The Cactus and Snowflake at Work: How the Logical and Sensitive Can Thrive Side by Side

Summary

This hilarious and profound workplace guide proves the rigorously rational and the supremely sympathetic can meet in the middle and merge their strengths. Readers will discover how blending with their opposite opens the pathway to being their truest selves. We're all familiar with the introvert/extrovert divide, but there is another dichotomy that is just as significant. From the famed Myers-Briggs personality scale, Feelers put more weight on personal concerns and the people involved, and Thinkers are guided by objective principles and impersonal facts. This simple distinction lays the groundwork for the profoundly different ways that individuals make sense of and engage in both the workplace and the world. Devora Zack, herself a proud snowflake, says we can directly control only three things: what we say, what we think, and what we do. Zack makes a strong case that the best use of our energy is to focus on our own reactions and perceptions rather than trying to fix or change others. The book includes an assessment that readers can take to learn their placement on the Thinker/Feeler spectrum before exploring different modes of communication and motivation based on personality type. Zack guides her readers to channel their emotions and successfully connect with those on the other side, both inside and outside of the workplace.