Leadership

There are things that a young person does in their early years that will signal they indeed will become successful as they grow older. There is a simple test to see this: Do they have passion or drive, do they have talent, and finally do they have luck?

If they have all three, they will prosper beyond all possible imagination.

According to Brennan, six qualities separate the leaders from the followers:

1. Integrity: This is a deal breaker if you don't have it completely. When it comes to governance, Brennan said, he "never did anything or asked anyone to do anything he couldn't go home and explain to his kids."

2. A deep understanding of the business: "You can't fake it. People will know." While you don't need to know every detail, you do have to have a good grasp of the business.

3. Consistency: While keeping things fresh is important, leaders cannot change direction frequently. They will lose people's confidence.

4. Willingness to admit a mistake: Everyone makes mistakes. If you're not making any, you're not doing your job right. But Brennan emphasized the importance of admitting your missteps -- otherwise people will not respect you.

5. The ability to listen: Good leaders must be willing to handle opinions contrary to their own and absorb as much as they can.

6. Decisiveness: While you should listen to others' opinions, the final decision is yours to make. Brennan said when CEOs fail, very often it's because they are not decisive. Average tenure for a CEO has fallen from more than a decade to three years because people lose confidence in leaders whose indecision results in failure.