CASHFLOW Quadrant A conversation at a shareholders meeting may sound like this: Company managers: “We need a private jet so our executives can get to their meetings faster.” Investors: “We need fewer executives. Then we won’t need a private jet.”
Differences between S and B In business transactions, I often see a bright S, such as an attorney, put a multimillion-dollar deal together for a B, a business owner. When the transaction is completed, the attorney becomes silently angry because the B makes millions and the S earns an hourly wage. Their words may sound like this: The attorney, the S, might say: “We did all the work, and he made all the money.” The business owner, the B, might say: “How many hours did those guys bill us for? We could have bought the whole law firm for what they charged.”
Differences between E and I Another example is a bank manager who gives an investor a loan to buy some real estate. The investor makes hundreds of thousands of tax-free dollars, and the banker gets a paycheck that is taxed heavily. The bank manager, the E, might say: “I give that guy a loan, and he doesn’t even say thank you. I don’t think he knows how hard we worked for him.” The investor, the I, might say: “Boy, those guys are picky. Look at all this useless paperwork we have to do just to get a lousy loan.”
Emotionally Volatile Marriage The most emotionally volatile marriage I have ever witnessed was a couple where the wife was a hard-core E who believed in a job for financial security, while the husband fancied himself a high-flying I. He thought he was a future Warren Buffett but, in reality, he was an 177