Monday, July 24, 2006

Personalities for journalism, business

Longtime readers of this blog know that I've been predicting a surge in new businesses launched by established journalists. Now the New York Times has made note of the phenomenon.
The Times piece has its flaws. There's no mention, for example, of what role easy-to-use blogging software is playing. But there are some interesting insights here, particularly that business journalists tend to be "risk-averse."

The Times article focuses on Nina Munk, a former writer for Fortune and a stereotypically neurotic journalist "filled with self-doubt" who became "acutely aware of the personality traits required for success in business."
Take a look at the Times article here.
Then, before you launch your own business, take a Myers-Briggs test and spend a little time learning about the strength and flaws of your own personality type. I, for example, am an ENFJ. We are communicators and teachers by nature. There are lots of us in journalism. And we tend to have a "longing for the perfect" and to "experience some degree of restlessness" in our jobs. And although we can excel at any "people-to-people occupation," we tend to have problems with accounting (which explains why the biggest challenge I face in my business is balancing the checkbook.)

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2 comments:

  1. So, Paul, are you more of an optimist or a pessimist?

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  2. Hi Matt,
    I think I'm much more of an optimist. As an ENFJ, I tend to see the best in everyone. And, as is also true of ENFJs, I always assume that I can make things better if I try.

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