Steve Jobs and Tim Cook: Introvert-Extrovert Partnership?

I just came across this article by Ian Heller on introvert-extrovert partnerships in business and would love to know your opinon.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about these partnerships — I’m convinced they are the way of the future (and to some extent, of the past, as the article points out).

Have you been a member of these partnerships? Have you witnessed them in action?

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Posted on October 13th, 2011

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3 Comments

Tom C on 12.10.2011 at 09:12 (Reply)

Alice Dendinger Alliance Group posits 4 types: Creator, Advancer, Refiner and Executor. The advancer is the person that coordinates resources, manages interactions and moves the ball forward.

I think the successful pairing of Introvert/Extrovert (and/or MBTI balancing) would be an excellent hypothesis to test.

I believe creativity is a very personal quality (intovert). I am not yet convinced about the creativity of crowd-sourcing, which I liken to committee and group-think.

Finally, “cheerleader” carries too much baggage as a moniker.
Sarah M on 13.10.2011 at 09:51 (Reply)

I couldn’t agree more with the previous comment regarding the term “cheerleader” – it has negative associations that are not helpful. All though I am intrigued by the concept of an introvert/extrovert team. My colleague and I fit this description and for the most part it is a very successful team. The essential piece is that everyone is very open about the differences of the two and are able to name the others giftedness even if they are very different!
Darren on 14.10.2011 at 02:18 (Reply)

Whilst I am an extreme introvert, one of my few close friends is a former colleague who is an extreme extrovert. When we worked together we made an incredibly efficient and successful partnership.

When my introversion made me reluctant to do things (hold group training sessions etc) she would ‘persuade’ me to get on with it. Whereas she tended to over-react to things without thinking her response through first and I could usually get her to take a step back and think before acting. Our partnership ended when she moved to a new job 4 years ago and we miss each other greatly.

I feel a partnership where a creative introvert comes up with ideas and an extrovert partner implements or markets them is probably the ideal as it makes use of the strengths of both personality types.

Of course, the lady concerned did drive me mad occasionally – getting a work related call as I was eating my breakfast at home at 6:30 am was never welcome…..