In this solo episode of the No Days Off podcast, host Brian Gubernick explains the Myers‑Briggs distinction between Thinkers and Feelers and why it matters for business influence. He defines each type’s decision‑making style—Thinkers rely on logic, data, and objective analysis, while Feelers prioritize values, relationships, and the human impact of decisions. Brian illustrates the concepts with well‑known leaders (Elon Musk, Steve Jobs as Thinkers; Oprah Winfrey, Princess Diana, Howard Schultz, Richard Branson as Feelers) and highlights the language cues that reveal each type. He then offers concrete tactics for working with each personality: bring facts, clarity, and directness when dealing with Thinkers; show empathy, highlight people‑impact, and align with values when dealing with Feelers. The episode stresses that mismatches cost trust and influence, and that effective leaders must flex between logic and empathy. Brian ends with a listener challenge to identify a Thinker and a Feeler in one’s environment, adapt communication style accordingly, and reflect on the outcomes.
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Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast, where we believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. In Myers-Briggs, the, the personality assessment and evaluation, one of the most important distinguish— distinctions is between thinkers and, and feelers. It's not really about who's smarter or who cares more. It's about how people make decisions. Thinkers have a tendency to rely on logic and objective analysis. Feelers, on the other hand, prioritize values and the impact on people. In business, I think this difference shows up Everywhere. It shows up in negotiations. It shows up in leadership, hiring, in sales, in sales conversion, even in conflict resolution. If you do not understand whether someone is a thinker or a feeler, you'll constantly miss the mark in how you work with them. So today I want to spend some time on understanding thinkers and feelers. How to identify them, how to work with them, how to win their favor. Now, thinkers. Thinkers will often ask things like, "Does this make sense?" They will have a tendency to zero in on facts and on data or flaws in reasoning. They love poking holes. They use debate to sharpen ideas, not to hurt feelings. A good example of a thinker that we all know, love him or hate him, is Elon Musk. Guy is super analytical, very blunt, more focused on whether the numbers and engineering add up than he is on how people feel about the delivery. Feelers, on the other hand, will often ask, how will this affect people? Feelers will often focus on harmony and fairness and relationships. Feelers tend to avoid conflict if they think it might hurt someone. I don't know her all that well, or I don't know her at all actually, but certainly read about her and, and watched her many a time. Think of Oprah Winfrey. She's empathetic, she's values-driven, seems like she's always focused on how decisions and stories impact people's lives. So when you think about thinkers and feelers, listen to the language that they use. A thinker says, "This doesn't add up," but a feeler says, "This doesn't feel right." Now, when you think around thinkers and feelers, you got to consider how each of them makes decisions. Thinkers weigh pros and cons. They look for consistency. They want the most logical outcome. There's less emotion involved. I would say, I would say they're less swayed by emotions than most anybody else. Steve Jobs is a really, really good example of this. He was pretty well known for how demanding and hyper-focused on logic and precision he happened to be. Precision in design, sometimes at the cost of people's feelings. Feelers make decisions by first asking what's right for the people involved. They'll lean towards preserving relationships, making sure no one is left behind. Someone— I don't know why she comes to mind for this, but I think about Princess Diana. Many of our listeners may have no idea who I'm talking about, but Princess Diana was known for this empathy. For this caring towards others. Howard Schultz from Starbucks is probably another good example. These are leaders who emphasize compassion and values as central to their decision-making. Now, neither, neither is better, but in business, friction happens when one side doesn't recognize the other's process. So, how can we work with thinkers? Let's take a minute or two, talk about how to better work with thinkers. If you're working with a thinker, be sure to come prepared with facts, logic, and very clear reasoning. In addition, be direct, be concise, don't dance around. Lastly, don't take it personally if they critique your ideas. It's their way of testing those ideas. It's not a personal thing. They're just challenging the ideas. Thinkers really respect competence and clarity. Jeff Bezos, prime example. He expected his executives to defend ideas with data and not just with enthusiasm. On the flip side, we have feelers. How do you best work with feelers? If you're working with a feeler, You better be sure that you're showing empathy and genuine care. If you're not, you're going to strike out. In addition, aim to highlight the human impact of decisions. And then lastly, avoid bulldozing them with raw data. Connect the data to what it means for people. Feelers respect kindness, and, and they especially respect alignment with values. Leaders like Richard Branson is a really good one, classic example, because Richard was all about building culture around fun, people, purpose. That's, that's what, that's what feelers are working towards. All of this, I think, really matters in business. If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, if you want to build a successful business, you got to understand people. You got to understand how to relate to people, how to influence people. And how everybody is different. Everybody is unique. Misalignment with respect to personalities and all, it costs leaders deals, it costs leaders trust, costs them influence. Picture a sales guy or girl pitching only with spreadsheets to a feeler. They're gonna lose. Picture a manager trying to appeal only to Harmony with a, with a thinker, they're going to frustrate that thinker. The best leaders flex. They understand the nuances here and, and, and how each one of these individuals is a bit different. They can shift gears. They use logic with thinkers. They use empathy with feelers. To me, that's real leadership. That's real influence. So to recap, thinkers decide with logic. Feelers decide with values and people. Work with thinkers by bringing clarity and structure and reasoning, and work with feelers by showing empathy, fairness, and impact. Here's what I wanna challenge you to do this week. I want you to spot one thinker and spot one feeler in your world and just pay attention to their language. And then in your next meeting with these individuals, flex your approach. When you're meeting with that thinker, lead a bit more with logic. And when you're meeting with the feeler, lead a bit more with empathy. After you do all this, reflect, reflect afterward. How did they respond differently when you tailored your style? In business, influence really does come down to connection. And I think connection comes from knowing how the other person makes decisions. That's all I have for you today, the No Days Off Podcast. Thank you so much for listening, and remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it.
