I’ve been thinking about Mike Manos’s post on When Worlds Collide.

Chiller-Side Chats: When Worlds Collide

May 14, 2009 by mmanos

To most outsiders the datacenter industry may seem to be quite parochial. A niche blend at the intersection of building and IT technologies. Even to many senior business managers both of these areas in and of themselves are not necessarily considered business critical. As such, little if any time is spent concentrating on the issues this space. That is of course until it becomes business critical. At that time many business managers struggle to navigate this complex world. That complexity can drive frustration, confusion, and is prone to misinformation ultimately leading to bad business decisions. In many cases it might even be the first time they speak to those in the organization responsible for these assets.

What seems like a difficulty is the fact that the different parties have distinctly different personalities. But, even deeper is these groups communicate in different ways. So, if you don’t have common ways to communicate how can you work together?

Here are some character archetypes to think about

The Architect.

THE ARCHITECT is reserved, creative, intellectual, and adaptable. They are also considered to be the most logical of the character types. They are particularly well suited to occupations such as mediators, musicians and strategic planners.

THE ARCHITECT’s strongest personality indicators are in introversion, intuition, thinking and perception. Some areas may be more pronounced than others. The following information contains a broad description of the character's individual personality components.

The Engineer.

THE WIZARD is autonomous, imaginative, logical and organized. They are also considered the most independent of the character types. They are particularly well suited to occupations such as engineers, planners and publishers.

THE WIZARD is a magical concoction of introversion, intuition, thinking and judgment. Some areas may be more pronounced than others. The following information contains a broad description of THE WIZARD'S individual personality ingredients.

The Manager/Executive.

THE OVERSEER is friendly, realistic, analytical and organized. They are the most driven and enthusiastic of the character types. They are particularly well suited to occupations such as executives, analysts and managers.

THE OVERSEER’S strongest personality indicators are in extroversion, sensing, thinking and judgment. Some areas may be more pronounced than others. The following information contains a broad description of their individual character ingredients.

The Real Estate and Facilities.

THE LOYALIST is talkative, practical, empathetic and decisive. They are also the most harmonious of character types. They are particularly well suited to occupations such as counselors, coaches and nurses.

THE LOYALIST 'S strongest personality indicators are in extroversion, sensing, feeling and judgment. Some areas may be more pronounced than others. The following information contains a broad description of the individual characteristics.

The Accountant.

THE DEFENDER is cautious, hard working, thoughtful and careful. Of the character types, they are the most dedicated to their causes and relationships. They are particularly well suited as health care technicians, accountants and customer service representatives.

THE DEFENDER'S strongest personality indicators are in introversion, sensing, feeling and judgment. Some areas may be more pronounced than others. The following information contains a broad description of their character components.

What is missing is the character “the Modeler” a person who is abstracting and characterizing these different groups to create a common language.

I’ll write more on this, and this is just a starting point.