for reference: personalityjunkie.com
Going back to your conversation from Last Tuesday about why you couldn't understand Stugotz and Greg's dislike of basketball metrics, I may have some insight:
Cognitively, the three of you are wired completely differently.
Dan, you are an extroverted intuitive. Seeking out new information is such a natural part of your process in everything you do in life, and it doesn't make any sense to you to not know everything possible about the things that interest you. In terms of Myers-Briggs Typology, you are either an ENFP or an ESTJ (I believe the latter).
Stugotz, on the other hand, is an introverted intuitive. For him, most things simply are the way they are and require no further explanation.
Now, you laughed when Stugotz said that he doesn't need the extra information because he's a classic over-thinker. I believe Stugotz is either an INTJ or an ENTJ, which might explain that. Being an introverted intuitive, his brain is always trying to reconcile what is happening in his world as he develops and creates his perspective. Even though Stugotz never has a problem telling you what's on his mind, he probably doesn't share the deepest stuff in his brain most of the time.
Introverted intuition is what has helped Stugotz stick with you for all these years; you guys are both extroverted thinkers, so you've probably had your share of arguments, but his introverted intuition helped him to see that teaming with you was his way to the top, even though it meant being the but end of every joke for 12 years (or however long it's been).
The LeBron James tie-in? I thought you'd never ask . . .
Extroverted thinking is thinking out loud, group thinking, and problem-solving. Big concepts. It's what tends to make successful people successful. Extroverted thinking says "I'm going to fix/solve this, and I'm gonna win at whatever I'm doing", whether it be arguments, projects, whatever.
In Basketball, we call extroverted thinking "killer instinct."
Kobe Bryant is an extroverted thinker. He cares less about how you feel and more about winning. He doesn't normally manipulate; he typically just comes right out and tells you that you're terrible and needs you to be better so that he can win. Not caring how you feel is also a function of introverted feeling (generally speaking, introverted feeling is the inability to show anything other than what you actually feel or do anything that betrays that). He is an ESTP.
LeBron James is an introverted thinker. Introverted thinkers are extremely detail oriented (instead of big picture). It is the reason why LeBron has been so much more efficient in his scoring and gameplay than Kobe during his career. He has studied the details down to how to do what he does the best way possible. He is an ESFP.
The problem for LeBron is that he is also an extroverted feeler. Extroverted feelers not only care about how you feel, but they also care how you feel about them (Kobe never has).
LeBron has always been affected by public opinion and portrayal, as is evident in 2 things: 1) how he responds whenever the press tell him about something someone said about him, and 2) how he always has his greatest performance streaks at times when people doubt his being the best player in the league. The best example? LeBron's streak where he was shooting 60% for a month came when people really started to say that Durant had passed him as the best player in the league.
So for that reason, a prediction: The Cavs will in game 1, and LeBron's line will be something ridiculous like 40-8-13 on 65% shooting. It will be an emotional response to being doubted. They will not win the series, however, because there will be an emotional let-up once they are ahead in the series (They'll lose in 6).
Kobe and Jordan simply played their hardest all the time because they are wired to win at everything at all times. LeBron does his best in response to emotional stimulus, and that is the difference. If LeBron were an extraverted thinker (and ESTP), and had played with that same attitude that Kobe and Jordan played with all the time, he would have been the greatest player of all time hands down!
Anyway, thanks for listening, Dan. Hit me up if you want to talk about this some more: proofofpower@gmail.com
