Emma Grede

Number two, and this is a really, really big one.

I'm looking for what I call agency.

And I write about this again in the book.

When I assess founders or potential hires, I look for the same thing that I look for in myself.

Do they see themselves as the creator of their own life?

Are they someone that acts directly on the world and both suffers and celebrates the results?

Or are they a passive actor?

Are they actually waiting for someone to give them good lines and to tell them where to stand?

And you can spot this in how people talk about their careers, but you have to be listening.

You listen for the verbs.

Did they build something or were they given the opportunity to build it?

Did they make a decision or did the team make it?

Did they fail at something and own it or did it not work out?

I'm not looking for arrogance.

I'm looking for ownership.

I want the person who says, I did this, it didn't work, and here's what I learned.

That is like the dreamiest thing to hear.

Not the person who says, well, you know, there are a lot of factors.

No, no, no.

You need somebody who has agency.