segmentation of people by work habits

I previously wrote about how marketing is really the study of stereotypes and I wanted to explore that idea a little further. Another thing I learned in my marketing class was about market segmentation and that can be applied to just about anything. Specifically, I was thinking about the dynamics of working in a group. Whether it be a group project for school or at work, choosing group members who are in the same segment as you will reduce tension and improve your working relationships.

From what I've observed, there are four segments of students/workers.

The Idiot Slacker - This type of person is both lazy and dumb. They don't try very hard but it's almost irrelevant because they simply don't have the mental capacity to perform at the level required. They are by far the worst type of people to have in your group because they provide no value.

The "A for Effort" Person - This person isn't too bright but they sure do work hard. They are willing to dedicate time and effort to a project but their intellectual contributions to the group are low. These people aren't bad to have in your group because you can help get them up to speed and they're willing to learn.

The Brainiac Slacker - This person is smart, but they are also somewhat lazy. (I tend worry that I'm in this group.) These people are typically characterized by their desire to be very efficient in their work and only put in the minimum effort to get a good result. The always look for the easiest solutions. Luckily, since they're smart they can use this to their advantage and they usually don't need to put in too much effort. These folks don't have a lot of patience for those who slow down the group if they don't understand or can't do things as quickly.

The Overachievers - These people are both smart and hard working. They make up the majority of the people in MBA programs or at top employers. Since they're bright, they understand complex topics quickly and are willing to go the extra mile to produce stellar work even if that means working 80 hour weeks or meeting with a school project group 7 days a week. Their standards are exceptionally high and they push others in the group to meet those same high standards.

Problems arise when you have different segments working together. For example, the brainiac slackers don't like to work with the idiots or the "A for efforts" because they don't have the patience for them. But they also don't like to work with the overachievers because they don't want to put in all the extra work. The overachievers are frustrated by the both the brainiac and idiot slackers because they feel like they aren't trying very hard. But they are typically aligned with the "A for efforts" because both types are willing to put in a lot of time on the project. The "A for efforts" typically get frustrated because they're trying so hard but are often being disregarded by the smarter people in the group. And nobody really likes working with the idiot slackers but they don't really care because they're happy to coast by on everyone else's work.

That's my simplistic view of the different types of people you might encounter when working on a group project. My recommendation is to try to find people similar to yourself.