Lifehack put together a list of the top 10 skills that you need to succeed at almost anything. The top 5 were:

1. Public Speaking

The ability to speak clearly, persuasively, and forcefully in front of an audience – whether an audience of 1 or of thousands – is one of the most important skills anyone can develop. People who are effective speakers come across as more comfortable with themselves, more confident, and more attractive to be around. Being able to speak effectively means you can sell anything – products, of course, but also ideas, ideologies, worldviews. And yourself – which means more opportunities for career advancement, bigger clients, or business funding.

2. Writing

Writing well offers many of the same advantages that speaking well offers: good writers are better at selling products, ideas, and themselves than poor writers. Learning to write well involves not just mastery of grammar but the development of the ability to organize one’s thoughts into a coherent form and target it to an audience in the most effective way possible. Given the huge amount of text generated by almost every transaction – from court briefs and legislation running into the thousands of pages to those foot-long receipts you get when you buy gum these days – a person who is a master of the written word can expect doors to open in just about every field.

3. Self-Management

If success depends of effective action, effective action depends on the ability to focus your attention where it is needed most, when it is needed most. Strong organizational skills, effective productivity habits, and a strong sense of discipline are needed to keep yourself on track.

4. Networking

Networking is not only for finding jobs or clients. In an economy dominated by ideas and innovation, networking creates the channel through which ideas flow and in which new ideas are created. A large network, carefully cultivated, ties one into not just a body of people but a body of relationships, and those relationships are more than just the sum of their parts. The interactions those relationships make possible give rise to innovation and creativity – and provide the support to nurture new ideas until they can be realized.

5. Critical Thinking

We are exposed to hundreds, if not thousands, of times more information on a daily basis than our great-grandparents were. Being able to evaluate that information, sort the potentially valuable from the trivial, analyze its relevance and meaning, and relate it to other information is crucial – and woefully under-taught. Good critical thinking skills immediately distinguish you from the mass of people these days.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

6. Decision-Making
7. Math
8. Research
9. Relaxation
10. Basic Accounting

What would make your top 10 list? Do you agree with these 10?

In February I did a profile on Rupert Murdoch, one of the world’s richest men with a net worth of over $8 billion. The profile was: The Buck Stops With You – Rupert Murdoch. He was also #2 on our list of the Top 24 Most Powerful Men and 1 Woman in Business.

I wanted to continue the profile today by sharing one of business rules Murdoch lives by: Know your business inside out.

“I try to keep in touch with the details,” says Murdoch. “I also look at the product daily. That doesn’t mean you interfere, but it’s important occasionally to show the ability to be involved. It shows you understand what’s happening.”

While he understands the pitfalls of micromanaging, Murdoch has never been one to sit back and let someone else call the shots, especially when it comes to his own business. From the printing presses straight on up to the marketing and advertising departments, Murdoch keeps a tight reign on the activities that take place within his company walls.

Murdoch never got too big or too rich to involve himself in the daily running of one of his newspapers. Indeed, because his father had involved the young Murdoch in all aspects of his own newspaper – from sweeping floors to copy-editing – he grew intimately familiar with every aspect of its operation.

In October 1969, after purchasing the Sun in London, he knew he had to make some serious changes. At the time, it had a circulation of 600,00 but was losing over $5 million per year. Murdoch had immediately snatched up this opportunity because he recognized the paper’s potential. He decided that in order to turn the Sun around he would need to transform it from being a broadsheet – a newspaper that measures 17 x 22 inches – to a small tabloid. In order for this change to become a reality, the newspaper’s printing machines would have to be adjusted. This, said the paper’s printers, would not be technically possible. Instead, they suggested buying entirely new machines.

Murdoch, however, was no stranger to the machines and had made himself familiar with their complexities over the years. Immediately, Murdoch climbed onto one of the large machines and opened the control cabinet. He proceeded to pull out a bar and replace it in a different position, which had instantly converted the machine into one capable of printing tabloids. Murdoch’s staff was stunned as they realized that right down to the nitty-gritty of daily production, Murdoch knew everything he needed to know about running his business.

Even today, Murdoch always finds the time to pick up the phone and call anyone at any level of his company, just to check in – and with no advance notice, of course. “They all put up with me, so it encourages me,” Murdoch laughs. “I probably don’t do it enough here.” He even devotes time to meet with executives from 20th Century Fox, one of his subsidiaries, to hear their ideas about plans for future movies.

“I dig in – I like to know what’s going on,” he says. Despite being a multi-billionaire with hundreds of companies under his watch, Murdoch maintains his hands-on management style. For him, there is no detail too small. It is this close eye he keeps on every aspect of his business and his intimate knowledge of its details that has allowed him to reach the heights of success that he has.

Last September we featured the expert advice of Donald F. Pooley on the topic of 6 Steps To Getting Referrals – Entrepreneur University. Donald is an internationally recognized authority on the marketing of financial services, has shared his knowledge with audiences of financial consultants in Australia, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, New York, San Francisco, Singapore, and all major (and a few minor) cities in Canada. His articles on the marketing of financial services have been published on three continents.

Today Donald shares with us his advice on successful selling for this week’s Entrepreneur University:

“Myth #1: You need to be a “good talker” Anytime a salesperson is talking, the client is formulating objections. That’s just the way the human mind works.

Anytime a salesperson is listening, the client is probably still formulating objections…but at least the salesperson will have an idea about what those objections might be.

Myth #2: You need to be a “good listener”

Most salespeople are good listeners…but they’re good at listening for all the wrong things!

Many sales trainers say to ignore objections and to listen instead for psychological “hooks” or “openings” the prospect may either verbally or non-verbally pass along.

The trainee is then taught to use these hooks to manipulate or cajole the prospect into buying what is offered.

Myth #3: You need to have a lot of self-confidence You only need a lot of self-confidence when you don’t know what you’re selling.

If you “think” you’re selling an insurance package, then of course you need a lot of confidence. (It takes confidence to sell anything you can’t really sell).

Once you know what you’re really selling and gain some skill in selling it over and over again, you’ll never even consider needing any confidence…you’ll just BE confident.

Myth #4: You need the ability to quickly size people up If you spend most of your time searching for your prospect’s weakness to exploit it to your own advantage, you may end up making the transaction, but there’s no way in the world you’ll ever make any sales.

Myth #5: You need to “dominate” your prospect Most people are smart. They’re not fooled by “covert” forms of persuasion. It doesn’t matter how clever or disguised you think these kinds of strategies are. They send up an instant red flag in the mind of every prospect you see.

Myth #6: You need to be one step ahead of your prospect Anytime you’re one step ahead of a prospect, your prospect has fallen twenty steps behind you.

Myth #7: You need special credentials

Entering an expensive university program won’t make you a salesperson anymore than entering a music store will make you a musician.

The only credential you need for sales is the knowledge of what you’re selling.

When you know what you’re selling and possess the specific skills of selling it over and over again, credentials or not, you’ll know how to make the sale!”

Factory Green, a purveyor of original eco-friendly apparel, accessories and apartment wares, prides itself on offering its culturally sophisticated, self-expressive and environmentally conscious customers the best in green alternatives. The company was founded by friends Jack Short and Daniel Lyons. The idea for Factory Green came from Daniel and Jack’s shared experiences in Europe, specifically their time abroad in the UK.

According to CEO Daniel:

“Your traditional t-shirt at a store in the mall releases 7, 600 grams of carbon dioxide into the air by the manufacturer. Our shirts are completely carbon neutral, which means that there are zero carbon emissions. The only carbon emissions that are produced by our shirts are due to transport.

Sure, our green products are top of the line but at the same time, as an average consumer, you’re going to want a t-shirt that’s representative of you. You’re not going to want to buy some apparel just because of what it’s made of, even though it’s incredibly soft… but you want it to say something a little bit fun.

We really try to find products that are produced here in the U.S. to reduce the amount of international shipping like our vinyl-ised collection… [But] the fact is that the best products are found outside the United States currently, so until U.S. manufacturers catch up and produce the same quality and the same sustainability as overseas companies, we’re going to keep on buying from them.

It’s fulfilling to set a goal, find the right people and see it through. Every step is make-or-break. Factory Green is green for everyone, not just for Hollywood”

The pair plan on heading to medical school together and hiring employees to help manage the business.

“So, it is a bit of a challenge. We don’t sleep anymore. We’re still really devoted to both, I would say and Factory Green has just been a ton of fun and on the other hand, we’re still ready to go to medical school too. So, hopefully, once Jack and I finish four years of school we can just do Factory Green full-time.”