I’m a young nobody in the business world, but this advice was given to me directly from a senior VP at a company with 8 figure bottom lines (so I guess it’s a little more credible than if it’s just coming from me; some random dickhead on reddit).

The ability to sell.

Not (necessarily) in the literal sense of selling a product, more the selling of an idea. If you can convince anyone that you are the best candidate for position X then you can have any job you want. If you can get people to buy into your idea for a product you’ll have all the funding and support you’ll ever need. If you can meaningfully sell the success of your business to potential advertisers you’ll be rolling in extra revenue. If you can properly market the skills of your team (in any field) you’ll never have a problem landing clients.

There are loads of other skills that can thrust you forward in most fields (the ability to code has never made anyone look bad), but this one in particular is applicable to literally any job. If you’re a construction contractor you need people to want your services, at the price you want them to pay, more than anyone else’s. If you’re a musician you need producers to want to sign you, and audiences to want to listen. If you’re a politician you need people to rally behind the image you create, I’d argue more so than you need them to agree with (or even understand) your policies, Trump is an example. Love him or hate him he didn’t win on policy, he won because he sold himself better than the other candidates.

Not to mention it’s a social skill that’s applicable in general life as well, much more than a proficiency with accounting, or an aptitude for plumbing.

Thanks for the read, hope you found it interesting