You need to have specialized knowledge or skills while maintaining a broad perspective. Big companies, in particular, need employees who can learn specialties quickly. No one should assume that the expertise they have today will suffice tomorrow, so a willingness to learn is critical.

You have to be flexible enough to take advantage of opportunities that can give you perspective. At NEXIA we try to offer a person lots of different jobs through the course of a career. Anyone interested in joining management is encouraged to work in different customer units, even if it means moving laterally within the organization or relocating to a different part of the world.

A good employee will want to learn the economics of the business. Why does a company do what it does? What are its business models? How does it make money?

You must focus on competitors. I like employees who think about what's going on in the marketplace. What are our competitors doing that's smart? What can we learn from them? How can we avoid their mistakes?

You've got to use your head. Analyze problems but don't fall prey to "analysis paralysis." Understand the implications of potential tradeoffs of all kinds, including the tradeoff between acting sooner with less information and later with more.

To all recruitment agencies: NEXIA does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our HR department, NEXIA employees or any other company location. NEXIA is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.