MYBRAND: What's missing

From Gallup http://gmj.gallup.com/content/default.asp?ci=22693&pg=2

The top two attributes that correlated to productivity were initiative and networks. The best scientists were much better at taking initiative in ways that paid off for the company. They also had big networks of smart friends that they could tap when they needed expert help. People who are big producers take more initiative and have unbelievable networks.

So, in my top five strengths, do they kind of sort of include initiative and networks? Possibly networks, but the initiative is missing. Kind of a metaphor, n'est-ce pas? How to go about getting initiative if you don't have it... hmm, hmm...

Further quotes:
If someone brings you a great idea, it changes your relationship with that person. Then you know that person really cares about what you're doing. The CEO of a major retailer once asked me, "What's the most important thing I need to do to be competitive?" I replied, "Understand what happens at the intersection between customers and employees." Having happy employees gives you something; having happy customers is something else you really want. But all the money and all the juice is in the intersection between the two. So I said, "Don't get too focused on products, because everybody can buy everything anywhere. The employee-customer intersection is your only hope for the future."

I figure out my most creative moments -- the time of day, the environment -- and try to be creative then. For instance, I get adrenaline rushes in the morning.
Another thing that works for me is talking to smart people. I'll ask our senior scientists, these world-famous brains, a question, then watch for agreement among the group on an issue or a problem. When there is high agreement, they are almost always right. So I have my own network of people who are the smartest in the world on a few Gallup-related subjects, like workplace management, customers, or the World Poll, that sort of thing. It's like when Sam Walton said if you're confused, go to the stores. When I'm confused, I go to our senior scientists. I go to our network of smart people.

And that's why in the near future, Wall Street will notice that ideas will win, not products.