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THE EXPLORER 
Curious, Systems-Centric, and Dispassionate
They looked at me like I was crazy because no one had ever framed the problem that way.
—Brian O’Kelley, Explorer, AppNexus
“This is horrible! I hate it! I can’t believe I ever hired you!” This verbal assault from his boss at Right Media greeted Brian O’Kelley after O’Kelley’s six weeks of hard work in building an internet ad-serving platform.1
While a Driver probably would have returned to his desk, packed his box, and quit, the Explorer is more likely to respond with a question, as O’Kelley did: “OK, so tell me again: What is the problem you’re trying to solve?” A deeper inquiry into ...
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