Ben Morton recalls working with managing director Richard, whose instant ideas and client energy complemented Ben's quiet thinking. Richard spoke first and built momentum; Ben used that space to develop deeper insights. Their opposite processing styles made them a stronger team.
I saw this play out for many years early in my consultancy career. The managing director of the company I worked for at the time, who's now a very close friend, is a strong external processor, whereas me, on the other hand, I'm a very strong internal processor. So we'd go to new client or sales meetings together, sit down and listen to the client explain to us the challenges they were facing and the outcomes they were hoping to achieve. As an external thinker, Richard could respond instantly. He would share all of his ideas, suggestions, and the ways we could possibly help, and that made us a brilliant pairing in those meetings. The client instantly got energy and momentum, and Richard's ability to externally process bought me valuable time.
