters in Wisdom for a Young CEO(Running Press).

Despite the varied backgrounds of those CEOs, an insightful and inspiration patternemerged. Barry found theres no secret ingredient to success, and theres noprerequisite. You dont need wealth; you dont need to be a great student. It just takes adream, the desire and some common characteristics.

Whether you are just getting your foot in the door or have spent several years

climbing the corporate ladder, Barry says there are seven attributes need to succeed:1. PASSION. Do what you love; love what you do.The people who have the greatest chance of being successful are those who work

hard and are excited about what they are doing. There is no substitute for energy andenthusiasm, Jacques Nasser of Ford Motor Company says.

2. RESPECT. Make people your priorityLeaders agree its all about the people. A great CEO listens to others,feels their

concerns, delegates authority, and nurtures the companys, writes Barry. Respect is a two-way streetgive respect and you will earn it.

3. VISION. Clearly communicate the future.One of the key qualities that any CEO (or successful person) needs-a willingness to

stretch yourself and go after goals that others think are too visionary, too hard, or tooambitious to accomplish, Richard McGinn of Lucent Technologies says.

Leaders dont have to be visionaries, writes Barry, but they do have to havevision. In order to accomplish something, you need to know how you are going to go aboutdoing it. A good leader sets a definite course of action with a vision that is attainable andinspiring.

4. HUMANITY. Its not just about the paycheck.Successful people need to have compassion. The bottom line about success in life isnt

about whether you are financially successful, but whether you have given of yourself in someway to help others less fortunate than you and to serve your community and your country,P. Anthony Ridder, CEO of Knight Ridder says.

You should have a desire to make your community a better place and to live andembrace diversity and bigger ideas. You should work so that others-not just you-are happy,inspired and productive.

5. CURIOSITY. Look, Listen, Learn.Learn for learnings sake, not just to make grades and to win academic honors. By doingthis, even those students who arent at the head of the class can go far. Learning takesplace everywhere, not just in the classroom, and if you ignore this, youll be missingout. Continue pushing the limits, climbing to new heights and acquiring new knowledge. Try

everything and dont be afraid to fail.

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The more you know, the better equipped you will be to tackle all the obstacles youmeet on your way to reaching your objectives, Ivan Seidenberg of Bell Atlantic Corporationsays.

6. INTEGRITY. Honesty above all, .Live each day as if your actions would be the headlines the next day in your localnewspaper, advises Jon A. Boscia, CEO of incoln Financial Group. Personal integrity andethics reflect not just on the leader, but the company as a whole. Making integrity a priorityis crucial to the bottom line. Lying is never acceptable. If youre dishonest, then dishonestybecomes your mode of thinking.

7. PRAGMATISM. Know what you dont know.Be humble. Concentrate on the things that matter most and get better. Dont take yourselftoo seriously and learn to laugh at yourself. You need to have failures and learn fromthem. A leader needs to be humble and confident-confidence shows you believe in whatyoure doing and humility lets you recognize other ideas and opinions.An important mark of a good leader is to know you dont know it all and never will, Anne M.

Mulcahy of Xerox Corporation says.