The Innovator’s Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity

by George Couros

Thomas Friedman’s article “How to Get a Job at Google.”[48] In it, he highlighted five hiring attributes that the company desires in its employees. “Compliance” isn’t listed. Take a look at what is: Cognitive Ability: ”The ability to process on the fly.” Leadership: Emergent leadership versus traditional leadership. As a leader, do you recognize the times when you need to relinquish power? Humility: The ability to say, “I don’t know,” and be able to step back and embrace better ideas. Ownership: Understanding that an organizational problem is also your problem, and working together to solve it is crucial. Expertise: This is listed as the least important attribute, because thinking you already know the answer can keep you from exploring new options. Friedman closes with a note to which schools should pay close attention: “In an age when innovation is increasingly a group endeavor, it [Google] also cares about a lot of soft skills—leadership, humility, collaboration, adaptability, and loving to learn and re-learn. This will be true no matter where you go to work.”