Temperament

The frameworks we use for getting at root problems were developed over a number of years. They arose because initially we were providing first class tools and research to our client companies and still not seeing any growth. It was then we realized there were deeper things going on and one of the most fundamental was temperament. We were doing good path finding work, but the CEOs weren’t going down the path. The most common comments was they didn’t have time to work on the issues we identified.

 What we ultimately realized was that it wasn’t about time; it was about preference. They didn’t do the things that would lead to change and success because it was left handed – uncomfortable. The solution was one of two things: work to developed non-preferred ways of acting or bring in someone who already had those preferences and would easily create “time” to work on the problem areas. My own observations were that it takes years if not decades to develop our non-preferred sides and that we can get immediate changes by bringing in someone else who has those preferences.

 Today, in Economic Gardening, the temperament framework is as fundamental and universal as the core strategy framework. We ask every CEOs to complete a sorter prior to the Discovery Call and then we listen for preference data points to confirm the 4 letters that comprise type and temperament. We use the following guide to communicate with the CEO

 Guardian

        Characteristics: Salt of the earth people who plan, control, get things done. Favors standard procedures, trustworthiness, no frills, to the point, tested, legitimacy.

·        Communication: Use legitimate sources, no loose ends, direct and plain language, proven approaches.  Respect authority. Focus on the organization.

·        Issues for us. Not quick to see new options, questions our sources/methods/data, slow to change, favor the tried and true over the new and unknown, more logistical than strategic.

Artisan

·        Characteristics: Action oriented, tactical, spots immediate opportunities, favors usefulness, not academic.

·        Communication: Don’t get into theory or philosophy; get to the point. Focus on immediate steps that can be taken. Demonstrate advantage.

·        Issues for us: tend not to read especially big reports, wants immediate actions he can take, not strategic, impulsive and changes direction quickly. 

Rational

·        Characteristics: Strategic, logical, works from fundamental principles, oriented toward the why, favors data and systems, tends toward the new and making improvements

·        Communication: Make logical arguments not authority arguments. Convince with principles and outcomes. Don’t argue “that’s the way It’s always been.”

·        Issues for us: Can get lost in information, asks for more data, not implementation oriented, oblivious to emotional tone.

Idealists

·        Characteristics: Oriented toward helping and improving people, ethical, good communicators, considers impact on people, warm.

·        Communication: Keep the impact on people in mind. Present bad news in terms of how it can be improved. Details about things are less important than details about people

·        Issues for us: May not be business (dollars) oriented, logic is secondary to beliefs and values. May have fuzzy financials; don’t know if they are making a profit or not.