Portrait
of the Mastermind (iNTj)
[ It's
Not Thoroughly Justified ]
Of
the four aspects of strategic analysis and definition it is the
contingency planning or entailment organizing role that reaches
the highest development in iNTjs. Entailing or contingency planning
is not an informative activity, rather it is a directive one in
which the planner tells others what to do and in what order to do
it. As the organizing capabilities the iNTjs increase so does their
inclination to take charge of whatever is going on.
It is
in their abilities that iNTjs differ from the other NTs, while in
most of their attitudes they are just like the others. However, there
is one attitude that sets them apart from other NTs: they tend to
be much more self-confident than the rest, having, for obscure reasons,
developed a very strong will. They are rather rare, comprising no
more than, say, one percent of the population. Being very judicious,
decisions come naturally to them; indeed, they can hardly rest until
they have things settled, decided, and set. They are the people who
are able to formulate coherent and comprehensive contingency plans,
hence contingency organizers or "entailers."
iNTjs
will adopt ideas only if they are useful, which is to say if they
work efficiently toward accomplishing the iNTj's well-defined goals.
Natural leaders, iNTjs are not at all eager to take command of projects
or groups, preferring to stay in the background until others demonstrate
their inability to lead. Once in charge, however, iNTjs are the supreme
pragmatists, seeing reality as a crucible for refining their strategies
for goal-directed action. In a sense, iNTjs approach reality as they
would a giant chess board, always seeking strategies that have a high
payoff, and always devising contingency plans in case of error or
adversity.
To the
iNTj, organizational structure and operational procedures are never
arbitrary, never set in concrete, but are quite malleable and can
be changed, improved, streamlined. In their drive for efficient action,
iNTjs are the most open-minded of all the types. No idea is too far-fetched
to be entertained-if it is useful. iNTjs are natural brainstormers,
always open to new concepts and, in fact, aggressively seeking them.
They are also alert to the consequences of applying new ideas or positions.
Theories which cannot be made to work are quickly discarded by the
iNTjs. On the other hand, iNTjs can be quite ruthless in implementing
effective ideas, seldom counting personal cost in terms of time and
energy.