Applications of Type

Is there anything more frustrating to a sales rep than a customer who leaves your business to purchase the same product or service from a competitor? Despite your best efforts, the sale evaporates, and you rarely know why. However, businesses who have the resources often conduct “lost customers surveys” to find out what happened.The top reason cited for leaving a business to make a purchase elsewhere?

“I didn’t like the sales rep.”

Whether your interest in a job change has been prompted by dissatisfaction with your current role or rumors of impending layoffs, the prospect of identifying and jumping into a different career can definitely feel overwhelming. However, this is a challenge that most professionals will face at least once in their working lives – data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that American workers change jobs an average of seven times over the course of their careers.

Most of us remember a day in our teens when our high school guidance counselor called us in for career counseling. She scrutinized and evaluated us, gave us tests with cryptic questions, and in the end proclaimed with some certainty that our career destiny was to become a fireman—or a stonemason, or a math teacher, or something equally mysterious. As baffling as this process was, if you’re the parent to teenagers, you probably find yourself wishing you could give them such definite career advice.

It’s the classic story of the Odd Couple: she’s the life of the party, while he gives any excuse to leave early. He’s orderly and fastidious, while she leaves milk on the counter and clothes on the floor. He’s logical, she’s emotional; he’s from Mars, she’s from Venus. Much is made of the idea that opposites attract, and we all know at least one of these “odd couples” that makes a relationship work despite major differences. But is it true that opposites attract? And more importantly, what makes for the most successful relationship—a stimulating opposite or a comforting soulmate?

Do you make decent money, get your work done, and feel at a loss to pinpoint anything really wrong with your job—but still dread going to work each day? If it’s not as simple as a tyrant boss, meager wages, or long days in the salt mine, how can you explain your stress and frustration with your job?

In today's labor market, maximizing your productivity is more important than ever. Whether you're trying to survive a round of layoffs or just working with fewer support staff than usual, making the most of your time is essential. However, maximizing productivity is something we all do in different ways. Some of us are inclined to micromanage our time, scheduling every minute of the day and adhering closely to lists and schedules. If you're familiar with Myers Briggs personality type concepts, you probably recognize these people as Judging types.

Okay, analyzing presidential candidates' personality types is interesting and instructive, but perhaps it's time for something a little more lighthearted? After sifting through the superhero movie deluge this summer, I started thinking about our iconic heroes and their personality styles. Some are more apparent than others, but here are my guesses.

Everyone's doing it--from Slate to Keirsey, journalists and type professionals are all weighing in on the personality types of John McCain and Barack Obama. The writers at Keirsey.com, including Dr. Keirsey himself, argue that personality type has exerted a powerful force in presidential elections over the history of our nation. He makes a case for the idea that Sensors have an advantage when communicating with their constituents because they tend to be more concrete and factual.

If you're a true Myers Briggs nerd (as I'm afraid I am) you find yourself trying to type people wherever you go--and that includes in the movie theater! Here are my thoughts on the Myers-Briggs type of some of our most famous summer movie heroes.