Being fast doesn’t mean you say “yes” to everything. It means quickly discerning what needs an immediate response and what does not.

There’s no dithering. Fast Unicorns are decisive, will play hardball with tenacity and efficiency, and will finish their work on time.

How to cultivate the Fast mindset:

• Make it clear that you value a quick response time.
• Set quick, achievable deadlines; you don’t need a month to make your benefits elections.

No one expects you to be perfect at your job, especially in the beginning. But the worst thing you can do is to inauthentic.

When you mess up, be open about it. Authentic people have a way of sharing their mistakes with humility, which can people together.

How to cultivate the Authentic mindset:

• Admit your mistakes and move on.
• If you’re struggling, be honest and ask for help.

Knowing your strengths and weaknesses and understanding how to approach crucial conversations is perhaps rarer than ever.

Self-aware people are less likely to take up unnecessary space in meetings, waste people’s time or make others uncomfortable. When given constructive and genuine feedback, they’ll take it to heart.

How to cultivate the Self-Aware mindset:

• Don’t take feedback personally; use it as a tool to become even better at your job.
• Respect others and be mindful of your habits in meetings. Do you talk over people? Do you talk for the sake of talking?

Steve Jobs once said: “Much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on.” So many of humanity’s greatest minds celebrate curiosity as a key factor of their success.

It’s not easy, though. What surrounds us on a regular basis is mundane and boring. So when a candidate is curious, it suggests genuine engagement and interest beyond a paycheck.

How to cultivate the Curious mindset:

• When challenges come up, ask questions before throwing out solutions.
• Staying curious is an action, not a position. Stay informed by reading books, watching educational content, keeping up with the news.

I’m always amazed at how often the candidate who prevails is simply the one who plays well with others. Many companies end up having to fire (or wishing they could fire) the brilliant jerk on staff.

But the Likable have the ability to stay employed and even get promoted simply through relational equity, a store of goodwill you’ve built up with another person over time.

How to cultivate the Likable mindset:

• Set aside a few minutes at the start of meetings to talk about something that has nothing to do with work.
• Remember names. It might seem like a little thing, but it essentially says: “You matter to me enough that I know who you are.”