"I am curious," says Philippe Torrion, chief executive of EDF Trading. "When I arrive somewhere, I listen and understand, and don't rely on a priori assumptions."

Listening is essential to good management, he says, and this attribute has helped him adapt to working in the London trading community after 25 years in more corporate positions at EDF Group in France. "The greater responsibility you have, the more you have to listen," he explains. "Once you think you know everything, you are in trouble