It's Not Easy Being Green

Editorial Comment - Reprinted from Alaska Airlines Magazine, May 1997

John F. Kelly
Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer
Alaska Airlines

Bill's a great guy. And very easygoing. But he was obviously getting frustrated. He very clearly wanted more information and more time. Only four minutes to complete the project? Impossible! Picking away with one finger at the disparate items on the table, he tried desperately to establish some sense of order.

Dave, on the other hand, had his head down, basically ignoring the fine sense of order that Bill was trying to create. Dave just methodically continued building, piece by piece.

Robin, ever helpful and full of ideas, looked on and offered suggestions. But she kept her hands off the materials. Dave listened, but didn't seem to hear. After all, he was busy building. Bill listened and responded, but he too kept busy with his need to separate items into categories.

Time was running out. They only had seconds left to build their "aircraft of the future" from the unusual materials provided them. Then the buzzer rang. Bill couldn't believe they had but 30 seconds to develop a presentation to us about what they had built and why.

Robin was either elected spokesperson or just assumed the role. But she did a fine job of explaining their or perhaps I should say Dave's creation. In fact, she didn't just explain it, she sold it to us. With great enthusiasm.

It was a fun experiment for those of us in the audience to watch. But we weren't watching it for fun; we were watching to see if Kathy Kolbe really could predict how each of them would behave. And she did. Amazingly. Especially considering she didn't know them.

Now, Kathy isn't a psychic. Nor a magician. But she does understand basic instincts. In fact, she wrote the book. Literally. Her company, Kolbe Corp, is devoted to helping people understand their instincts, and she has written two books on the subject, Pure Instinct and The Conative Connection.

If you're having a difficult time remembering the definition of "conative", rest easy, because it's not just you. As Kathy points out in her book, it's one of the 1,000 most obscure words in the english language, but it does fit. Conation (koh nay shun) is the part of our minds that has to do with desire, volition and striving, the way we act on instinct. And "conative" (KOHN uh tiv) describes anything relating to conation. Got it?

Actually, it's not difficult. Kathy's studies led her to focus on how people actually succeeded, as opposed to how well they followed instructions. As she says, "I discovered that achievement multiplied when individuals of any age or status were able to use their knacks for getting things done." In other words, she found out that "I will" can be more important than IQ.

Conation, or drive, is your knack for getting things done, which is separate from intelligence or personality type. While intelligence helps you determine a wise choice, and emotions dictate what you'd like to buy, nothing happens until your instincts kick in and you get conative. That's where the action comes from, and that's when you put your money on the table.

Kathy found that there were four sets of conative behaviors, or what she called Action Modes®. Kathy describes them as:

Fact Finder: The instinct to probe. Precise, judicious and thorough, this mode deals with detail and complexity, seeking to be both objective and appropriate.

Follow Thru: The instinct to pattern. Methodical and systematic, this mode is focused and structured, and brings order and efficiency.

Quick Start: The instinct to innovate. With an affinity toward risk, this mode is spontaneous and intuitive, flexible and fluent with ideas.

Implementor: The instinct to demonstrate. Hands-on, craft-oriented, this mode brings tangible quality to actions.

These modes are depicted graphically on her index by varying-size color bars red, blue, green and yellow. As for me, I have a long green line, signifying a Quick Start. But all three of the other lines are short. It's not easy being green, at least not that green, but I must admit it is me. Quick Starts are energized by having many things happening at once, and are highly intuitive. But we tend to wait to the last minute, and we resist getting bogged down in the details. Life with us is go, go, go.

Here's the good news, though: We're all perfect. That's right. And everyone acts through all four modes. But the intensities are different within each of us. Your natural instinct is perfect, and Kathy's concept doesn't try to change you, it helps you focus on your natural instincts.

Her Kolbe Index™, a 36-question instrument, determines what percent you have in each of the modes, and therefore how best to harness your individual power. The experiment with Bill, Dave and Robin proved to all of us in the audience just how strong those instincts can be. Imagine how beneficial it would be to not only understand your particular strengths, but to marry them with the strengths others bring to a team. That's part of the conative connection.

Bottom line, this is about trusting your instincts and trusting the instincts of the people around you. So the next time you're pulling your hair out because the Bills, Daves and Robins of the world aren't doing it the way you think it should be done, lighten up: Everyone brings something positive to the table as long as they have freedom to be themselves.