The Most Essential Career Skill You Need to Succeed

Earlier this week I participated in a teleconference for PR professionals hosted by the Public Relations Society of America. During the session, the moderator, Peter Himler, asked me what three essential sites or tools that professionals should be using as they go out and navigate this crazy new media landscape. The answer might surprise you.

My gut reaction at first was to go to the usual answer - an RSS reader, etc. But then I thought about it. Of course there are a bunch of core technologies that any businessperson can pick up, install or sign up for that will certainly make "mastering" this whole Web 2.0 thing a lot easier. However, all too often we overlook the "soft tools" - that what makes up our character.

So as I thought about it, the most important "tool" you can have today in business is insatiable curiosity. The minute you lose it, you're dead.

I have been curious my entire career, going back to my salad days when I was in college. Back in 1990 when I was 20 years old I was lost. A perennial C+/B- student, I realized I wasn't going to have the grades to go to law school - my original intended path. So, I began to explore alternative majors and career options.

My journey lead me to the Hofstra University guidance office. The career counselor plopped me in front of a DOS program that, for several hours, quizzed me about my skills and interests. The software then churned out potential career paths. In my case it suggested two - union negotiator and public relations counselor. I am glad I didn't choose the former! :->

I had no idea what PR was at the time. It was a relatively nascent field. The school didn't even have a major, so I picked up the next closest thing - journalism. I changed majors in my junior year and graduated on time. While in my senior year I did three PR internships and worked my butt off to learn everything I could about the field. I haven't left it since.

Curiosity continues to serve me well today, except, it's no longer limited to just PR. I am constantly  reading about business, leadership, marketing, and of course, technology. Curiosity is what lead me to 2003 start dabbling with RSS readers and blogging software. It's also what drives me today to play with all of the latest social networks, rich Internet applications, IPTV systems and more. I am constantly thinking about what we can build or apply to make our PR services stronger for our clients.

If I ever get luck enough to be invited to give a commencement address one day, this will be my theme. Always invest in your curiosities. This isn't the only skill you need of course. So I am, er, curious: what character traits have helped you?