This is the last article in a series of four about the great fortune of having a boss of each of the four Colors. To read the first three articles on Green, Gold, and Blue BOSSES, click on the Archives link on the left.
This week is Orange - the Artisan, The Tactician. Orange Artisans care most about personal freedom - seeking action, getting things done, being skillful, and enjoying competition.
Orange folks are performers, composers, promoters and craftsmen. They are sales folk, entertainers, artists, athletes, entrepreneurs, excellent negotiators, politicians and so much more. A number of recent U.S. Presidents have been Orange: Kennedy, Johnson, Reagan, Clinton, and Bush Jr. Orange celebrities are many who include Madonna, Donald Trump, Erin Brockovich, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Lopez, and Charlie Sheen.
You are LUCKY to have an Orange boss for many reasons. What follows are nine reasons to be glad you get to work for the Orange boss above you.
1. Orange bosses are not afraid to put out fires and make quick changes. They are tacticians, i.e., they think fast and move fast.
2. Orange bosses tend to run circles around everybody else, get things done, and probably love to multitask.
3. Orange folks live in the NOW - and they are ready to tackle what is directly in front of them. They are people of action and ready to make a decision when others might tend to put off immediate action.
4. Orange bosses make great negotiators because they are utilitarian thinkers. Their first question is, "What works?" More than the other Colors, they are able to put everything on the table, including sacred cows of the past and contracts defining the future.
5. If you like to win, Orange bosses thrive on competition and hate to lose. The phrase "whatever it takes" was probably coined by an Orange person.
6. When a situation calls for change - even an about-face - an Orange boss will not usually brood about looking stupid. Again, they are thinking "whatever it takes."
7. Orange bosses do not like waiting around or wasting motion - nor want the employees spinning their wheels. They want to move now, and you along with them.
8. Like savvy professional coaches, Orange bosses are usually good at assessing who in the organization is a best fit on the team for getting specific tasks done. Orange bosses can be effective listeners, quick reactors, and enthusiastic supporters of their team members
9. Orange bosses will take risks when nobody else will.
