Variable Decision-Making Approach

In relationships, Variable Approach individuals make decisions on a situational basis, delaying unfamiliar options or quickly embracing known solutions. If we have left parental imprinting behind, we are typically fluid and hard to categorize. We usually feel uncomfortable with not having an answer or solution to a problem, and therefore sometimes take the first solution offered. This is more flexible and fluid than closed-down individuals, who feel they will be consistently left out of the process. We are not discussing the closed-down group because closed-down people would not be in the public eye.

It is also important to realize that Variable Approach can indicate a considerable degree of imprinting to a point of very little imprinting. In other words, for some of us, the way to grow fastest is to learn how to enjoy being ourselves and not take on the issues of others. This is the most direct path to an open-ended decision-maker because Variable people already honor both the Divergent and Convergent nature of the world. It is interesting to note how many of our political leaders are Variable Approach, which makes it easier for them to meet and understand different people. It is also no wonder that this makes them difficult to pin down because they always want to keep their options open.

As we have indicated, there are various levels of the Variable Approach. The flexibility in being a variable individual is dependent on our ability to see others’ decision-making process, and our ability to neutralize imprinting in our self and others. This is a secret of Variable decision-makers. Due to the fact we have grown up around imprinting, we understand it from both sides, and therefore, understand how to neutralize whatever fears are coming up in our self and others. We can say the things that make others calm down. While this skill may be used to maximize our own self-importance, eventually, we realize that serving others does serve us as well.

As Variable Approach individuals, the way we become open-ended in our decision-making is by learning to serve others. The more self-accepting we can be, just as we are, the easier it is to accept and not judge others. Any judgments we do experience will distance us from others and provoke imprinting reactions in them. We can see how well we are doing by the degree of flow we experience with others in making decisions. The more we are present with ourselves, while simultaneously being present with others, the less effect imprinting will have on us and the less reactions we will cause in others. While most business leaders in the executive ranks have reached a Variable Approach through their experience, not all of them understand what they are doing. Making this instinctive process more intellectually understood by themselves and their organization could transform and empower their experience, encouraging a more open-ended decision-making approach among others.

Variable decision-making is amplified by the Distant defense style, Act-first processes, and Variable pacing. Primary creative energies that would tend to be more Variable are Sage, Server, and Scholar, either as primary or secondary energies, which also amplifies Variable decision-making. All of the following people are Variable.

Examples: Variable with Convergent Emphasis

(Approximately 6% of the U.S. population)

George Bush, Sr. - Former U.S. President, father of current President
Dan Rather – Newscaster
Dick Clark – Entertainer, remembered for TV’s “American Bandstand”
Winston Churchill – Prime Minister of Great Britain during WWII
Richard Nixon – Resigned as U.S. President, remembered for “Watergate”
Leonard Nimoy – Actor, remembered as “Mr. Spock” on “Star Trek”
Jimmy Carter – Former U.S. President; Awarded 2002 Nobel Peace Prize
Robert Redford – Actor/Director, Political Activist; known for movies, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”, “The Sting”, “The Way We Were”, “Out of Africa”, “Ordinary People”, “The Great Gatsby” and “Indecent Proposal”
Jane Fonda – Actress, ex-wife of Ted Turner, daughter of Henry Fonda, known for movies, “Barbarella”, “The China Syndrome”, “Klute”, and “On Golden Pond”
Harrison Ford – Actor, known for movies, “Star Wars”, ‘Indiana Jones and Temple of Doom”, and “Air Force One”
Fred Astaire – Dancer, Entertainer, Actor
Michelle Pfeiffer – Actress, known for movie, “Dangerous Minds”
Linda Evans – Actress, known for her roles in TV’s “Dynasty” and “Charlie’s Angels”
Robert Stack – Actor, known for his role in “The Untouchables”

Examples: Variable with Divergent Emphasis

(Approximately 4% of the U.S. population)

Chuck Norris – Actor, martial arts expert, endorses product the “Total Gym”
Mary Tyler Moore – Actress, known for TV’s “Dick Van Dyke Show”, “Mary Tyler Moore Show”, and movie, “Ordinary People”
Johnny Carson – Comedian, former host of the “Tonight Show”
Lauren Holly – Actress, briefly married to Jim Carey.
Tom Hanks – Actor, known for the movies, “Cast Away”, “Sleepless in Seattle”, “Saving Private Ryan”, and “Big”
Eddie Murphy – Comedian, Actor.
Burt Reynolds – Actor, known for the movie, “Smokey and the Bandit”
Kevin Costner – Actor, known for movies, “Dances With Wolves” and “Tincup”
Dean Martin – Singer, Entertainer, Actor.
Lucille Ball – Actress, married to Ricky Ricardo in the “Lucille Ball Show.”
Bruce Dern – Actor, known for the movies, “The Great Gatsby” and “Coming Home”
Mike Tyson – Champion prize-fighter