Same Style, Different Strengths: My Experience Working with Cesar
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When you meet someone with the same Perceptual Style as you, it can feel like discovering a long-lost twin. That’s what happened when I met my friend Cesar at work. We both have the Activity Perceptual Style, and from the very first meeting, we just clicked.
We share a love of technology and problem-solving, and we both thrive on keeping things lively and creative. Whether it’s chatting with friends, strangers, or just throwing ideas around, we’re all about energy, curiosity, and those “aha!” moments.
But, even though we share a Perceptual Style, we’ve got some pretty interesting differences too.
Cesar: The Master Storyteller Who Keeps You on Your Toes
Cesar is a classic example of an Activity person. You’d recognize it instantly if you met him. In a social setting, he’ll launch into these epic stories, which are actually a bunch of smaller stories woven together. If you’re not Activity yourself, you might get lost along the way.
It’s kind of like jumping from one interesting detour to another before finally landing on the main road again. I can follow him just fine, but I’ve noticed that people who aren’t Activity get lost or start to tune him out. But here’s the thing: Cesar doesn’t seem to notice, and he just keeps going! He’s fully immersed in his story, and I love that about him.
It’s Not Forgetfulness, It’s Curiosity
Now, one of the things people often say about Cesar is that he’s inattentive to detail and forgetful. But that’s not really what’s going on. He’s not forgetful in the traditional sense—he’s just following the next shiny object that grabs his interest.
When something really piques his curiosity, trust me, he can dive deep into the details like nobody’s business. He’s one of the smartest technology guys I know. Sure, he starts a lot of projects and only finishes the ones he’s truly passionate about, but that’s because his attention naturally shifts to whatever fascinates him the most at the moment.
Cesar’s Infectious Energy (And No, He Doesn’t Have ADD!)
Cesar’s always got multiple things going on—hobbies, workouts, learning new coding tools, attending his kids’ activities, consulting for clients—you name it. After one of his kids’ school events, another parent actually asked him what ADD medication he was on! (For the record, he’s not on any, nor does he have ADD.) People just assume that because he’s always on the go, he must be wired differently. His energy is contagious, and I can see how people might mistake it for something else.
Creativity Meets Structure: How We Complemented Each Other
One of the things I admire most about Cesar is his constant flow of ideas. He’s a fantastic innovator. He’s always coming up with new ways to improve something—whether it’s a product, process, or procedure. But, as you might guess, those ideas don’t always make it to the finish line unless he has someone helping with follow-through. That’s where I came in when we worked together.
We had a blast brainstorming solutions because we spoke each other’s language. Problem-solving is our thing! But I’ve got this edge when it comes to organizing and seeing things through. Thanks to my years at IBM, I’ve trained myself to stay on top of things by keeping lists, using my calendar religiously, and managing my “to do” tracking system. I purposely strengthened my own natural Operations skills. Cesar, on the other hand, didn’t develop the same level of skill for Operations, and that’s okay—he excels in other areas like social networking.
Turning Ideas into Reality—Together
So, after our brainstorming sessions, I’d lead the implementation phase. I love the process of organizing the ideas and working with a team to make things happen. Meanwhile, Cesar would dive deep into the parts of the project that fascinated him the most—usually tinkering with code to make it as efficient as possible. Our partnership worked because we complemented each other’s strengths.
I’m grateful that we were able to build a team around Cesar’s ideas. With a group of people who could take his innovative concepts and help turn them into reality, we created something really successful. Cesar’s creativity and my love of follow-up and working with other people to get things done made us a great team—two Activity folks who share a lot, but also bring different strengths to the table.
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About Ricardo
Ricardo Vega is the Director of Operations at Vega Behavioral Consulting, Ltd. and a certified Perceptual Style Guide. He has over 40 years of experience in technology, product and project delivery, disaster recovery, and team coaching. He specializes in helping entrepreneurs and teams with Product Planning & Delivery, Team Building, and Change Management.
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