Climbers and Bursters
My business partner and I came up with a model we call Climbers and Bursters - two fundamentally different work styles.
Climbers
- Climbers love climbing hills. They love the feeling of work, of expending energy, of being in motion. An optimal day: non-stop meetings, non-stop action. Full movement without pause. The action itself energizes them. A climber feels anxious when not in action, like life is slipping away.
Bursters
- Bursters work in short, intense bursts and then want to be done. They think through what needs doing in advance, find the most efficient path, execute, and return to rest. An optimal day: everything handled in the shortest time possible, then open spacious freedom. Relax. Family. Other projects. The spaciousness energizes them. They feel anxious and trapped when overloaded, like life is slipping away.
Working Together
- If climbers and bursters don’t understand this about each other, it breeds conflict. Climbers think their partner isn’t working hard enough. Bursters think their partner is wasting time on low-yield activity. But when they see the pattern, they can leverage it. Climbers rely on bursters to focus their actions. Bursters rely on climbers for that extra push of momentum.
I’m a burster. My business partner is a climber. We discovered this about ourselves on a long hike in the Santa Monica mountains years ago. We talked openly about our frustrations with each other’s style and built a plan for working together. The relationship got much stronger as a result.