Everyone wants quick results, right?

Ben Stiller illustrated our propensity for immediate gratification in the “7 Minute Abs” scene in Something About Mary. Classic.

And I’m no exception. Rather than prepare and eat the recommended dose of daily vegetables, each morning I gag down a beverage of reconstituted alfalfa leaf, carrot root, barley grass, cinnamon bark, dandelion root, cilantro, and red beet root. Good nutrition with 1/8 the effort? I’m in.

We have that same option in getting to know people.

New team member? How much effort will it take before you really understand her general behaviors and interaction style, what she brings to the team, what you have in common? How long until you know that she values having control over her environment, that she’s results-oriented, that she prefers “what” questions (over “how” or “why”)? Or that she might lack tact in expressing concerns, she can’t stand wild speculation, and she highly values a win-win approach?

Chances are you could work with someone for years before you really got all that.

Or, you can conserve your limited time and effort, and just review her results from The People Profiler.

If you do, you’ll also learn how to put her at ease, what to focus on during discussions, how best to present your ideas to her, and how to gain her commitment.

Meanwhile, I’ll go drink some greens and do some 7 Minute Abs. Good luck!