Mess-ieur

This little bandit likes it messy!  Their gear is stored all over the place; I say “stored” but for Mess-ieur what’s the point of putting things away if they’re going to be needed soon?  Being too tidy, well surely that’s bad for creativity; the chaotic approach suits Mess-sieur much better, never mind that they can never find anything.  The rest of the gang have lost count of the times they’ve been late because Mess-ieur can’t find something vital for the raid. 

OK, a pristine environment’s not for everyone and many people agree that having some of your favourite things around you can help your mood and be inspiring, but they’re hardly inspiring if they’re buried under a pile of papers, dirty plates, clothes – worn and unworn and files.

Even simple tasks take time; the piles have to be waded through to find what’s required.

Mess-ieur may thrive on chaos but it’s having a negative impact on relationships with the other bandits.  They never give Mess-ieur any responsibility for organising anything; the lost tickets, forgotten birthdays, missed appointments over the years have eroded any trust that might have existed in their early days. 

Come on, Mess-ieur, it’s time to get a little bit organised; tidy a few things away, create a system for recording the  important details and start to build up that trust again.  If loss of creativity is a concern, find creative ways to keep the mess at bay.

Ruth Less

Ruth Less is fighting her way to the top.  She has designs on the gang leader’s job and is determined to get it.  Fiercely ambitious she often gets into arguments with Firebelly (Jan 2012), that other ambitious and competitive gang member.  But whilst Firebelly is ambitious for the increasing success of the gang, Ruth Less’ mind is focused purely on her own success.

She sees the other gang members as her competition (although she doesn’t rate them that highly) and can’t see the point of collaboration.  She’s really not a team player and will work hard to ensure her own ideas and efforts come to the attention of the boss, at any cost.

As you can imagine this makes her pretty unpopular with the other gang members but her view is that she’s not in the gang to make friends.  Hm, friends are one thing, enemies quite another!

Of course, if the boss is watching, Ruth Less can give a good impression of being a team player although of course she’ll make sure that her light is shining the brightest.

What she seems to fail to realise is that, should she ever step into the top spot, she’ll need the loyalty and support of those very bandits she’s currently trampling on!

Firebelly

Firebelly strongly believes that the gang could accomplish bigger and better things and doesn’t hesitate to share this opinion with the other bandits, much to the concern of Slowcoach (November 2011) and Manana Man (August 2011), as you can imagine!

Favourite topic of conversation?  The next big raid; how can they capture a more valuable haul, take over new territory, smash the enemy?

Firebelly is driven and competitive – always reaching for something more, never satisfied or comfortable with the here and now.  Life needs pushing along, drifting’s for life’s flotsam and jetsam.  And Firebelly certainly pushes – hard and aggressively!  There’s  no quarter given to the members of the gang who believe in taking smaller steps and making gradual changes.

Firebelly welcomes risk with open arms – let’s just dive in, take the plunge and deal with the consequences if and when.   No sleepless nights imagining the worst case scenarios trouble this Time Bandit.

Sometimes this approach brings rewards to the gang.  But sometimes things go horribly wrong and the bandits spend a considerable amount of time and energy picking up the pieces.  Ambition and focus are fine qualities to have but without proper planning and a risk filter they can lead to dangerous waters.