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Speaker Sizes Up Local Workers

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By CARL ORTH, The Suncoast News

Published: January 30, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - Life would be easy if it weren't for other people, Connie Podesta quips.

The motivational speaker and author characterizes herself as a standup comedian and therapist.

Monday she was the center of attention at the opening luncheon for the 2008 Business Development Week, put on by the West Pasco Chamber of Commerce.

"Therapy isn't a weakness," she began. "Therapy is identifying that you could do something better."

She poked fun at the quirks of four employee personality types that she calls the squares, triangles, circles and squiggly lines.

The squares are detailed, structured and the "most stubborn group." They live by their personal digital assistants and daily to-do lists.

They're also the hardest-working people in the community, Podesta said, but aren't always team-oriented.

The triangle personality is detailed and organized to a "sick, compulsive level," she joked. They have a short attention span.

Triangles "ask 90 percent of the world's questions" because they're the most curious people, Podesta said. Just don't expect them to admit they might be wrong.

Circles are "party people." Podesta estimated that two-thirds of the circles in the luncheon audience are in sales.

Socializers and peacemakers, they tend to be workaholics and view themselves as martyrs because they can't say no.

Podesta is a squiggly line, a creative person who dreams up lots of ideas and thinks outside the proverbial box.

But squiggles aren't terribly organized, she said. They might buy a BlackBerry, for example, but they can't figure out how to use it.

Instead, they rely on a "maze of Post-It notes" to make it through the day.

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