Ten Attributes of a Good Employee

Here are 10 of the qualities Bill Gates finds in the «best and brightest» employees the companies should attract and retain.

First, it is important to have a fundamental curiosity¹ about the product of your company or group. You have to use the product yourself.

Second, you need a genuine (настоящий, подлинный) inter­est in discussion with customers about how they use your product,

what they like or don't like in order to know where your company's product could be better.

Third, once you understand your customer's needs, you have to enjoy thinking through how this product can make work more in­teresting.

These first three points are related. Success comes from under­standing and caring deeply about your products, your technology and your customers' needs.

Fourth, you as an individual employee should develop your own skills and those of the people you work with. If maximizing your next bonus² or salary increase is all that motivates you, you are likely to lose an opportunity to benefit from teamwork³ that creates success in the long term.

Fifth, you need to have specialized knowledge or skills while maintaining a broad perspective. Big companies, in particular, need employees who can learn specialties⁴ quickly, so a willingness to learn is critical.

Sixth, you have to be flexible enough to take advantage of op­portunities that can give you perspective. At Microsoft Co., they try to offer a person lots of different jobs in the course of a career. Anyone interested in joining management is encouraged (поощ­рять) to work in different customer units, even if it means moving within the organization or relocating to a different part of the world. Microsoft Co. has many employees working for their US subsidiaries in other countries. This helps them better understand world markets.

Seventh, a good employee will want to learn the economics of the business. Why does the company do what it does? What are its business models? How does it make money? And a company, in turn, should educate its employees in the fundamental financial re­alities of its industry.

Eighth, you must focus on competitors, i.e., you must think about what is going on in the marketplace. What are your com­pany's competitors doing that is smart⁵? What can we learn from them? How can we avoid their mistakes?

Ninth, you've got to use your head. Analyze problems to under­stand the implications (скрытый смысл, последствия) of poten­tial tradeoffs⁶ of all kinds, including the tradeoff between acting sooner with less information and later with more. Use your head in practical ways. Prioritize your time effectively.

Finally, don't fail to see the obvious essentials, such as being honest, ethical⁷ and hard working. These attributes are critical and go without saying.