With multiple generations and ages ranging from 17 to 70 years old working together under one roof, the office has become a hotbed for multiple personality syndrome.
The ability for team players to work united and undivided is getting increasingly more difficult. Co-authors Jonathan Littman and Marc Hershon believe becoming a soloist and adapting a new mantra of ‘I hate people’ is the new way of encouraging creativity and productivity and to “overcome the human debris of the workplace.”
Workplace Personalities
In their book titled, I Hate People (Little, Brown and Company, 2009), the authors describe workplace personalities in a new and slightly bitter manner. The Ten Least Wanted list include those people that “trip us up, siphon off our time, and send us off in the wrong direction.”
The authors wrote, “There’s the guy assigned to your team who seems to know it all, but is actually a Know-It-None. There’s Minute Man, who says he only needs a minute, then sucks up fifteen. And there’s the coworker you’re expecting to green-light your project who turns out to be a Stop Sign.”
Other Ten Least Wanted personalities include:
- FlimFlams – Feeds others stories and gets people to sign off on it by getting others to do his projects or work.
- Bulldozers – Dominating, creates resentful dependency.
- Smiley Faces – Behaviors are planned to avoid pain, distress, and sadness.
- Liar, Liar – Unable to be honest due to lack of self-confidence.
- Switchblade – Under stress, switches from rescuer to prosecutor.
- Spreadsheet – Obsessive, terrified of losing control.
- Sheeple – Follows without asking questions and avoids making decisions.
Then there is the “Combo Platters” with multiple offenders and multiple personalities.
In a separate section of the book, the authors also go into detail about other personality types categorized as “The Disrupters” and include: Unprepared, Cud, Bad Comedian, Hyena, Yackety Yak, Swipe, Buzz Saw, Hard-on among others.
The Soloist
To get around all of the time wasters, disrupters, stumbling blocks and the other personalities in the workplace that makes one unproductive and working more pain than pleasure, the authors suggest becoming a soloist.
The authors wrote, “Our goal is to show you how to sharpen your skills as a People Hater. By doing so, you will become a better Soloist. That’s what it’s all about. Productive hating.”
They continued, “The heart of our book is an exploration of the Soloist and the way he works best: Solocrafting. But before you can possibly hope to become a Soloist, first you have to face the reality of modern business. That’s where the Ten Least Wanted comes in. To succeed as a Soloist, you must first learn to vanquish your enemies.”
Soloist’s Principles
The six principles of the Soloist are:
- Separation from the pack is not rejecting the pack.
- Achievement does not always make one popular.
- Change is easy; it’s the anticipation of change that hurts.
- Creativity does not fit on a spreadsheet.
- Genius does not punch a clock.
- I matter.
The authors, Littman who is author of several works of nonfiction and Hershon, a branding expert and comedian (he helped name the Blackberry and Swiffer, and has worked with Dana Carvey, Bill Maher and Robin Williams), believe that working in ensembles of two to three people are better for the Soloist than working in large teams.
Becoming a Soloist
While the book at first reading seems to suggest bitterness and antagonism, there are many points that fit today’s workplace exactly. There are many occupations that lean towards being a Soloist. Writers, artists, engineers, computer people and sales people just to name a few can be happier and more productive working alone or in small groups.
Take a few hours, become a Soloist, read the book and learn how to do productive hating.
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