Guest Article: The Am I a Soloist? Quiz

The Am I a Soloist? Quiz
by Jonathan Littman & Marc Hershon,
Authors of I Hate People!: Kick Loose from the Overbearing and Underhanded Jerks at Work and Get What You Want Out of Your Job

How do you know if you're a Soloist, or at least destined to become one? The easiest sniff test is how many times a day you mutter, shout, or even think to yourself, "I hate people!" But not all People Haters are necessarily Soloists.

This quiz will help determine the depth of your Soloist leanings. The higher your score, the more Soloist blood in your veins.

A. The portion of the day I prefer working by myself is . . .
1 one hour.
2 two hours.
3 four hours.
4 six hours.
5 all day.
B. My favorite part of the day is . . .
1 staff meetings.
2 status meetings.
3 dinner or cocktails with clients.
4 lunch with colleagues.
5 meeting with my boss.
C. I'm most comfortable working in a team with . . .
1 ten or more people.
2 seven to nine people.
3 five to six people.
4 two to four people.
5 nobody.
D. An empty office makes me feel . . .
1 creepy.
2 lonely.
3 unmotivated.
4 at home.
5 excited.
E. When I get to the office in the morning, I usually . . .
1 bring in doughnuts and coffee for everyone.
2 say hello to people and ask about their evening.
3 nod to people I run into between the front door and my desk.
4 grunt and head to my workspace.
5 head to my workspace.
F. When I see an empty conference room, I think . . .
1 I hope I didn't miss the meeting.
2 I hope I set aside enough time for the meeting.
3 the meeting is about to start.
4 how can I get out of the meeting?
5 what a great place to write my report.
G. When I dream of the perfect office, I visualize . . .
1 a glass fishbowl in the center of the action.
2 the latest collaborative open-space environment.
3 small work-group offices.
4 a cubicle.
5 four walls and a door that locks.
H. The place I do my most creative work is . . .
1 at my desk.
2 in a meeting room.
3 in the break room.
4 at home.
5 outside.
I. I like a boss who . . .
1 checks up on me periodically.
2 asks what I'm working on in the morning.
3 gives me weekly assignments.
4 asks for monthly status reports.
5 rarely comes in.
J. I like a coworker who . . .
1 is friends with everyone.
2 regularly breaks up the day with office gossip.
3 freely converses during breaks and at lunch.
4 barely interacts with just a few people.
5 minds his own business.

YOUR SCORE

10–15 Forget it. You, my friend, are a teamworker, through and through.

16–25 Though more comfortable in a team setting, you occasionally like your alone time. Soloist larva.

26–35 Stretching your Soloist muscles. Yes, you like people a little too much.

36–45 Strong Soloist. You could be teaching others if you weren't spending so much time alone.

46–55 Cream of the Soloist crop. No one's getting in your way, and that's the way you like it.

The above is an excerpt from the book I Hate People!: Kick Loose from the Overbearing and Underhanded Jerks at Work and Get What You Want Out of Your Job by Jonathan Littman & Marc Hershon. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.

This excerpt is used with the permission of Hachette Book Group, Marc Hershon and Jonathan Littman. All rights reserved.

Author Bios
Jonathan Littman, is the author of I Hate People! and numerous acclaimed works of nonfiction, including The Fugitive Game, The Watchman, and The Beautiful Game. He is also the coauthor of IDEO's The Art of Innovation and The Ten Faces of Innovation. He is a contributing editor for Playboy and a columnist for Yahoo! Sports.

Marc Hershon is the coauthor of I Hate People! and a branding expert who helped to create the names for the BlackBerry, Swiffer, nüvi, and many other influential products. He is also a comedy veteran who has worked closely, with Dana Carvey, Bill Maher, and Robin Williams.