John:  A Stubbornly Independent Researcher

Fortunately for John, he is a good learner in every respect. His experience in his early part-time jobs, including a Mom and Pop store, taught him very quickly that there were many kinds of people in the world, with very different needs and interests. More important for his future, he became very clear about the fact that large parts of his world would not be interested in being remolded closer to his vision. Indeed, he soon found that some parts might get downright hostile about it. Knowing this, he tried to choose a path where his talents would be welcome. Nevertheless, John was who he was and this led to trouble.

He had been an outstanding student in high school, both academically and in athletics and extracurricular activities. He was accepted in a very prestigious university program in genetics and shone there as well. He went on to obtain a doctoral degree in this area and accepted a position as an assistant professor in his area after graduation. This could well have been the beginning of a long but simple story of a scientist quietly doing his work and living out a life of research. But, working in genetics, John soon became intrigued with the possibilities of cloning, and began doing work in this area. He was not interested in cloning whole organisms, whether sheep, rabbits or people, but in cloning embryonic tissue to produce primitive human cells that could be used to create what you might call replacement parts—that is cells that could develop into anything from red blood cells to brain cells. To John, the ultimate ENTJ, this seemed to offer incredible possibilities for combating diseases and healing human beings. Unfortunately, he was employed at a private university that had powerful donors with strong religious opposition to his work. He refused to back down; the university refused to let his research continue.

After ferociously defending his position, without changing any minds, John resigned and went to work at a large public university. For a time, all was well. However, the resistance to cloning and related research that had dogged him before, now became a much more public issue. Before long, federal pressure was placed on the university to stop this line of research, and John’s funding was cancelled. This time, he and several scientist friends resigned together and started their own small genetics firm, naming it Genclone. John became president. Under his leadership, the firm developed several promising gene-related drugs. One of these made them all into wealthy young men. The cloning-related research was not part of this, and is not a moneymaker for them, but John continues to believe that it is the great hope of the future. He has gone on to support it with his own time and money. He has some understanding of the religious opposition to this, but he is deeply convinced that this view is illogical and misguided. In turn, his name continues to be a household swear word for the religious right in America.

As president and chief executive of Genclone, John has become a very successful leader. At the top, he has surrounded himself with people who are much like himself. With those whose view of life is different, John has slowly learned some understanding, and modified his passion for quick decisions and endless changes a little, to better fit the needs of others. In spite of his strong Thinking and Judging drives, he is basically a warm and friendly person. He is respected by virtually all in the company, and liked by many—but not all!

John has been married twice. The first marriage was to a warm, kind college friend who loved life and John, but soon felt overwhelmed by his forceful personality. That marriage dissolved very quickly, by mutual consent. Six years later he married again, this time to a woman whose temperament and interests were much like his own. They talk endlessly together, and occasionally argue strenuously, but both are deeply in love. The marriage has lasted well, and they have two children who fascinate them both.

With John’s strong temperament preferences and interests it would be almost impossible to go through life without controversy. For that matter it would be very hard to go through life without acquiring a fair share of enemies. But John is a good example of something that is especially important for all NTs. As we describe him in our story, he did come to understand his own nature, and how it differed from others, to some degree. This allowed him to be himself and yet find creative solutions to the obstacles he encountered. As you will see, not all of our NT stories describe equally successful outcomes.

 

 

Website Problems??Contact us at nharkey2@gmail.com