A post on BNET by Jo Owens, July 26 lays out the 7 qualities you don’t learn from the leadership gurus. At and near the top of the list are sleeping on planes, working in vehicles, dieting, and working the politics. Yet there are other things that are far more important to success. Let me propose an alternative list, starting with being creative.

1.  Teach yourself to be creative. Perhaps creativity is in a person’s DNA, but I truly believe this is something that is learned and nurtured.  Ask questions: What if we did it this way? Have we gotten to the root cause of a problem? Is our product working? What would happen if we took a different approach or direction? Seek out news and solutions from other industries and markets. Creativity is important in all industries, even financial services. I’m looking for the next wave of new financial products and structural changes that will generate better returns in a “new” economy with much tighter regulations.

2.  Learn how to curate the best ideas, remix and make it your own.  Continue reading…