“Speak your truth quietly and clearly” – Desiderata, Max Ehrmann

Part 4 – What Next…?

So what does all this mean?

• Is there a reason behind the differences in the way we respond to situations or do we do it just to irritate each other?  
• Is there a way for us to understand our preferred responses and adjust them if our natural first response hurts us?
• How can we understand, appreciate and capitalize on our differences instead of allowing them to obstruct our progress?

Quite like the hand we prefer to use for writing, we are all born with certain innate preferences for interacting with the world, processing information, making decisions and implementing our ideas. These preferences influence the situations in which we feel natural, relaxed and confident, and those in which we feel uncomfortable, awkward and strained. For most of us, life is a journey in which we continuously learn and improve ourselves – mastering the skills for which we have a natural talent and increasing out comfort level in other areas where we may not be as gifted.

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“Speak your truth quietly and clearly” – Desiderata, Max Ehrmann

Part 3 – Who Are You…?

• Did that story seem familiar? Is there an Estelle or Indy in your office?
• Who do you think was right?
• What do you think the Boss should have done next? And how would you have handled this situation?
• Can you identify with either one of them? Or, maybe a little bit with both of them?

Have you  reflected on the  different personality types at your work place and how they affect your ability to get things done? Take a blank piece of paper and jot down answers to these questions-

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“Speak your truth quietly and clearly” – Desiderata, Max Ehrmann

Part 2 – The Rapid Response…

The decibel level in the office started rising. That meant that others had read the mail and the reactions were pouring out in the hallway. Indy started reflecting and planning a response. He brought out a pad and started jotting down the approach he would take-

Step 1: Learn about the target operating system

Step 2: Check if there were any 3^rd party…

Before he could finish the sentence, Estelle had pulled up a chair and was sitting next to him, bursting with ideas, speaking at a million words per minute. If there was one thing Indy hated, it was being interrupted when he was thinking about a problem. Controlling his anger, he missed much of what Estelle was saying, and tried to catch on with the torrent of words. From what he could tell, she wanted to get everyone in a room and start brainstorming for an hour so they could get the best ideas on the table in time for the meeting with the Boss.

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“Speak your truth quietly and clearly” – Desiderata, Max Ehrmann

Part 1 – A Beautiful Morning…

That morning started like any other. Indiana F Potter, or “Indy” got to work, made himself a cup of coffee, mumbled hello to anyone he could not avoid eye contact with and headed right to his desk. Given a choice, Indy preferred to be in his inner world of concepts and ideas. Especially at the start of a day, he got his energy by reflecting inwards, rather than interacting with others. Indy started catching up on what was going on in the world, moving on next to his mail and then started to plan out his day.

There was a loud sound of laughter from the hallways, announcing the arrival of Estelle Jones. Estelle could kick up the energy level of the whole office just by her presence. She loved interacting with others and stopped to talk with most people on the way to her desk – cracking jokes, asking questions, sharing news. By the time she dropped off her bag and headed to the cafeteria, she was surrounded by an excited group of colleagues, talking about all that had happened since the last time they met. As she spoke to her friends, Estelle could find her energy levels rise and she was charged up to begin an exciting new day of work. 

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