There are only 4 types of job

Everything starts with an idea. This is the first of the four jobs – the Thinkers. Builders convert these ideas into reality. This the second job. Improvers make this reality better. This is the third job. Producers do the work over and over again, delivering quality goods and services to the company’s customers in a repeatable manner.”
Lou Adler
in this interesting blog entry

Adler states that it is important to know which of the four job types best suits your nature and ensure you find a role that aligns:

  1. Thinker – these people are the visionaries, strategists, intellects, and creators of the world, and every new idea starts with them
  2. Builder – these people take an idea from scratch and convert it into something tangible
  3. Improver – these people upgrade, change or continually improve a repeatable process
  4. Producer – these people execute or maintain a repeatable process

All of these roles exist within the OSS continuum. Each OSS needs a mixture of people with these skills, so if you’re building a team take this into account. There is normally a vastly different mindset between thinkers and producers for example.

It is a common mistake for recruiters to hire someone who has used an OSS (producer) to specify, build and/or integrate a new OSS (thinkers or builders). This sometimes works, but often doesn’t because there is a vastly different set of skills to use an OSS to building or integrating one.

What type are you? Do you have all four types around you? If it is lacking one or more types, does the team still function well?

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