1. By: John R. Graham Presented by Hannah MacCormack What Skills Will You Need to Succeed?

2. What will it take to be a successful business owner or manager in the years ahead?  There are a few popular prerequisites: (1)The right connections (2)Good financial relationships (3)Proven track record (4)The ability to choose the right people and the capability to manage both people and projects.  You have to apply your knowledge, capabilities, and your resources properly.

3. What’s Changed?  Progress -The ideal of progress has dominated the Western society since the start of the Industrial Revolution late in the 18 th century. -The notion of progress has “fired the engine of business enterprise.”  You have to apply your knowledge, capabilities, and your resources properly.

4. What skills are now required to be effective in this new business environment?  The ability to put it on paper  The ability to present effectively to a group  The ability to develop original ideas  The ability to persuade others  The ability to stay on track

5. The ability to put it on paper:  Those who say, “I know what I mean; I just can’t express it”; don’t know what they mean.  Those who survive by virtue of their personality traits or their technical expertise lack the critical communication skills necessary to get ahead.  Those getting by on “fuzzy thinking” are in trouble because they are unable to express their thoughts in writing.  Solid thinking is required to survive.

6. The ability to present effectively to a group:  Communicate successfully with groups of people.  Making an oral presentation to a group is the one “no excuses” act in life.

7. The ability to develop original ideas:  Business people see themselves as “doers,” not “thinkers.”  The ability to think through issues and to conceptualize our thoughts will make the difference between failure and success.

8. The ability to persuade others:  You have to be able to think totally from the other person’s or other group’s viewpoint. Ex. Understanding what the customer wants to buy, not what the business owner wants to sell.

9. The ability to stay on track:  You have to have a vision of the future  This is to have a sense of comfort with one’s own vision of the future and then the stamina necessary to remain with it.

10. Your technical knowledge and training may get you that first big job, but as you now know, there are some important elements needed for on-the-job success!