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Tokyo, Japan
Ron McFarland has been working in Japan for over 40 years, and he's spent more than 30 of them in international sales, sales management training, and expanding sales worldwide. He's worked in or been to more than 80 countries. Over the most recent 17 years, Ron had established distributors in the United States and throughout Europe for a Tokyo-headquartered, Japanese hardware cutting tool manufacturer. More recently, he's begun giving seminars in English and Japanese to people interested in his overseas travels and expanding business overseas. You can find him on LinkedIn.
Authored Comments
Yes, I have seen MBTI ignored, misused and misunderstood.
In selecting candidates for positions or groups, of course MBTI type is only one criteria. Other factors are equally important too.
There is no good preference or bad preference. One just has to work harder when thinking about something he doesn't particularly prefer.
When people are exactly the same, they tend to get along is easily, but there might be blind spots that both overlook. You mentioned being an INFP. I am the exact opposite than you. I'm an ESTJ. I welcome our differences, as you will prefer looking at things from a different perspective that I might not even think about (or enough).
In Jim Whitehurst's THE OPEN ORGANIZATION, he mentioned the importance of having the courage to be different. This is just one of those differences. I personally welcome personal preference differences and the insights they bring to me. Sometimes it is not easy or fun, but it is helpful. If we respect the value of what all the types bring to us, great things can be achieved.
Very good article. I think this style of leadership is just starting to emerge around the world. Here in Japan team effort and front-line leaders have been around for a long time. But as soon as one moves into higher management, a separation occurs. Those characteristics you mention become ever more important at that time.