An Estate Plan

A Financial Plan

A Strategic Plan

Good succession/transition should encompass all four plans.  Every closely-held and family business company should have an exit strategy- What is yours?

Is your exit strategy written down or is it in your head?  Are you willing to sell your company and if not why not?

Could it be that your company is your legacy and that your dream is to perpetuate it through the generations?  But whose dream is it anyway because if it is not your next generations dream then your company may become a part of the statistics that say 92% of all companies in the USA are family owned and/or closely held but by the 2^nd generation this drops to 34% and by the 3^rd generation to 16%. BEWARE!!! Shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves in 3 generations could become your legacy!  If your successor does not have that fire in the belly, he/she is not going to succeed and he/she is certainly not going to successfully steward the company through to the next generation.

Once you establish who the successors are going to be then the next stage would be Leadership Development.  Successors acquire the needed leadership skills and experience and are acknowledged be employees and clients as the ones who will succeed.  The final stage would be the Transition.  This should be accomplished naturally to avoid ripples that could derail the succession.

Additional issues facing the success of any plan would be:

-       What will the ownership roles (if any) of the family members who are not active in the business?

-       If succession is split between two or more siblings and/or family members, what agreements should exist between shareholders that will allow for future changes e.g. Buy/Sell agreements?

-       Will minority ownership be allowed outside the family such as key employees, in-laws, public offerings?

-       Planning for transition to the next generation

-       Values and skills which the next generation will need in order to be prepared to accept the responsibility of caring for the family business.

-       What steps would be needed to help the next generation acquire those skills?

Suggestions for Successor Development

-       Assure yourself that family business entry is voluntary

-       Get meaningful, full-time outside work experience

-       Enter with a specific, needed, precedented job description and pay level

-       Prepare for a specific job that doesn’t exist yet

-       Be prepared to work harder than others I the company

-       Update you written personal development plan yearly

-       Review personal development plan with parents, siblings and key business advisors

-       Look for mentors inside and outside the business

-       Seek the presidency of an organization outside of work

-       Develop a peer group of young business presidents and family successors

-       Identify leadership models to emulate

-       Take jobs in a variety of functional jobs

-       Volunteer to make presentations to the board

-       Hire, evaluate and fire people as appropriate

-       Consider formal testing of current aptitudes, strengths and needs

-       Invest time in shared non-business interests with the family

-       Attempt to write down the company’s key strategic policies, management philosophies and cultural values

-       Remember that real authority comes from earning respect, not from power

-       Eventually identify your own future management team

-       Be a role model of listening skills, openness and change

Finally, what we encourage is “The Ethical Will.”  We use this tool to communicate the most sensitive issues of succession-issues that deal with retirement, death, legacies, family values and love.  These issues are passed on through the generations by an “Ethical Will.”

Or Springsteen. In a concert he once told the story of how he and his dad used to go at it — how his father hated his guitar. Late one night, Springsteen came home to find his father waiting up for him in the kitchen. His father asked him what he thought he was doing with himself. “And the worst part about it,” Springsteen says, “was I never knew how to explain it to him.” How does he tell his father, “I’m going to be Bruce Springsteen?”

Someone interviewed me a few months back for an entrepreneurship project, and he mentioned that in his conversations the thing that stood out most was the willingness of great entrepreneurs to be vulnerable. It’s not the first association you’d make with an entrepreneur. Words like “driven,” “ambitious,” and “persistent” usually come to mind. But the moment he said it I knew he’d hit the nail on the head.

Vulnerability. It is the most poignant quality in every entrepreneur I know.

There’s a misfit in each of us, and it’s the most delicate, precious thing that we have. Sadly, most people make it their life’s mission to hide it, to cover it over in the same clothes, the same work, the same “regurgitations,” as Thomas Merton wrote, as everyone else. This virus of homogenization has infected the landscape. Our backdrop in real life now mimics the scenery repetition you’d see in a Fred Flintstone cartoon as he drove down the street. But now it’s Home Depot-Walmart-McDonalds-Starbucks; Home Depot-Walmart-McDonalds-Starbucks; Home Depot-Walmart-McDonalds-Starbucks.

Ironic that all those enterprises were begun by entrepreneurs trying to do something different. And poignant that in the absence of Walt Disney himself, the Walt Disney Company just keeps building more Disneylands.

I used to visit the merry-go-round in Griffith Park in Los Angeles where Disney once took his daughters, asking himself, “Is this all there is? There has to be a better place to take my children.” And the rest is history. The great entrepreneur — the entrepreneur who really changes things — is the one who, in 2010, goes to Disneyland and asks the same question: “Is this all there is?” And the new world she or he will create as a result of that audacious inquiry is one that cannot possibly be conceived by people busy trying to fit into the world as it is.

To question the hegemony of merry-go-rounds — to actually care that there should be something more magnificent than a merry-go-round — is to be a misfit. I mean, who worries about these things? It reminds me of that scene in Annie Hall where the mother of a young Woody Allen takes him to a shrink and he says to the therapist, “How can I relax when the universe is expanding?” And his mother says, “You live in Brooklyn! Brooklyn isn’t expanding!” Talk about a misfit, right?

To embrace the misfit in oneself is to be vulnerable. It is to forsake the easy acceptance that comes with fitting in and to instead be fortified by a kind of love, really. A love of life, a love of wonder, and, ultimately, a sustaining love for oneself. Far from egoism, that love for oneself is a measure of one’s love for others, for humanity. And it is only from love that great ideas can be born.

This kind of love cannot be taught in business school. It has to be felt. It has to be given sanctuary away from the noise and relentless assault of information. And then it has to be nurtured. It must be embraced, in the light of day, for all to see, for people to ridicule, to criticize, to laugh at. And the entrepreneur has to be willing to feel the pain of that ridicule and suffer the risk of the dream being stolen, or crushed by the meanness of this world. But the misfit doesn’t worry about that. The misfit has a higher calling: to bring the unmanifest into being, no matter who is saying what.

Vulnerability is the absence of cynicism. And the absence of cynicism is love.

As that interviewer uttered the word “vulnerability,” I thought of some of my entrepreneur friends:Peter Diamandis who founded X Prize, Wayne Elsey who founded Souls4Soles, Billy Shore who created Share Our Strength, Brian Menzies who founded 1-800-CharityCars, Dennis Whittle who created Global Giving, Torie Osborn, who brought the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center into the twenty-first century.

And I realized that what separates them from others is their abject lack of cynicism. Their willingness to be vulnerable. Their love.

-

Dan Pallotta

Re-Imagined by Socrakeys

www.thisomnivore.wordpress.com

The USA nation faces a few hard years of serious reconstruction, very much like the reconstruction that took place after the Civil War. We are not yet out of the long economic civil wars that have riddled the USA in this last decade, with dot-corn collapse, corporate scandals, housing speculation, and failed bailouts. The Deep-Recession-Depression (DRD 2011) will peak in 2011 (the first year of the decade, as all previous recessions: 2001, 1991, 1981, 1971, 1961, 1951, 1941, 1931, and so on): however, unemployment figures will remain high even after that, probably until year 2014. The worst dramatic and destructive recessions occur every forty years (1931 with the Great Depression; 1971 with the Total Collapse of the Bretton-Woods-Gold-Parity $35/ounce; 2011 with the Final End of the USA Economic Empire). The year 2011 will be ten years after the dot-corn pump-and-dump depression of 2001, which in turn was ten years after the 1991 debacle of thrifts-and-loans (which followed by 4 years the Wall Street crash of 1987, and the subsequent puncture of the Japanese balloon), which was ten years after the 1981 recession (with interest rates at 17%) that brought in the horrifying Reaganomics-trickle-down period, respectively ten years after the 1971 Vietnam fiasco and the petro-dolla r-hyper-inflation following the Bretton-Woods dollar-gold parity implosion, which occurred just in 1971. Even 1961 was a recession period, when the bottom was touched after the 1957-58 contraction and before the expansion of the sixties, and ten years earlier, in 1951, the dramatic recession was partially halted by the effects of the Korean war In 1941, that dramatic recession was halted by the effects of Pearl Harbor and World War Two, and the Great Depression of ten years earlier, in 1931, is still today sending its dark shadows onto the whole planet. 1921 was also a recession year, with the global economy falling very sharply. At present, the rate of private domestic investments as a percentage of the national gross domestic product is still falling (it was 11% in 1991, and 15% in 2001): it is currently at 16%, and it might even be down close to zero by year 2011, with nobody willing to invest in the productive sector of the USA. The bailouts of banks and car manufacturers failed, primarily because top-heavy trickle-down measures cannot work, as those faulty financial models were themselves among the causes of the current deep-recession-depression. To begin a build-uji commencing with infrastructure and energy would be equivalent to repeating the error of a top-down approach. The national reconstruction effort will have to start with the housing industry, and then continue with the healthcare industry, the education industry, and finally the public safety industry. Guaranteeing adequate housing to each citizen would require an annual output for the government of $3 trillion ($10,000 per person per year for 300 million people). It would, for instance, give a housing value of $40,000 to a family of four. It would be a gradual but constant effort consisting in taking over the housing industry, and guara nteeing jobs in housing development, construction, maintenance, rentals, furniture industries, appliance industries, utilities, etc., all centralized and regulated. A total of 11.5 million people would be employed altogether in the housing industry, at a salary of $130,000 per person, at a cost for the Treasury of $1.5 trillion per year (which is actually a much smaller figure than the bailouts). This scenario sets the output-input ratio at two to one: $260,000 value of annual output from each employed person, for $130,000 of annual wages paid to each employee. The next step of the reconstruction process would be to guarantee adequate healthcare to each citizen, which would require an annual output for the government of $3 trillion ($10,000 on average per person per year for 300 million people). It would be a gradual and constant effort, consisting in taking over the healthcare industry, and guaranteeing jobs in hospitals, clinics, HMOs, laboratories, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies, research institutes, health insurance providers, etc., all centralized and regulated. Also the function of guaranteed elderqare would be included in the healthcare industry. So 11.5 million people would be in all employed in the healthcare industry, at an annual salary of $130,000 per person, at a cost for the Treasury of $1.5 trillion per year (again, a much smaller figure than the bailouts, which together totaled some $8 trillion). This scenario too sets the output-input ratio at two to one: $260,000 value of annual output per employee for $130,000 of annual salary. As part of the healthcare industry, the regulated eldercare industry will serve 15 million people (ages over 85) for an average service value of $30,000 per person per year, and will employ 1.7 million people at a salary of $130,000 per person, with a production output value of $260,000 per person, at a total cost for the Treasury of $220 billion. The reconstruction would then continue with the education industry, guaranteeing free education (including college, university, graduate and post-graduate studies) to each citizen between ages 5 to 25, and free childcare, kindergarten, and preschool before that. This industry would require an annual output for the government of $3 trillion ($30,000 on average per student per year for 100 million youth). It would be a consistent effort gradually taking over all schools, colleges, universities, textbook publishing companies, etc., all centralized and regulated. Also the function of guaranteed childcare, kindergarten, and preschool (for ages 0 to 5) would be included in the education industry. Some 11.5 million people would be employed in the education industry, at a salary of $130,000 per person per year, at a total cost for the Treasury of $1.5 trillion per year (a much smaller figure than the total bank/car bailouts). Also this scenario sets the output-input ratio at two to one: $260,000 value of annual measured output per person for $130,000 of annual salary input. The reconstruction would then encompass also the public safety industry, which will require a high degree of social maturity. The public safety industry would include all public safety and public administration services, including Treasury, police, courts, defense, military installations, diplomatic corps, security, surveillance, intelligence, postal service, delivery services, fire protection, insurance services, etc., all centralized and regulated. Much of the workforce for the public safety industry will come from the citizens’ public service in the public forces, a program that would require each citizen to serve 5 years, not necessarily consecutively, between the ages 25 to 75, in the public forces, at a full pay of $130,000 per year The regulated public safety industry will serve 300 million people for an estimated average service value of $13,000 per person per year The public service of all citizens in the public forces for 5 years between ages 25 and 75, totaling 15 Million people in service at any given time, will lead to an annual cost for the Treasury of some $2 trillion (the cost of $130,000 in annual salary for each enrolled citizen) obtaining a value of service output measured at $3.9 trillion ($260,000 of measured value of output generated by each enrolled individual). So the reconstruction phase would be completed, with guaranteed services in the fundamental areas of basic human rights (housing, healthcare, education, and public safety) and guaranteed employment in the industries of housing, healthcare, education, and public safety. The Treasury will have annual costs of $1.5 trillion for housing, $1.5 trillion for healthcare, $220 billion for eldercare, $1.5 trillion for childcare and education, and $2 trillion for public service, totaling thus a budget of some $6.7 trillion per year There will be a fiat national income tax of 40%, with no other forms of taxes levied. This rate is a lower tax than the current total tax rate, which is currently 25% federal tax, 5% state tax, 7.5% sales tax, and 7.5% payroll tax (the portion paid by the employee), totaling now some 45% in taxes, plus property taxes and other current taxation. So, the proposed 40% fiat tax rate would be visibly lower. At a tax rate of 40%, the Treasury will have yearly revenues of $7.8 trillion (40% of $130,000 of annual income each for 150 million persons), revenues which well exceed the annual budgeted total expenditures of $6.7 trillion. A total of 50 million people will be employed in the public regulated industries (housing, healthcare, education, and public safety). Another 100 million people will be employed in the monitored industries. Monitored industries will comprise all industries that provide goods and services not related to the healthcare industry, the education industry, the housing industry, or the public safety industry: the monitored industries would include, e. g., food, clothing, distribution, information, entertainment, energy, communication, transportation, infrastructure, export, import, etc. The monitored industries are not financed by the Treasury, but all the employees of the monitored industries are entitled to receive full pay and are protected from exploitative practices (the output-input ratio of two to one would apply also to the monitored industries). All the monitored industries will be continuously audited by the Treasury for compliance with plans, productivity, and compensation. It will be a four-year bottom-up build-up process of hard work and rewarding achievements, culminating in an efficient social system that provides work to all, and that guarantees the basic human rights of housing, healthcare, education, and public safety for all. The annual national gross domestic product (which includes both regulated industries and monitored industries) will have moved from the current $16 trillion to $20 trillion, and the government’s annual budget will have risen from $4 trillion to $8 trillion, ensuring stability and progress for the whole nation. The USA nation is indeed facing tough times ahead, but by adopting a wise plan of reconstruction the whole nation can reach an extremely high social level, ensuring social dignity to all its citizens, and setting a leading example of wisdom and progress to all nations.

www.honesthelp.org

and

www.thisomnivore.wordpress.com

See You There!

By: Sprig Allan

In a normal day to day conversation, the terms ADHD and entrepreneurship are completely unrelated.  For Deb Gilbertson, former corporate Marketing and Innovation Manager at the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, ADHD can be redefined as Latent Entrepreneur

Personality Type (LEPT). Gilbertson explores the concept that ADHD developed on an evolutionary standpoint to give hunters a mental advantage over their prey. LEPT allowed for the hunters to “see everything,” constantly on the look out for the next meal or threat.  This capacity to observe all, served them well in the hunt, but in the classroom it looks like inattention and distraction.

These rapid sifts in focus and high energy may hinder a person with LEPT in the classroom but in terms of entrepreneurship, this person is well equipped to deal with the challenges facing an entrepreneur. In ADHD people and young children, the frontal lobes are immature or sluggish, so they appear to act without thinking.  In adults it is characterized by restless energy, rapid onset of boredom and deficient short -term memory. It is also characterized by passion, utter commitment to areas if interest, creativity, resilience to setbacks, willingness to engage in moderate risk taking, slightly maverick behavior, eclectic experiences and high energy.

These qualities of being creative, insightful, breaking rules, making rules, reframing issues, and gaining meaning are characteristic of entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs and creative people. They are also a signature of ADHD.  Considering the fact that people with ADHD are four times more likely to be an entrepreneur than an average person, there is an obligation to notice the positive characteristics that LEPT individuals have and to encourage them to try entrepreneurship.

By: Sprigley Allan, SDSU ’11
Every year, over eight million entrepreneurs start businesses in the United States alone. Each one of these businesses needs an energetic entrepreneur, a strong work ethic, and a great idea but what they may not need is money. In the world of entrepreneurship, there are two potential approaches on the best way to finance a start—up. These are the bootstrap and the deep pocket — fast burn strategies.

Bootstrapping is for the entrepreneur that wants to spend as little money as possible to launch his/her venture quickly to see if the market exists for their product. This is a direct opposite of the deep pocket — fast burn strategy. This strategy is essential for companies that require large sums of money to be initially invested product marketing, advertising and product research and development before the product even reaches the market.

In today’s economic environment, it is becoming more difficult and time consuming to find large amounts of capital for new entrepreneurs and unproven products or services. However, this is no reason not to start your company now. With major companies maintaining a low profile to survive the current “storm” and additional talent now available, the time is perfect for new and adaptable companies to step in and thrive.

Bootstrapping allows for an entrepreneur to start a business without having to put themselves in a tremendous amount of debt and keeps them from giving up too much equity. Along with bootstrapping their business, the best thing a new entrepreneur can do is to make use of all the resources available.

Among the most powerful tools available on the internet are:

• United States Small Business Administration
  This government funded and government run program can assist in all stages of starting a small business. Some of the 100′s of tools that their website provides are tools for writing a business plan, finding funding both in grants and connecting companies with investors both on a local and national scale.
• Weebly
  This is a FREE, easy way to start marketing your product on the internet and generating some interest.
• PayPal
  PayPal was itself started in 1998 by an entrepreneur in the attempt to provide a quick, inexpensive and user friendly mechanism for e-commerce.It is still one of the easiest ways to accept credit card payments securely online.
• The Best Things in Life Are Free
  A comprehensive list of FREE online business resources that come in handy whether you are a bootstrapped company low on funds or simply a cost conscious CEO looking for affordable alternatives to brand named products.

This strategy is essential for companies that require large sums of money to be initially invested in marketing, advertising and product research and development before the product even reaches the market.

By: Sprigley Allan

Morality and ethics in business can be an interesting discussion.  You should not overlook the clear connections between entrepreneurial character traits and their related moral virtues.  A student interested in entrepreneurship is taught both, the practical traits of business success as well as the ethics and moral virtues they should stand for.  Although most conventional wisdom  suggests teaching these two topics as separate ideas, not all agree.  According to The Journal of Private Enterprise these topics should not only be taught together but that they are mutually supporting.

The following table itemizes both the necessary traits of a successful entrepreneur and the corresponding moral virtues.

Together the left and right side of the above chart constitutes an entrepreneurial code for business ethics.  According to The Journal of Private Enterprise, the list of virtues listed above is both very Aristotelian (Aristotle, 1984; see Aristotle’s discussions of courage in Book III, pride as the “crown” of the virtues, truthfulness, and liberality with respect to money in Book IV, justice in Book V, and phronesis or practical wisdom in Book VI of Nicomachean Ethics) and very Objectivist (Rand, 1964).

This conjunction of entrepreneurial traits and moral virtues shows the fallacy in believing that success according to business criteria and success according to ethical criteria can not be one in the same.  Whether entrepreneurs are developing their business plans, dealing with investors, employees, competitors or customers it is imperative that they have a strong foundation in ethical business practices.

Ethics are a classic example of something that rests on a slippery slope.  When an aspiring entrepreneur breaks any of these moral virtues or is deceitful in their business practice, the bottom line of their business ultimately reflects this.  To assure the respect of their employees, investors and customers an entrepreneur must follow an entrepreneurial code for business ethics.  What will you create?

Original copy at www.sdsu.edu/emc

However the argument I bring to bear is this;

Is it better to tell the truth when it causes un-neccesary pain to both the person telling it and the person hearing it, or to be descretionary on the amount of information given and the method of delivery, to some this is lying.

ESFPs are friendly, outgoing, fun loving and naturally drawn to people. They are quite enthusiastic and exuberant, and are usually well liked by others. They are good at meeting people and helping them enjoy themselves. They are sympathetic toward people and generous with their time and money. At their best, they are able to realistically meet human and situational needs in a fun and lively way.

Living

ESFP children are friendly, warm, active, and enthusiastic. They are very giving and concerned about others. They like to make others happy, believing that “it is better to give than to receive.” Being on the receiving end may make them feel self-conscious. They tend to be good at comforting others, regardless of whether others are in need. ESFPs are aware of what is happening around them and notice much that escapes the eyes of others. They are tied into the present, particularly with people, they may sense what is happening with others before others know it. They may also noticewhat is going on in their environment and take delight in a spring flower, a bird’s song, or a bright fabric, pointing these out in their enthusiastic way for others to enjoy. They are popular and gregarious, and are often busy in social activities with others. As teenagers, they are likely to be instigators of activities with their friends. It is difficult to catch them sitting still. They tend to be bright and sunny in disposition and enjoy laughing at themselves and others. It is hard for them to be “down,” mainly because of the excitement of each upcoming event.

As adults, ESFPs lead what might look like “a charmed existence,’ even when things are not going well for them. They live with the idea that “the glass is half full” and seem to land on their feet, even when they are not sure how. They usually find a niche for themselves in any situation because of their spontaneity and flexibility. Their social skills may attract the eye of a boss. For ESFPs bring a liveliness to a groups to which they belong. Life is meant to be enjoyed and is not taken too seriously.

ESFPs often are able to interact with all ages, backgrounds, and types of people. Most individuals who connect with ESFPs feel that they are treated as equals by them, regardless of age or convention. They enjoy sharing their love of life with others, not just their mates and children. People around them benefit from this.

In retirement, ESFPs continue their fun-filled, people-focused, actively-oriented life. They keep close friendships and continue to provide amusement to those who have been important to them in the past.

Learning

ESFPs prefer learning through participating in groups where they can interact with others and do things, not just observe or listen about things. They want to get to know their teachers well. It is not that the teachers have to be nice, but they do need to care. ESFPs dislike and are upset by intellectual arguments and conflict. They need to experience the concept first before discussing it or receiving a didactically presented theory. Directions must be very concrete, simple and accurate. They are also plugged into the environment. Atmosphere, attitudes, physical setting — all make a difference. If the encouragement they receive for their social life is more than the encouragement they receive for their academic life, they may err on the side of being too social. Most ESFPs learn actively and do not function as well when they must read quietly by themselves about matters that are theoretical. They find themselves easily drifting off while studying, and they are ultimately diverted by things more real to them.

Working

ESFP like action and excitement, and are able to link together people and resources. Because they accept and deal with people as they are, they are able to understand what is necessary in order to motivate them to get jobs done. They prefer a work setting that is lively, action oriented, and harmonious. The atmosphere and overall attitude of the work setting means a great deal to them. They like adaptable people who are energetic, easygoing, and focused on the present realities. If something is not immediately useful or of intrinsic value, it may be quickly reflected by ESFPs. They notice what is going on with people and focus on these happenings intently. ESFPs are likely to adapt as the situation requires. ESFPs like occupations that allow them to be with people. They want to be direct and practical service to others and seek work that is self-fulfilling and rewarding. Being a resource to others is an important part of their work. Some occupations seem to be more attractive to ESFPs: childcare worker, clerical supervisor, coach, designer, factory supervisor, food service worker, receptionist, recreation worker, religious educator, respiratory therapist, and other occupations that allow them to be responsive to others.

Leading

The ESFP leadership style is one that promotes good will and team work. ESFPs are quickly adaptable and thus able to guide others in crisis situations, unless that crisis is one of disharmony among people. They are able to focus on immediate problems and using their ability to work with people. They are more relationship oriented but will work hard on the task part when the people part is going well.

Leisure

ESFPs are quick to take leisure, give it a new twist, and create new enjoyment. They love being active, whether in craft projects, exercise classes, sporting events, or going out to dinners, parties, or movies with friends. ESFP reading tastes run toward what is useful or historical accounts about what happened, which they can use to make predictions for the future. They are more likely to read short things, such as newspaper and magazine articles, than long books. Whatever the case, they like to discuss their readings with others. ESFPs are fun to be with; they find enjoyment in most situations. Being out and about is more comfortable to them than sitting still with long periods of quiet. Their friends are very important to them, and they are likely to let them know how much they care through small mementos, special poems, or cards. They regularly reach out and touch someone.

Loving

Love means enjoyment of one another. ESFPs want to share values with the loved one. They way people are treated is usually one value they care about. They may move in and out of relationships quickly when the situation feels uncomfortable. They are not likely to take man interpersonal risks since they fear rejection themselves. They are warm and become more generous and outgoing in the face of approval. They can become quite hampered by disapproval.

Even when a relationship ends, ESFPs tend to be very respectful of the former partner. They do not want to call undue attention to the breakup and thus move on rather quickly, surrounding themselves with their valued friends.

Profile by David Keirsey

ESFPs radiate attractive warmth and optimism. Smooth, witty, charming, clever, voluble, and open to the environment-this describes ESFPs who, like ESTPs, represent about 13 percent of the population. They are great fun to be with and are the most generous of all the types. Performer would be the word which best describes an ESFP.

ESFPs will avoid being alone and seek the company of others whenever possible. ESFPs easily find company, for others are usually highly entertained by the presence of an ESFP. ESFPs love excitement and create it wherever they are. Their joy of living is contagious and generally they wear happy faces. Often outstanding conversationalists, their flowing banter is amusing in its wit. ESFPs have an air of sophistication and are likely to be dressed in the latest fashion, displaying an enjoyment of all good things of life: dress, food, physical comfort, and happy times. ESFPs create a mood of “eat, drink, and be marry” wherever they go, and around them life can have a continual party-like atmosphere of gaiety.

Career

ESFPs prefer active jobs and should not be given lonely, solitary assignments. Outstanding in public relations, they love working with people. Decisions are made with personal warmth, based on personal reference or reference to significant others. This type relies heavily on their personal experiences and generally show good common sense.

The gregarious sociability and adaptability of ESFPs make them a source of warmth to others. They do not mind telephone or personal interruptions and are verbally facile in both situations. They can be counted on to have accurate data about the people around them, gaining these data through effortless and continuous observations.

ESFPs are not deeply interested in scholastic pursuits, wanting knowledge only for immediate utility. They avoid science and engineering, gravitate toward business, and are adept at selling, particularly selling tangibles. They can be effective in education, especially elementary school teaching, and can enjoy nursing for its drama. They are good at working with people in crisis, a facility which often leads ESFPs into social work. They also enjoy entertaining people and are thus drawn to the performing arts, thriving on the excitement of being in the limelight.

Home

ESFPs make exciting, if somewhat unpredictable mates, which may give quieter type mates some anxiety and tension from living on the edge of adventure. The home of an ESFP is likely to be filled with people all having a good time. Problems will not be allowed to make their appearance. The ESFP accomplishes this by taking an attitude of “walking by the graveyard whistling,” refusing to recognize doom and gloom.

ESFPs can be generous to a fault. What is theirs is yours, and what is yours is yours still. They give assistance to one and all without expectation of a return, just as they love freely without expecting something in return. ESFPs seem to view life as an eternal cornucopia from which flows an endless supply of pleasures that require no effort on their part to insure.

ESFPs’ talent for enjoying life can make them more subject to temptations than are other types. They are inclined to be impulsive, and thus both male and female ESFPs are vulnerable to psychological seduction, if not physical seduction, with an ESFP giving in easily and agreeably to the demands of others. As a parent, the ESFP will be entertaining, a friend, and a source of fun and excitement. When there is sickness, or trouble, however, ESFPs may become impatient and may want to absent themselves.

ESFPs’ tolerance for anxiety is the lowest of all the types. Anxiety is avoided by ignoring the dark side of a situation as long as possible. They are inclined to be somewhat self-indulgent, but, rather than make an outward show of resistance or make waves, ESFPs will give apparent compliance-and then go their own way to what they enjoy.

Midlife

At midlife ESFPs might want to look to building deeper commitments to fewer people and begin setting stable, long-term goals. ESFPs may, by midlife, begin to feel that they are used as a source of fun to others, but are not cared for themselves. This can build resentments. They may want to work at building one or two deep relationships where they are able to show their fears, their sadness, and their anxieties about the future-and still find that they are accepted and loved. They may want to increase their enjoyment of solitude and their repertoire of solitary activities. Extending their reading in “serious” literature or technical works might be one way of doing this.

Mates

There is an affinity of the INTJ “scientist” for the ESFP exciting entertainer. This type of mating, however, is so infrequent as to be a mere academic interest (the INTJ is a mere 1 percent of the population and, furthermore, rarely comes in contact with ESFP). More frequently the ESFP is drawn to the ISTJ “trustor.” Here is the entertaining ESFP, bursting with energy and hankering to put on a show of some kind. More than others the ESFP yearns for the bright lights, the party, the excitement of gatherings. In a sense, the ESFP is the life of the party. How many times have novelist and screenwriter told the story of “the showgirl and the banker” or “the playboy and the owner”? The ESFP wants to liven up this Rock of Gibraltar at the same time he or she wants to be settled down by this very stable and responsible person.

The Performer (ESFP)

As an ESFP, your primary mode of living is focused externally, where you take things in via your five senses in a literal, concrete fashion. Your secondary mode is internal, where you deal with things according to how you feel about them, or how they fit with your personal value system.

ESFPs live in the world of people possibilties. They love people and new experiences. They are lively and fun, and enjoy being the center of attention. They live in the here-and-now, and relish excitement and drama in their lives.

ESFPs have very strong inter-personal skills, and may find themselves in the role of the peacemaker frequently. Since they make decisions by using their personal values, they are usually very sympathetic and concerned for other people’s well-being. They’re usually quite generous and warm. They are very observant about other people, and seem to sense what is wrong with someone before others might, responding warmly with a solution to a practical need. They might not be the best advice-givers in the world, because they dislike theory and future-planning, but they are great for giving practical care.

ESFP is definitely a spontaneous, optimistic individual. They love to have fun. If the ESFP has not developed their Thinking side by giving consideration to rational thought processing, they tend to become over-indulgent, and place more importance on immediate sensation and gratification than on their duties and obligations. They may also avoid looking at long-term consequences of their actions.

For the ESFP, the entire world is a stage. They love to be the center of attention and perform for people. They’re constantly putting on a show for others to entertain them and make them happy. They enjoy stimulating other people’s senses, and are extremely good at it. They would love nothing more than for life to be a continual party, in which they play the role of the fun-loving host.

ESFPs love people, and everybody loves an ESFP. One of their greatest gifts is their general acceptance of everyone. They are upbeat and enthusiastic, and genuinely like almost everybody. An ESFP is unfailingly warm and generous with their friends, and they generally treat everyone as a friend. However, once crosesed, an ESFP is likely to make a very strong and stubborn judgment against the person who crossed them. They are capable of deep dislike in such a situation.

The ESFP under a great deal of stress gets overwhelmed with negatives thoughts and possibilities. As an optimistic individual who lives in the world of possibilities, negative possibilities do not sit well with them. In an effort to combat these thoughts, they’re likely to come up with simple, global statements to explain away the problem. These simplistic explanations may or may not truly get to the nature of the issue, but they serve the ESFP well by allowing them to get over it.

ESFPs are likely to be very practical, although they hate structure and routine. They like to “go with the flow”, trusting in their ability to improvise in any situation presented to them. They learn best with “hands-on” experience, rather than by studying a book. They’re uncomfortable with theory. If an ESFP hasn’t developed their intuitive side, they may tend to avoid situations which involve a lot of theoretical thinking, or which are complex and ambiguous. For this reason, an ESFP may have difficulty in school. On the other hand, the ESFP does extremely well in situations where they’re allowed to learn by interacting with others, or in which they “learn by doing”.

ESFPs have a very well-developed appreciation for aesthetic beauty, and an excellent sense of space and function. If they have the means, they’re likely to have to have many beautiful possessions, and an artfully furnished home. In general, they take great pleasure in objects of aesthetic beauty. They’re likely to have a strong appreciation for the finer things in life, such as good food and good wine.

The ESFP is a great team player. He or she is not likely to create any problems or fuss, and is likely to create the most fun environment possible for getting the task done. ESFPs will do best in careers in which they are able to use their excellent people skills, along with their abilities to meld ideas into structured formats. Since they are fast-paced individuals who like new experiences, they should choose careers which offer or require a lot of diversity, as well as people skills.

ESFPs usually like to feel strongly bonded with other people, and have a connection with animals and small children that is not found in most other types. They’re likely to have a strong appreciation for the beauties of nature as well.

The ESFP has a tremendous love for life, and knows how to have fun. They like to bring others along on their fun-rides, and are typically a lot of fun to be with. They’re flexible, adaptable, genuinely interested in people, and usually kind-hearted. They have a special ability to get a lot of fun out of life, but they need to watch out for the pitfalls associated with living entirely in the moment.

Entertainer (ESTJ)

“Where’s the party?” ESFPs love people, excitement, telling stories and having fun. The spontaneous, impulsive nature of this type is almost always entertaining. And ESFPs love to entertain — on stage, at work, and/or at home. Social gatherings are an energy boost to these “people” people.

SPs sometimes think and talk in more of a spider-web approach. Several of my ESFP friends jump from thought to thought in mid-sentence, touching here or there in a manner that’s almost incoherent to the listener, but will eventually cover the waterfront by skipping on impulse from one piece of information to another. It’s really quite fascinating.

New! ESFPs are attracted to new ideas, new fashions, new gadgets, new ______. Perhaps it’s the newness of life that attracts ESFPs to elementary education, especially to preschool and kindergarten.

ESFPs love to talk to people about people. Some of the most colorful storytellers are ESFPs. Their down-to-earth, often homespun wit reflects a mischievous benevolence.

Almost every ESFP loves to talk. Some can be identified by the twenty minute conversation required to ask or answer a simple factual question.

Judging (ESTJ)

ESTJs thrive on order and continuity. Being extraverted, their focus involves organization of people, which translates into supervision. While ENTJs enjoy organizing and mobilizing people according to their own theories and tactically based agendas, ESTJs are content to enforce “the rules,” often dictated by tradition or handed down from a higher authority.

ESTJs are joiners. They seek out like-minded companions in clubs, civic groups, churches and other service organizations. The need for belonging is woven into the fiber of SJs. The family likewise is a central focus for ESTJs, and attendance at such events as weddings, funerals and family reunions is obligatory.

Tradition is important to the ESTJ. Holidays, birthdays and other annual celebrations are remembered and observed often religiously by this type. The ESTJ is inclined to seek out his roots, to trace the family heritage back to honored ancestors both for a sense of family respectability and for a sense of security and belonging.

Service, the tangible expression of responsibility, is another key focus for ESTJs. They love to provide and to receive good service. The ESTJ merchant who provides dependable service has done much to enhance her self image.

ESTJs have an acute sense for orthodoxy. Much of their evaluation of persons and activities reflects their strong sense of what is “normal” and what isn’t. ESTJ humor is frequently centered around something or someone being off center or behaving abnormally.

ESTJs promote the work ethic. Power, position and prestige should be worked for and earned. Laziness is rarely viewed with ambivalence nor benevolence by this type.

Some men can make decisions and some cannot. Some men fret and delay under criticism. I used to have a saying¹ that applies here, and I note that some people have picked it up.
–Harry S. Truman, Mr. Citizen
¹“If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”

The ESTJ is outspoken, a person of principles, which are readily expressed. The ESTJ is not afraid to stand up for what she believes is right even in the face of overwhelming odds. ESTJs are able to make the tough calls.

Occupations attracting ESTJs include teaching, coaching, banking, political office, and management at all levels.

Functional Analysis:

Extraverted Thinking

ESTJs are very good at making impersonal decisions quickly, and standing by those decisions. They live in their Extraverted Thinking functioning, thus, their prime directive is in discovering that which is true and logical in the events of the real world. Circumstances calling for product invite the ESTJ to supervise or direct other individuals toward production and productivity. Extraverts are attracted to the “object,” the external things and people in observable reality. This bent translates into a natural interest in goods and material objects.

Introverted Sensing

The secondary Introverted Sensing is like that of the ISTJ, but not as strong. Si provides practical form and concept data to the Te head, however, form is not the overriding principle, especially if Thinking has already decided. In times of need, ESTJs are tempted to overlook even necessary information if its absence impedes closure. Secondary sensing sometimes translates into interest in sports. The persistence of primary Thinking gives many ESTJs a desire for discipline and regimen which can be beneficial in skills development in the arena.

Extraverted iNtuition

As the ESTJ matures, and as situations arise which call for suspension of criticism, Extraverted iNtuition is allowed to play. Under the leadership of the Te function, iNtuition gravitates toward the discovery of broad categories which at worst amount to stereotypes. Those ESTJs who hone their Ne abilities may find success in academia. (I’ve encountered ESTJs whose Ne overshadows the auxiliary Si function–for whatever reason–to the extent that there is an appearance of NT radical geekism.)

Introverted Feeling

This function may rarely be expressed. ESTJs who have cultivated, or have been blessed with, a “natural indirect expression of good will by inference,” have great prospects of developing genuine friendships (as opposed to ESTJs who merely act out the behavior of Extraverted Feeling). Such a weak, introverted function is best observed in facial expression, eye contact, body language, and verbally only by implication.