Generally, I don’t really care about labels. I don’t care if someone describes themselves as “type A” or this ’n’ that. I find it obnoxious if someone requests I fill out a personality survey before we communicate further so they can better understand me and how to talk with me — yes, this really happened once. But I'll tell you what is pretty cool, and it’s this piece that was posted on LinkedIn a bit ago.
If you’re thinking of jumping into the entrepreneurial game, it’s a really good read because it breaks down the four different types of jobs that exist in this world. That is, classifications for the roles they fulfill within their companies. They are:
- Producers
- Improvers
- Builders
- Thinkers
You should read the original piece for more context and elaboration, but the gist is this: Producers “execute or maintain a repeatable process,” improvers “upgrade, change or make a repeatable process better,” builders “take an idea from scratch and convert it into something tangible” and thinkers “are the visionaries, strategists, intellects, and creators of the world, and every big idea starts with them.”
Which one are you? Note that you don’t have to entirely be one type, although you will likely be predominantly one more than other.
This is a little like asking someone to take a personality test to talk to others, but in reverse. Reading this will help you re-contextualize what you do and then help you own it more. What’s more, it will help you talk to others about your passions, your goals and who you are. And that’s pretty dang important for anybody who hustles for a living.
David Wolinsky is a freelance writer and a lifelong Chicagoan. In addition to currently serving as IFC’s comedy, film, and TV blogger, he's also a comedy-writing instructor for Second City and an adjunct professor in DePaul’s College of Computing and Digital Media. (He also co-runs a blog behind the DePaul class, DIY Game Dev.) He was the Chicago city editor for The Onion A.V. Club where he provided in-depth daily coverage of this city's bustling arts/entertainment scene for half a decade. His first career aspirations were to be a game-show host.
