Curisoity Killed the Cat? Gemini at work.

Once upon a time Ms Gemini went to work at LargeCorp. Open-minded, social and totally charming she stimulated the whole office with her quick wit, sharp tongue and her life of the party attitude.

Her boss loved her ability to quickly grasp concepts, manage crises and sell coal to Newcastle. He admired her she could think on her feet and use her creativity to move outside the square. Sometimes it was as if she was a walking book of knowledge- in her head was every little piece of information she had ever learned- all tiny seemingly non connected bits of data that she could access as she needed.

He also liked the fact that she was relatively low maintenance- as long as she was kept busy Ms Gemini rarely complained- not that she had a problem with voicing her concerns or what she needed. It was only when she was bored or constrained that she became restless and her love for information turned to gossip and her charm became just a tad manipulative.

The corporation was large and growing super fast so no one really cared that she seemed to spend a lot of time getting coffee, and socialising. Nor was it noticed that her attention span was, to say the least, sporadic. She got the job done...quickly- although no one ever really knew nor cared how.

But then bad things started to happen. The company started to lose money and clients and people were made redundant. The emphasis was now on constraint rather than dynamism. Day to day crisis management was replaced by business as usual. Things became too much the same- everyday was the same as the day before.

One day her boss moved on to another role. Her new boss was a stickler for process and time-keeping. He noted how long it took her to get a coffee and how long she would spend on the phone or social networks. It never occurred to him that this was one of the ways in which she managed to obtain all that information that so helped her with achieving those sales targets.

He also noticed how she rarely committed herself to anything longer term and didn’t seem to have the stamina to be involved with longer term projects. Whilst she achieved her targets seemingly without effort, she seemed reluctant to stretch herself.

So he transferred to a processing department- where she had a desk in a pod in a pod doing the same thing every day. Her daily output was measured, her internet time was monitored, she quickly grew discontented and restless and resigned within a month.

Her new boss didn’t really understand why Ms Gemini wasn’t like many other employees at LargeCorp. She didn’t seem particularly phased by titles and ambitions and didn’t seem hugely driven by climbing the ladder. So, what does motivate Gemini?

In short, it is mental stimulation- she needs to keep her brain active- every minute of every day.

Geminis’ raison d’être is to communicate- to facilitate the sending and receiving of messages, of information.  She has an enviable list of contacts that she is able to seamlessly move between. This helps keep things fresh, light and interesting. When boredom sets in, she surrounds herself with new more interesting contacts.

She is curious about everything. Her goal is to learn bits about everything and everyone. For this reason it can be a good idea not to get on the wrong side of her in the workplace as all those disparate pieces of data can turn into some pretty interesting pieces of gossip. Want to know who is sleeping with whom? A sliver of a rumour? Gemini will get the story pretty quickly. If pushed (or bored) she is quite capable of putting information out there just to see what will happen- curiosity and honesty.

She loves a good debate, is generally open minded and will play devils advocate just to prompt an exchange of views. Gemini has a dislike of fixed opinions and will actively facilitate open and frank discussion. Curiosity again. So many perspectives, so many opinions, so little time.

Her handbag or briefcase is filled with everything she needs to immediately stay in touch. Her cell-phone will combine music, email, and the ability to update her social networking sites in one single action. Multi-tasking at its best.