Thinkers, Talkers, & Doers

When I was younger, my dad was a high school teacher. He taught several vocational classes but one of those was an electronics and engineering class to juniors and seniors at David Douglas High School in Portland, OR and because his school and mine had different break schedules, I would often spend part of my spring break or Christmas breaks sitting in his classroom while he educated his students. I normally had a lot of fun with this because I was able to play with different electronic gadgets and even learn to soldier and assemble small personal electronics (one time I remember I was able to build one of those clear, rainbow-colored phones in something like 4th grade).??

I have many memories of that classroom but one of things I remember most is the large banner that hung on the wall so that every student who entered the room could read it. It had this quote on it from Robert T. Kiyosaki: “There are those who make things happen, there are those who watch things happen and there are those who say, 'what happened?” I never understood what it meant as an elementary school-aged student, but as I got older and he moved into administrative roles instead of teaching in the classroom, the banner followed. I remember seeing it when I was about high school-aged, and it clicked for me. Be someone that makes things happen!??

Many of the world’s greatest leaders have shown their appreciation for the “doers” in the world! President Obama famously shared in an interview (with LinkedIn's own Daniel Roth ) "just learn how to get stuff done." And under the leadership of LinkedIn's previous CEO Jeff Weiner , we established the value of “Get sh*t done.” Even the Italian poet Dante Alighieri said, “The secret to getting things done is to act!” But what is a “doer”??

Back to that quote on my father’s classroom wall… This expression highlights different attitudes and approaches people commonly have towards action and responsibility and essentially, it categorizes people into three general groups:??

• Thinkers: These individuals spend time contemplating and planning what should be done. They are often analytical and strategic, but they may sometimes get stuck in the planning phase without taking concrete action.??

• Talkers: These people discuss and share ideas about what needs to be done. They can be effective communicators and motivators, but they might not follow through with action themselves.??

• Doers: These are the people who take the initiative and perform the necessary tasks. They are proactive and practical, ensuring that things get accomplished.??

While this quote underscores the importance of action and advocates for the value of "doers," it should not be overlooked that thinking and talking are important. However, thinkers and talkers must be complemented by doers to achieve results.?

If you know me well, you know I have a bias for action. Maybe it’s the influence of that quote I read so many times or maybe it’s the influence of the leaders I have worked under throughout most of my career, but I thrive in action. This means I have been challenged to patiently sit in the thinking and talking stages of ideation, planning, and preparing. What this has caused though for me, is unique appreciation for each of those 3 categories. Without the thinkers, we act hastily without a plan or consideration for the potential cause and effect of our actions. Without the talkers, we are unable to evangelize, discuss, and otherwise communicate what we aim to carry out with our actions. And the doers are the ones who bring it all to life.??

But what if I were to suggest we can be all 3? We can assess our natural tendencies, and we can deepen and develop our skills across all 3 areas, especially those we aren’t as prone to engage in. I do this by using a few techniques that lend my energy more towards thinking and discussing rather than always trying to jump straight to action. These frameworks include SWOT Analysis of my planned actions, and idea or mind mapping exercises to lay out all the potential gains and risks before acting. I also try to partner closely with those who are not as action-oriented to force me to sit in the consideration and communication stages more than I otherwise would. Inversely, if you aim to be more of a doer, I advise that in conversations and ideation moments, we decide how we can test, confirm, or otherwise take small steps more often. Asking questions like “What can I do to test this idea?” or “How can we try out some parts of this to see what else we should be considering?” can help move towards small, intentional actions.??

Earlier in my career I would have said “In a world full of talkers & thinkers, be a doer” and while I’m still of that lean, I would now say more effective people will always work to balance all 3; talking, thinking, and acting.?

How are you working to be a balance of all 3? Share in the comments below!?

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