What is your major malfunction?

December 17, 2009 What is your major malfunction?

I’m paranoid about being late.

P-a-r-a-n-o-i-d.

I turn up to events early. I’m the first person through the door, when the host is still in the shower and the vacuum cleaner’s on the floor in the living room. I go to meetings and then sit in the foyer for 20 minutes. I have an in-depth and personal knowledge of the holding rooms at many large organisations. I get to Gioco before it opens, and then wait for Serge to arrive so I can have my coffee.

I’m early, is what I’m saying, perpetually early.

Before I had my problem in hand, I was very very difficult to travel with; airports are places of pretty high stress for me. One would not want to miss the plane.

However, or indeed perhaps because, I’m a tender writer. Tender writers need to be paranoid about being late. Tender writers need to have a giant red flashing countdown clock in the back of their brain that tells them how long until they need to start printing.

In this instance, then, I have been successful (whether by design or by accident can wait for another post) in turning my weakness into something I can use in a business context.

I know other people who are hopelessly addicted to reading (librarians), who have an aversion to mismatched colours (graphic designers) and folks who never quite got over playing with lego (mechanical engineers).

What’s your malfunction, and how do you use it for the benefit of you and your clients?

Advertisement

• 2 comments
• Posted under Questions