User:Grudolp2/sandbox

Gary Rudolph: The Brand

In order to complete this assignment, I asked some friends and family open ended questions about me. I found this to be a good way to find their opinions as it allows them to answer as fully and honestly as possible. For instance, some traits, such as being reserved or quiet, are not necessarily strengths or weaknesses, and can vary by situation. I would first ask the person to describe my personality. Then, I would have them expand on the traits that they associate with me to try to pinpoint if they saw it as a strength or weakness.

Internal Analysis

First and foremost, I am competitive. I see competition as an opportunity to succeed, as there is a clear way to compare performance among participants. Being compared helps to drive me to perform better than my peers. The main activities that I compete in have been my high school bowling team, and Drum Corps International. In my time in these activities, I have bowled a 300 twice, and won the DCI Open Class Championship with the Vanguard Cadets. These achievements took a lot of work and practice, and one of the driving factors of that determination was competition. Being able to say that I win or lose on a certain day helps drive me to perform better on the next day, and to win more often. I see my competitiveness as a strength, however it also can be a weakness in certain situations.

My biggest weakness is procrastination. I like to work efficiently, with few interruptions. When I have a large project, I like to commit an entire day (usually the last day) to do it, rather than spread it out over time. I believe that my time is spent as more focused, but I am still taking a risk by starting late. I believe this weakness actually ties into my competitiveness, because I am only in competition with myself to finish a task on time. There isn't a way to determine whose work is better simply by the schedule they use to complete it. Since this aspect of long term goals is generally subjective, I take advantage and put the work off as long as I can.

On the strengths side, I am very optimistic. I try to consider the positives of any situation, and find what I can take out of it. I am rarely ever lose my temper, and can maintain a pretty happy mood even when things aren't going my way. I believe this helps with my competitiveness, as it lets me be competitive without getting down on myself when I lose. I see a loss as an opportunity to learn as opposed to a failure. I try to be humorous with friends and lift their moods, and I believe that other people are happy to spend time with me in part due to my positive outlook.

My last distinguishing trait is that I am reserved. I am very in control of my emotions and tend to be quiet when not directly addressed. I see this as a strength, because many people ruin relationships or get in arguments over things that are said impulsively. This never happens for me, because I am very thoughtful about what I say and when I say it. In some cases, this can turn into a weakness, where I fail to take initiative and meet a new person, or miss an opportunity. It is hard to judge how often this happens, and whether this trait is an overall positive for me, but I view it as a strength.

External Analysis

The main trait that others associate with me is that I am quiet. I tend to listen more than I speak, and lead by example instead of power. In large groups, such as marching band rehearsals, this trait is a strength and helps maintain a good rehearsal environment. However, others find that my quietness is a weakness is social situations with smaller groups. By being less open, there is less to talk about, and it is hard to make strong connections with new people. With friends I am already close to, I am more open and it is not really an issue.

Another trait that people mentioned frequently was that I am a positive person. I tend to not get down on myself too often, and encourage others to have a good attitude as well. Many of my friends find that they are happy when they spend time with me, even if their day was going fairly bad. One of my friends specifically mentioned that he likes practicing with me for drumline because even when we are not sounding good, I stay positive and focus on improvement.

The last thing that people agreed upon was that I am very polarized in my motivation. When I am working on something that is due soon, or something that I am passionate about, I work incredibly hard and find success very often. However, when deadlines are not near, and the work is boring, I tend to be lazy about the work. Many of my drumline friends found this as a strength, as they know my ambition with improving my musical abilities. However, my parents were the ones to bring up the laziness, as they were the ones who encouraged me through high school.

Congruence

I found a large amount of congruence between my internal analysis and the opinions of others. I think that the reason for this is that I am very close with my friends, and generally discuss my personality with them occasionally. Prior to doing this assignment, I have, at least in some way, already learned how others perceive me, and took those ideas as truth. Even if I would like to be something I am not, or at least adjust others' perception of me, the reality is that their perception is the truth in the end, and I have learned to accept that.

To start off, everyone agreed that I am a quiet person. I don't really care to talk much about myself, and I like to reserve my thoughts if they are not necessary to be said. I was not at all surprised by this, but it was reassuring to know that my opinion matched that of others. Next, my optimism was a common opinion. It seemed to be that my friends were the ones who tended to state this, as my parents likely were the ones who passed that trait to me and hadn't taken note of it. I think that my upbringing could have been a strong influencing factor in me becoming a positive person.

In terms of things not lining up, my motivation was a sort of controversial topic. Like I mentioned, I procrastinate a lot, but I am also competitive. As others mentioned, I am very polarized in my work ethic. Even though these things are not necessarily the same, I believe that they all revolve around the same idea. I have a lot of potential for quality focus and efficiency, but when I don't feel motivated to put forth the effort, the other side is just as extreme. My competitiveness and passion for music help drive me to perform well, but I fall back in areas that are outside my realm of interest.

Feature-Benefit

My personality is mildly unorthodox, in that I am optimistic but also introverted and quiet. Similarly, my work ethic is also a pair of opposites. I believe that having these typically opposing traits allows me to provide a wide range of benefits to those who interact with me. First, my competitiveness. When I am placed on a team, I will never be the least productive member. Additionally, I will want my team to do well against other teams. My competitiveness drives me to be an outstanding member, as well as an outstanding leader. I will always try to perform well enough to stand out, in whatever position I am given. Next, my procrastination. Even though procrastinating has left me in some tough situations, it has also taught me how to work incredibly efficiency. Whenever I work on something that I am passionate about, I work with the focus and efficiency like I am in my last minutes to finish a daunting project. Except when I am passionate, I work from the very start until the job is done. I tend to finish tasks ahead of schedule with quality. As previously mentioned, my optimism and quietness are not a typical pair. My optimism and humor helps lighten the mood with others and keep me feeling positive when I am faced with a difficult task. Typically, this comes with being extroverted, however I provide a different benefit with my reservation. I am an incredibly good listener and learner. When my attention is on something, I will not fail at whatever it is. I learn quickly, I work quickly, and I perform well. I believe this is a result of my reservation, as I am able to focus on things other than myself and what I already know.