Do you know someone with a Type A personality? Someone who goes by the numbers, makes decisions based on logic, evidence, facts, quantifiable data? Sure...we all know someone like this, or are that person ourselves. Type A's are not dreamers. They get stuff done, line ducks up, plan and react methodically. At different times in my life, I have vacillated between the two types. Playing the violin, though you might think is a dreamer's avocation, takes a very methodical discipline. There's nothing dreamy about sitting in a room for 3 hours playing the same 13 notes over and over and over again. Burying my head in books for 3.5 years getting a BA in English is where my type B really came out. It was a fun degree!
I don't mean to get too off topic, though. I want to talk about the necessity of dreaming. An example:
At work, we're going through a growth/change period of taking a look more closely at numbers, metrics, quantifiable goals, and the like. It's something that my company hasn't done to this degree before, and I have to admit there is a lot of comfort in knowing what the exact target is for a particular week, quarter, year, or individual. Spreadsheeting a job, or your life for that matter, makes it more accessible, tangible, and therefore controllable. Life is easier when you can define it.
On the flip side of things, I keep remembering how my company was created. My boss had an idea for something that didn't exist yet. He took out way too much personal debt, asked family and friends to believe in him and loan him money, and he created something that didn't really take off for a while. It eventually became an INC 500 company and now enjoys a good reputation within the software world. After 10 years of being in business, it is only now that we are implementing the Type A stuff. It wasn't spreadsheets, hard targets and data that got Capterra where it is today...it was essentially a bit of dreaming.
Now that the dream has proven itself more than fleeting, enter Type A. It's a good, worthy dream, so let's turn into work horses and make this dream a little more tangible. Some call this type of activity "growing up," or "being more serious." I would put forth that the true grown up stuff is recognizing the necessity of both the dream and the implementation. Recognizing that they each have their own time and role, neither of which less or more important than the other's.
A lot could be written here, but for brevity I'll just end with a thought. Even when you want to stick to the comfort of data and facts, don't forget to dream a bit - something good usually comes out of it.
