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Newsletter Article
EQ and Age: People Aren’t Carburetors
By Dr. Travis Bradberry & Lac D. Su, M.S.
Sitting in the corner office in his hi-back, leather chair, Bob Limber exhales as he gazes out the window. Reflecting on his life, he is amazed by the journey. Once a line worker in a carburetor plant, at 58 Bob is the Senior Vice President of Manufacturing of the same company.
As a boy, Robert had an inquisitive mind. He always invented his own toys, yet as the youngest of five children, he was the “runt of the litter” and was picked on often. He learned to mind his business by avoiding anything that would bring him attention.
He carried this attitude through high school, a time when many live for attention. Robert was aware that in order to avoid being bullied by the older classmen (and classwomen) he had to find ways to befriend them. So he did. It took a lot of energy to break free from the caste that made him who he was—the introverted shy-guy.
Robert expended a lot of energy to manage the relationships he built to compensate for his shyness. At the same time, he learned a lot from these experiences, which eventually earned him the respect he had always longed for.
As he moved through his college years, Bob learned more about the ins-and-outs of dealing with people. He formed lasting friendships and hoped these people would always be there for him in the future. Bob knew from experience that making the effort to cultivate these relationships was a wise choice.
Sure enough, a college friend helped Bob land his first full-time job at a Detroit car manufacturer, an entry-level position in the carburetor line. The job fit with Bob’s introverted personality and occasionally reminded him of how it used to be when he had the luxury of putting Legos® together alone in his room as a child.
