So a couple of weeks ago I had to make a run up to one of my company's suppliers to show them how exactly to build a widget we needed. The company was right next to my Alma Mater, so they didn't exactly have to twist my arm too hard to go. :wink: Was 'wheels up' from my place at 430am (driving) and got there a little after 8am. Time was critical on this so I didn't have much time for small talk at first, so I immediately sat down with the VP who was a part owner and more or less in charge of day to day operations at this company, one of their engineers, and the technician that was going to be building our widgets for us.
By lunch things were going pretty well and the tech definitely needed a breather because she had been working straight through the morning without a break, so I mentioned that I had a craving for a particular type of sandwich from a particular restaurant in town where the university was. That's when I noticed the office manager for the first time, a younger and fairly attractive young lady who literally stopped dead in her tracks. "
ooh! I'll go!", she said. She happened to like the type of sandwich I had mentioned and hadn't had one in awhile, and despite their business being right next to a major university she hadn't actually gone to school there so didn't know any of the "spots" or where to go. So the VP, the office manager gal, and the technician all hopped into my car and into town we went.
From the moment we hopped into the car, all through lunch, and all the way back to the office later there was never a dull moment or lull in the conversation. It was lively and entertaining throughout, and also far beyond the usual business small talk. It was genuinely good fun, and I was really digging the office manager too. If it wasn't for the fact that we were both married, I'd definitely have asked her out later that night.
That's when I took pause and wondered what
the hell was going on here, because I almost
never have lively and entertaining discussions like this with
anybody, so I fired up Socionics from the back corner of my brain to see if I could figure it out.
The VP, a middle aged woman in her late-40's or early-50's was clearly an LIE. The way she talked and acted, and had some of the classical PoLR
signs as well. Mirror seemed to fit, and and talking to her felt exactly like the dozens of other LIEs I've known. The office manager who I was really digging I figured had to be an ESI, making us Acitivty. Would explain a whole lot. Later after lunch she was bitching about various things and exhibiting a lot of
and
and getting all huffy and puffy. Totally hot! LOL. I didn't get the nervous or shy away from reaction that I get from SEEs, so I figured ESI/Activity had to be it.
Later I was chatting with the VP/LIE asking about business and all of the different things they do while getting a tour of their facility, and she mentioned that the office manager was actually her daughter. Wow, mother-daughter duality! So of course I had to get the scoop on that.
You can always get a mom to dish about her kids. She mentioned that her daughter had been by her side basically her whole life. After high school she never left home and actually lived with her parents for 10 years after that even though she had a steady boyfriend, that she knew from high school. Went to a smaller local college closer to home, and was now working as the office manager at the business her mom was VP and part-owner of. The mom joked that she and her husband didn't really know what to do with her living at home for the longest time and were torn about whether they should ask or force her to move out or not! Gee so maybe parent-offspring duality relationships might not be ideal either - you'll never be able to get rid of your kids, LMAO!
I haven't mentioned the technician that I was working with much because she obviously wasn't a Gamma and I could tell she did sort of feel awkward when we were at lunch. I'm guessing she was an IJ of some sort, probably an LSI. She was incredibly skilled at what she was doing for us, and also had OCD like tendencies that I've noticed in a lot of xSI types, my wife included. No problem with that here, because we needed these particular widgets which are all hand made to be built incredibly consistently, otherwise they wouldn't work properly in the bigger widget that they were going into. She was getting pessimistic and afraid she wasn't doing it quite right even though she was doing an incredible job,
so I was sure to throw a little and her way as reassurance, and she did respond quite well to it.
Some of the other workers I was chatting with though had a different take on the mom and daughter 'being joined at the hip', mentioning that if one of them got on your case for something that you'd have the other one on you too. The LIE letting you know something isn't right, and then the ESI enforcer, or something like that. So perhaps there's some truth to the suggestion that a duality can work well within itself, but also be a bit dysfunctional to outsiders?
So anyways, had a ball of a time with the mom/VP/LIE, and the daughter/office manager/ESI, and all of the widgets the probably LSI technician has been building for us have been working great. So a very successful business trip that got my company out of a big jam, and I also got a free company sponsored trip up to my alma mater on their dime including mileage, hehe.
Also quite fascinating as to how all of this Socionics stuff works and can come together in real-world use. Lets you understand different people, and how best to work with them and what sort of input and feedback they're looking for. Good stuff.