[originaltext] How do you rise to the top in business? What personal qualiti

How do you rise to the top in business? What personal qualities, skills, and background are needed? Such questions are frequently asked by students preparing to enter the work force and by men and women already in the business world.
    Some companies want executives who combine administrative ability with a specialty in some branch of knowledge, such as mathematics or engineering. Other companies look for people skilled in human relations. For them, good management is the art of solving "people problems".
    These are interesting insights, but what are the specific traits that will help people to climb the ladder of success?
    First, drive. Business takes an unusual amount of energy. A successful executive—almost by definition—is a striver. According to one industrial psychologist, 86.5% of top managers have a higher activity level than the average middle managers. Top men get tense when they are not striving.
    Second, people sense. Some say being able to judge people is more important than a high IQ. The skill can be instinctual, but in most cases it’s learned through hard work.
    Third, communication ability. An executive gets things done through other people. That means his communications must come through loud and clear. Different executives make themselves understood in different ways. Some transmit ideas best face to face; others are masters of the telephone call; still others are persuasive writers. One way or another, they all communicate clearly.
    Fourth, calm under pressure, or as Hemingway put it, "grace under pressure". No businessman will get very far if he chokes up.