The Fiscal Cliff

OMG. We’re totally kidding. We’re not going to talk about the Fiscal Cliff because I might claw my eyes out if I hear that phrase one more time. Unfortunately for me, the fiscal cliff solution just pushed the political debate out about two months guaranteeing I might go blind by spring. But, this irritant got me thinking about one of the biggest personality frictions out there: Ps versus Js — more process oriented folks like Funs (SP), Organic Freedoms (NFP), and Smart Freedoms (NTP) versus more get it done yesterday folks like Classics (SJ), Organic Structures (NFJ) and Smart Structures (NTJ). As a Classic, the way our government is set up infuriates me (and most of America since the get it done types make up the majority of the population) because it’s meant to be slow and deliberative to prevent a tyranny of the majority (CLASSICS!). Crafty little guys those Founding Fathers.

Slow and deliberative. Those words are anxiety producing to me but frequently, when mixed with a logical timeline, these adjectives often make for the best outcomes for many situations. This isn’t to say I’m suddenly behind insane procrastination but rather that there are instances when behaving as a P is better than behaving as a J and vice versa. One of the things I’ve noticed studying different personality types is that people are always on the lookout to prove that “their” way is the superior way to live life — whether they’re one of the more laidback personality types or the more uptight ones. The thing is, there isn’t one right way. There is the right way for you and the right way for specific situations. The right way therefore changes depending on the circumstances. While this last sentence seems self evident, it rarely is to people interacting with friends, family members or co-workers when it comes to making decisions and getting things done.

The most effective people in this world know, or rather learn, when to flex their strengths and when to flex their weaknesses. For Js (Classics, Organic Structures and Smart Structures), this means knowing when a situation calls for much thought, debate, and research before making a decision and perhaps buying more time to make a last minute decision — more process, less decisiveness. For Ps (Funs, Organic Freedoms, and Smart Freedoms) this means not waiting until the last minute or gathering enough information to make an educated decision and then making it promptly way before a deadline — less process, more action/decision.

To go back to our government example, slow and deliberative is great for spending bills, declarations of war or bills that curtail our rights as citizens so they can be debated in front of the public and congressmen, senators and the President will be answerable to the public for their opinions and decisions. But slow and deliberative is probably not the way you want to have a decision made in the middle of a war when a general calls and wants to attack a stronghold that looks like they’re gearing up to attack our troops. I’m no war strategist but you probably would want that under wraps and decided rather quickly. 

In our own lives, medical decisions are a great way to illustrate when situations calls for both types of decision making. There can be medical decisions that are very process oriented. Perhaps getting on and being on a wait list for an organ or something not even life threatening like elective plastic surgery. There is tons of time to do lots of research and you’d be wise to do so. Then there are decisions that need to be made right away because you’re having a heart attack and they say immediate open heart is the only way to save your life. Deliberative is NOT the way to go there even if you think gathering more information is always the best option. Then there are the nebulous circumstances where say you have a heart problem that needs to be treated earlier rather than later or you have cancer and you ought to get a second opinion but it’s growing while you’re researching. In these situations, deliberative is great because you’ll do the research and figure out the best solution with the best doctor. Conversely, slow is NOT the best bet for you or your loved ones long term survival. Finding the best doctor and best procedure when it’s no longer that effective because you waited too long isn’t the way to go.

Obviously these nebulous circumstances are where people disagree and have the most tension. In these situations, Js have to bow to a Ps desire for more and more information and Ps have to bow to Js desire to get it done and make a decision on that information quickly. How many people do you know who are really willing to bow to someone with a very different personality type? Yes, I don’t know many either and come to think of it, that’s perhaps Washington’s problem as well.