element: charming, persistent and competitive.
● The Harmonizer element: empathetic, warm and relationship oriented.
● The Imaginer element: calm, thoughtful and imaginative.
● The Rebel element: spontaneous, creative and fun-loving. When it comes to taking the next step in their career, people react differently depending on their base energy:
● The Thinker energy first needs to think about it and analyze the entire situation.
● The Persister energy tries to clarify whether the new position corresponds to their values and ideas.
● The Promoter energy is excited about the opportunity, but also wants to know what the bottom line will be.
● The Harmonizer energy must first develop a feeling for the new situation and is also wondering how others will feel about it.
● The Imaginer energy wants to withdraw, reflect, and wait for the internal images to appear.
● The Rebel energy wonders whether he/she will enjoy his new position and if it will leave him enough room for spontaneity.
Which of these six elements/energies would most likely be your reaction? The answer to this question will give you an indication of your base.
Staying true to yourself and charging your battery at the base
The needs that arise from your base intend to be met in any environment in which you spend more than just a little time. This is also the reason why Patrick is suddenly confronted with the 15-year-old version of himself. Patrick's "Inner Teenager" wants to know from the adult Patrick whether the latter has remained true to himself and is still living enough of the "rebel energy" life that corresponds to his base. (If you read the story carefully, you will undoubtedly find several clues in Patrick's behavior, such as the fun-loving driving style, listening to loud music or impulsive reactions to good news). The PCM allows me to examine oneself: Am I living the life that corresponds to my base? Or have I distanced myself from myself? Because, for instance, I have adapted myself too much to other people with a different base – and their individual needs. Or because I think that in order to be successful in business, I would have to be a certain type of person, but I'm not that person at my base. In the end, the Process Communication Model® only confirms what you might have guessed by now: that I am a unique person with particular preferences: Successful people are true to themselves. If you know your base, you can also consciously charge your battery here. This is because it always costs us energy to take the elevator to other floors while we are in energetic charging mode at our base level.
Your origins as a resource for your success
A BBQ at noon? Nobody in Patrick and Laura's circle of friends would have thought of this. In the evenings, people gathered on patios around American gas barbecues, in front of houses in the Vienna area, which all looked similar to Patrick and Laura's new home: White cubes with large glass surfaces, surrounded by just enough grass to be affordable in view of the horrendous property prices. As a welcome drink, the men were handed a Craft-Beer and the women a Chardonnay. The steaks were then put on the grill – the per kilo price equal to the weekly budget of a family in Patrick's hometown. On the other hand, Patrick's parents were barbecuing just like they did in the old days: on a small round charcoal grill. His father was dealing with the coals. His mother was in the kitchen, cleaning the meat and lettuce, cutting vegetables and bread. Patrick was supposed to feel comfortable in the few hours he was back home.
After two pork chops, three sausages and plenty of vegetables, salad and bread Patrick was done. He couldn't eat any more. His parents looked surprised – as though he hadn't eaten anything. Like many times during a visit to his parents' house, there was a pause in the conversation. Patrick and his parents did not have too much in common.
"I got a call this morning," Patrick said, looking to fill the void rather than to discuss his career with his parents. "I'm going to move up quite a bit in the company. I'll soon be based in Japan, where I'll be responsible for a specialty industrial glass's global business."
Patrick's father was beaming, patting his son on the shoulder and congratulating him. "In ten years, you'll be president of the entire company," he said.
"I'd have to be Japanese and belong to the founding family," Patrick objected bluntly. But in principle, he sounded as if he had the confidence to manage the group.
"And what does Laura think about it?" Patrick's mother asked. Her expression was hard for Patrick to read. "Will you still see each other? And what about having children? In a few years, it will be too late for Laura. Are you only thinking about your careers?"
"Laura? Shit!" Patrick jumped out of his chair and grabbed his phone out of his pocket. "I haven't told her yet. I was thinking about it when I got into town, but there was dinner at your place. Laura is on a plane, but there is internet onboard. Give me just a minute."
When Patrick took a few steps into the backyard to type in peace, he saw Anna on the neighboring property. Anna had been not only the girl next door, but also his first big love at 17. She was pulling garden tools out of a shed. Patrick put his phone back in his pocket, waved to Anna and approached the fence that separated the two properties. Anna never left town. Since her parents had died early, she was living with her boyfriend in her parental home. The two of them had acquired the small grocery store, which had to shut down due to the new discount stores and had turned it into a health food store.
"Hey, Patrick," Anna said. "You're moving up in the world! I'm sorry for overhearing. I couldn't help it. Our backyards are so small."
"I am going to do it as long as I enjoy it," said Patrick. "But it's strange. I can't stop thinking about the old days. About the way I used to be. And what do you think? You hate my career, don't you?"
"No, Patrick, I don't," Anna said with a smile. "But I know you. You're going to struggle with yourself. Then you will take the new job. And yes, you will enjoy it! Do you know why? Because you're gonna do it your way, on your terms. Because that's who you are."
Values, convictions and beliefs are often inherited
Every form of success and prosperous life has to do with relationship management. And no matter what rapid progress artificial intelligence is going to make in the coming years: We have good reason to believe that humans will become irreplaceable, wherever interpersonal relationships make the difference. Most of us learn how human relationships work from the family of origin. Our parents not only feed and clothe us, but they also provide us with plenty of values, beliefs and convictions, free of charge. As children we have no choice but to adopt it all. Later we are allowed to make our own decisions. But this requires reflection. Have you ever wondered how much of what you consider to be fair and right in life was also true for your parents? And where you might see things quite differently today? Maybe precisely because you don't want to think and act like your parents did?
Patrick's father exemplified some of his status thinking. It was important to his father that the family was able to afford things and demonstrated this. Due to her migration background, it was also crucial for his mother to integrate herself and feel a sense of affiliation among the locals. She takes a more holistic view than her husband on Patrick's new situation
