I’ve never had a problem with dining alone, especially if I have something to read. It’s actually a pleasant way to recharge, be intentional about enjoying my food, people watch and eavesdrop (shhh!). The only sucky part about dining alone is the greeter who says, “Only one of you today?” while looking at me with upraised eyebrows that hint at a touch of pity.
But those days are over, thanks to “Invite for a Bite”! The launch of this new site provoked some serious conversation on Facebook, as well as inspired a few tips for people who see “Table for One” as the kiss of death.
A friend wrote this on my Facebook wall over the weekend: “How is shyness different than introversion, especially when you’re a solopreneur?”
Great question! In this blog post, I explore the differences between introversion and shyness, and offer up the radical idea that being an introvert might actually HELP someone overcome shyness.
A few weeks ago, NPR ran a story about the “slow internet movement,” describing internet cafes that charged 99¢ an hour for you to plug your laptop into an old-fashioned modem and experience the World Wide Wait from the 90s all over again. And I’d forgotten about the story until yesterday, when someone at a training I was facilitating offered up an interesting metaphor. He said that introverts process information more slowly, like a dial-up modem. I thought that was a brilliant comparison, and shared it on Facebook – that’s when the fun really began…
“Why can’t they just figure it out on their own?” “What is taking him so long?!” “Why does she keep talking about stuff she doesn’t know about?” “Why can’t we ever have a productive team meeting?”
Do any of these laments sound familiar?!?
In the typical workplace, there are a wide range of personality types, all trying to accomplish the same thing but having very different ways of doing it. We often label others as “control freaks” or “fly by the seat of her pants” types, sometimes using even less flattering terminology. Informing those behaviors is a core personality trait – being introverted or extroverted – that points to whether we prefer to have lots of space or be rapid fire.
Last week, I attended a workshop about how to create a compelling business vision and purpose. As part of the process, we were asked to name our core values, going so far as to narrow it down to one, unshakable value that we held near and dear.
Even when faced with a long list of lovely words, such as abundance, creativity, excellence, innovation, quality and winning (Ha – I’ll never look at that word the same way again – thanks a lot, Mr. Sheen), I found it simple to name my #1 value. Here’s how that value flies in the face of conventional wisdom.
