When I read John's profiles as an introvert and extrovert, my mind kept coming back to the idea that these two stories were about the same man; that everyone told the story of this man in different circumstances. Immediately, my mind led me down the path of creating the story behind John. Was extroverted John his normal self, but introverted John showed up one day melancholy? Or maybe Jon was generally very introverted, but we caught him being particularly optimistic one day in the extroverted scenario? I found myself wanting more details; wondering why he hadn't talked to the pretty girl from last night. Why did he need the stationery? How does he manage to know so many people in the stationery industry? Obviously, he's not a total recluse if he had the opportunity to see the pretty girl. My reaction is explained quite easily by author Malcolm Gladwell: "We have, as human beings, a problem with storytelling. We're a little too quick to find explanations for things we don't really have explanation." (Gladwell, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, 2005) Gladwell points out that when we lack the details we want to fill in those gaps in stories, we feel the need to create them ourselves. He further defines this behavior as “rapid cognition,” meaning “…the kind of thinking that happens in the blink of an eye.” When you meet someone for the first time, walk into a house you're considering buying, or read the first few sentences of a book, your mind takes about two seconds to draw a series of conclusions. (Gladwell, 2005) We use rapid cognition every day to judge the people and situations around us. It is a subconscious process in which we evaluate a person or situation roughly in the middle of a sheet of paper from the unconscious - behind a locked door inside our brain - but just because Something beyond awareness does not mean it is out of control. » (Gladwell, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, 2005) Although rapid cognition is a subconscious process that has been created in us throughout our lives, it is possible to increase this reaction time to allow for more analysis. thoroughness of the information provided to us. Being able to do this can increase a leader's effectiveness and improve change management at all levels of an organization. REFERENCES Gladwell, M. (2005). : The power to think without thinking. In M. Gladwell, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company. Gladwell, M. (2005). , 2011, from http://www.gladwell.com/blink/index.html