Today we have a guest editorial from Andy Warren as Steve Jones is on vacation.

Many of you have probably taken a personality test or two over the years, often something organized at work to help you understand your co-workers and vice versa. It can seem touchy feely – can a 15 minute or hour long test boiled down to a sentence really describe anyone? In practice it may not be perfect, but going through the exercise as a group is an effective way to make everyone stop and think about how others behave – and why.

I think the tests do more good than harm, but it still takes some effort to get everyone to take the test so you can have a good shared understanding as well as shared language. I’ve come up with a simpler test that will make you think, I bet will make you smile, and with luck you’ll use this at the office today to increase your understanding of your co-workers. Ready?

What kind of car/truck are you? Not what do you drive today, but what you be if you were a vehicle? Something ‘professional grade’? Ram tough? Maybe something sporty, even exotic? A solid four door sedan? Think about the sentence “If I were a vehicle I would be a ______________”. Think about the conversations that can result and how the shared understanding of vehicles gives us an easy way to talk about who we are (or at least who we wish to be!).

So what kind of vehicle are you? For extra credit, post what you drive today as well – is it the same, or different? Click the discussion link below to find out what vehicle I am, and then go ask your co-workers, you might be surprised by what you learn.