by Jane Roqueplot
People Are Different,
and react and respond
differently…
Understanding the DISC styles is not just about optimism and pessimism – it’s about how different people relate to the world and to each other – in different jobs, roles, and situations – in different ways. Perhaps even more interestingly the quotes, you’re about to read, illustrate how different people perceive the same situation in different ways. Understanding that different people see the same situation having different perceptions is important for:
Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty?
The I-Style says the glass is half full.
The C-Style says the glass is half empty.
The D-Style says the it doesn’t matter to him and he’s not cleaning it!
The C-Style project manager says the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
The S-Style mother of a persistently demanding five-year-old says, “Sweetheart it’s whatever you want it to be, just please let mommy have five minutes of peace and quiet.”
The C-Style realist says the glass contains half the required amount of liquid for it to overflow.
The D-Style cynic wonders who drank the other half.
The S-Style school teacher says it’s not about whether the glass is half empty or half full, it’s whether there is something in the glass at all.
The D-Style’s attitude is not about whether the glass is half full or half empty, it’s about who is paying for the next round.
The I-Style presenter doesn’t care if the glass is half full or half empty, he just knows that starting the discussion will give him ten minutes to figure out why his PowerPoint presentation is not working.
The C-Style consultant says let’s examine the question, prepare a strategy for an answer, and all for a daily rate of…
The D-Style inquisitive troublemaker wants to know what’s in the glass anyhow and wants the rest of it.
The S-Style homemaker sees the dirty glass, washes and dries it, then puts it away in an old oak and etched glass cabinet that she has had in her family for generations.
The C-Style computer specialist says that next year the glass capacity will double, be half the price, but cost you 50% more for me to give you the answer.
The D-Style entrepreneur sees the glass as undervalued by half its potential.
The C-Style engineer says the glass is over-designed for the quantity of water.
The S-Style personal coach knows that the glass goes from full to empty depending on the circumstances, and reminds the drinker that he can always fill the glass when he wishes.
The C-Style logician says that where the glass is in process of being filled then it is half full; where it is in the process of being emptied then it is half empty; and where its status in terms of being filled or emptied is unknown then the glass is one in which a boundary between liquid and gas lies exactly midway between the inside bottom and the upper rim, assuming that the glass has parallel sides and rests on a level surface, and where it does not then the liquid/gas boundary lies exactly midway between the upper and lower equal halves of the available total volume of said glass.
The I-Style unorganized facilitator would discuss the question during the board of directors meeting, convene a committee to research the problem, and assign tasks for a root cause analysis, usually without a complete explanation of the problem to those assigned the tasks.
The C-Style scientist says a guess based on a visual cue is inaccurate, so mark the glass at the bottom of the meniscus of the content, pour the content into a bigger glass; fill the empty glass with fresh content up to the mark; add the original content back in; if the combined content overflows the lip, the glass was more than half full; if it doesn’t reach the top, the glass was more than half empty; if it neither overflows nor fails to reach the top then it was either half-full or half-empty. Now what was the question again?
The D-Style negotiator suggests that both parties pay for the glass and then share the content. After the payment is split, he announces that will take the bottom half.
The C-Style grammarian says that while the terms half-full and half-empty are colloquially acceptable the glass can technically be neither since both full and empty are absolute states and therefore are incapable of being halved or modified in any way.
The I-Style salesperson would try and sell you both the half-full and the half-empty glass models, while convincing you that you need all the latest glass handling gadgets.
The C-Style auditor first checks whether the empty half is material and then designs the audit procedures to obtain sufficient evidence to conclude that the glass is indeed empty.
The impatient D-Style boss says that the glass is not empty at all – it is half-filled with water and half-filled with air – hence, fully filled on the whole, so get busy!
The I-Style student says the glass is just another trick played by the teacher to prove that students are dumb.
The C-Style algebraic simultaneous equation theorist says that if the glass is equally half full and half empty, then half full = half empty; therefore ½ x F = ½ x E; therefore (by multiplying both sides of the equation by 2) we show that F = E; i.e. Full equals Empty!
The C-Style efficiency analyst says the glass is operating substantially below optimization level, being consistently exactly 50% under-utilized during the period of assessment, corresponding to an over-resourcing in meeting demand equating to precisely 200% of requisite capacity in volume terms, not accounting for seasonal trends and shrinkage, and that if the situation continues there is in theory opportunity for savings or expansion.
The S-Style mother would not leave the glass sitting there long enough for anyone to consider the question, but would scoop it up, wash it up, dry it to a gleaming shine and put it back in the glass cabinet because there is no half-full or half-empty in her world… just a full glass or an untidy one.
The C-Style phobic says, “Yuck, someone drank out of it and left germs on the glass.”
The S-Style counselor would ask you, “Is the half-empty/half-full glass really that important? I mean… really? Think about it. If fact, let’s not. Let’s set that particular issue aside for a few moments and talk about what’s really bothering you.”
The I-Style sales person will convince you that even though the glass is half full/empty you are getting more than your money’s worth compared to buying a full glass. The full glass is less expensive because of the economies of producing a common standard version in big quantities, whereas the more expensive half full/empty glass represents much better value because it is more exclusive and better quality, and very hard to come by and greatly sought after.
The D-Style customer service agent (trying to act like an S-Style) will agree with you that the glass is half full/empty, and will do anything in his power to fill the glass up at no extra cost. However, after a full investigation (and letting his true style surface) you will be informed that you mistakenly received a half full/empty glass since you only paid for a quarter. You therefore received a half full/empty glass at the price of a quarter-full/three-quarters empty glass. You should consider yourself very lucky, and that any further complaints might result in your having to return the half full/empty glass at your own cost, with no guarantee of any refund.
The S-Style staff assistant says, “Whatever the wants it to be – or not to be.”
The D-Style says, “That’s not my glass; mine was bigger!”
The I-Style optimist says: “The glass is half-full.” The C-Style pessimist says: “The glass is half-empty”. And while they are debating the issue, the D-Style takes the glass and drinks it.
The D-Style boss expects the half-empty glass to be filled in half the time it took to fill half the glass, at half the going rate.
The I-Style marketing professional convinces the buyer that what’s left is more valuable than the first half.
The D-Style banker says: “I see an opportunity! Let’s put a couple of options on the full half and leverage it until it’s too big to fail, then sell a tons of it… Heck! While we are at it, let’s do the same to the empty half and sell that too!”
The I-Style politician says that under the last government the glass was half-empty, and becoming emptier, but thanks to his own party’s new leadership, the glass is definitely now half-full, and becoming fuller; but if the other party were to return to power, the glass would once again undoubtedly empty rapidly.
The S-Style call-center receptionist asks if you’d mind holding while she finds out for you. (Your call is important to them…)
The I-Style benefits adviser says, “You’re underclaiming. You’re entitled to more than that. I can help you fill in a form to claim the rest of your entitlement.”
Which one are you? Hope you enjoyed and will strive to be people sensitive!