Te - 'serious business people' function (analysis of Talanov's questionnaires statistics)

![][image5]

Te is the function of achieving an objectively measurable result as quickly as possible under time constraints. Its distinctive feature is the desire to “channelize” all the energy of the individual - to direct initially scattered activity into one channel leading to the intended goal. If the activity of the owner of weak Te in the abstract resembles Brownian motion - multidirectional oscillations that, if they can lead to some goal, then by chance and most likely not soon, then strong Te in its activity is more reminiscent of a locomotive rushing along the rails, which has already assigned itself a destination station and will arrive at it on schedule - quickly and with minimal fuel consumption per kilometer traveled.

Thus, the main advantage of strong Te is increased efficiency of efforts combined with economy in spending time and other resources.

Of all the functions, Te is most closely associated with tool activity - since any manufactured tool is essentially a way to optimize the efforts made and thereby speed up the achievement of the result. However, even at the pre-tool stage of development of living things (in the wild), Te can be discovered and defined as the ability to modify the external environment to suit one’s needs: to create some material objects that have a purely utilitarian function - nests, burrows, anthills, dams (in beavers), etc. It is not surprising that due to the need to work with material objects of the external world, Te is more often and quite reliably associated with sensorics - LSE is the most sensory type among all, and LIE is the most sensory among all intuitives.

Te is a fairly ancient function in evolution - perhaps not as ancient as all the irrational ones, but still no less ancient than such a phenomenon as caring for offspring. The dual complement of Te and Fi can be naturally explained within the framework of the division of roles in the individual upbringing of offspring - Te is necessary here for building a nest and obtaining food in increased (in comparison with individual survival) volumes, while Fi is required to “sit with the children”, taking care of them and not particularly attracting outside attention to itself. Thus, in this pair of functions, Te is more focused on doing, and Fi - on empathy. What they have in common is emotional restraint (that is why the feature that unites them was called “seriousness”) and a preference for moderate decisions within the framework of an already existing objective reality (hence - “objectivism”).

Te exhibits the greatest antagonism with Fe. These functions are united only by the temperamental attitude, in this case - the “linear-assertive” temperament, distinguished by increased energy and motivation of the individual. In other respects, Te is tuned to individual activity with the aim of subsequently receiving personal benefit and advantage from it, while Fe strives to involve all his surroundings in achieving the goal, thus making the benefit collective and joining it. Te is purely pragmatic, alien to any passions and ideological principles that encourage self-sacrifice - saving her little money is more important to her than any promise of a global “bright future”. Whereas Fe loves affects, romance and pathos, even if she herself is far from always (due to the pole of dynamics) ready to become a hero in the eyes of others.
The differences between subjects with strong Te and Fe are often manifested purely externally: Te does not like to decorate himself, considering decor an unreasonable waste of money (a classic business suit in its laconic simplicity is absolutely typical in this regard), Fe needs jewelry to attract attention. The world of Te resembles a factory, where every detail is purely functional, the world of Fe is a theater or a holiday, where every detail is needed to make a maximum impression, to change the mood of others. Te with Ti as related functions are united by an interest in logic and technology, high intellectual self-esteem, the ability to plan their actions, as well as a general deficiency of the ethical-emotional sphere, in the case of Te especially manifested in the absence of any sentimentality.

The main difference between Te and Ti is that Ti builds a general picture of the world, and then finds its place in it, while Te changes the world with its actions, without even thinking about what it is as a whole - for it, it is more important to achieve a specific goal, and what happens around is of secondary importance. Thus, Ti is more fundamental, principled, ideological and radical in its decisions, while Te is more flexible, adaptive, more applied, more willing to specialize and more easily changes specialty, and generally less dependent on the dominant paradigm in society, being ready to achieve its goals under any conditions.

Te and Se are united by practicality, self-confidence and a thirst for big money (however, if for Se money is an indicator of status and power, then for Te it is only a means of production). What distinguishes them is, first of all, that Te is attached to its business and therefore, protecting it, avoids sudden movements and is not ready to “cut off the shoulder” when the opportunity arises (for example, quarrel with those in power and go to revolution).
But here Te is united with Si by the preference for moderate decisions. It differs - in the attitude to time management (which is maximally alien to Si).
With Ne, Te, despite the fact that these functions are shifted to the opposite poles of the (ir-)rationality feature, also reveals common features, and this is creativity and the tendency to accelerate social progress (Ne does this through the search for something new, and Te - through market competition of the products of its labor). Ni and Te are united by the attention of both functions to the topic of time, its calculation and saving, and also, in part, the desire to hide their sources of income.
Differences with intuitive functions, both with Ne and Ni, Te finds primarily in its increased practicality and hard work.
Of the questim-declatim functions, Te is closest to De, finding in it something in common in its “omnivorousness” in the choice of means and the willingness to overcome boundaries in order to find better-paid jobs and markets. The differences and similarities with other questimno-declatimnoy functions probably make sense to describe when we get to them.

And finally, I would like to touch on one more point. I have already written about the advantages of a strong Te above, but does this function have any disadvantages?
Se in its worst manifestations is egocentric, aggressive and thieving, Ne is sloppy, disorganized and childishly naive, Si is overly conformist, Ni is parasitic and deceitful, Fi is anxious and neurotic, Fe is hysterical and dependent on fashion, Ti is rigid and stubborn, and what about Te?
In Western psychology, Te is almost idealized, believing that the ENTJ type (especially if “juducious”) is the best version of a person. But is this true?

As it turns out, of all the functions, Te is most inclined to objectify reality, that is, to consider all phenomena of the surrounding world only as resources and means to achieve a goal. Investors invest in quality assets, and get rid of low-quality assets. The problem here is not even that such an approach considers each person as a resource (which contradicts humanism, which asserts the intrinsic value of any individual).
The main problem is that in order to assess quality, Te translates everything into a monetary equivalent, and the value of the latter is determined by the market.
Being an objectivist (“serious”) function, valued Te will never do something that is useless in the current market conditions and will lead to its personal losses, even if in the long term it is extremely valuable for the global good. Also, being a dynamic function, Te is not inclined to reshape the socio-political reality by voluntaristic effort, it only adapts to it.
Focusing on the already existing demand and having no fundamental limitations (which Ti, Fi, and Fe have), Te thereby indulges the most common needs of the social circle that has the greatest solvent demand. And, alas, very often Te thereby encourages the bad taste of the masses or the base needs of elites corrupted by power.
On the contrary, Te will never invest in talent that raises complex and unpleasant topics that are never in demand, but are objectively necessary for the tasks of global survival. Some talents and phenomena can only be realized through revolutionary shifts that destroy existing markets. Te, despite its extroversion, will never do this, unlike the function that we will analyze here next.

Main personality traits associated with the Te function (in order of the correlation with the profile of “pure Te”)
The number after the property indicates the correlation of the property with the socionic profile of this cluster as a whole (a negative number means that the cluster calculation used the “no” answer to this statement).

1 Striving to maximize benefit

• Very often in my thoughts I involuntarily weigh and estimate the effectiveness of my costs and efforts, think about how to optimize them. 0.95
• I am proud that I never do something useless. 0.88
• I am often “tempted” to correct another person when I see that he works uneconomically and ruins equipment. 0.87
• I can strengthen or weaken certain of my desires and inclinations if my mind finds it useful and necessary for me at the appropriate moment. 0.86
• I have great difficulty saving and sober calculation in business. -0.93

2 High intellectual self-esteem

• My logical chains in reasoning are always flawless and precise. 0.96
• I have good analytical thinking and strong logic, I like to generalize facts, I am good at diagrams, classifications and structures. 0.95
• I usually have very high mental performance with good concentration, quick memory and clarity of thought. 0.93
• I have encyclopedic knowledge, sometimes I act as a “walking reference book”. 0.93
• I am good at highlighting the main thing and cutting out the secondary in the analyzed material. 0.92
• In the business I am engaged in, I am better than most at highlighting the most important thing, discarding unnecessary, unimportant details. 0.92
• I am always willing to discuss which technology will give a greater effect, which business decision will give a higher profit. 0.92
• I am excellent at (and love) logically, convincingly and deliciously criticizing other people’s initiatives. 0.91
• Until I check it myself, sometimes I even question what is written in the textbook. 0.9
• Even if I have never flown a helicopter, I will still be able to do it if necessary - if I have the instructions in front of me. 0.88

3 Money thinking, desire for profit

• I am always interested in questions of money, prices of goods, comparisons of earnings. 0.96
• Key words that are very important to me: pays off or doesn’t pay off, profitable-unprofitable, expedient-unexpedient. 0.95
• I feel better than others and quickly grasp the subtle nuances when comparing things by their profitability. 0.92
• Everything in the world has its price for me, expressed in money. 0.88
• I often browse Internet forums devoted to finance and investment. 0.88
• I am much more indifferent to money than most people. -0.87

4 Indifference to ideology

• Stories about heroism with self-sacrifice, as a rule, make me sick. 0.92
• I prefer literary works that do not raise pathos, but, on the contrary, ridicule pathos, playing on the reduction of its importance and necessity. 0.87
• I think that if a person is indifferent to ideological issues, then this is not very normal. Not right - for sure. -0.95
• I have a fundamental craving for some suitable for me mass movements, inspired by great ideas. -0.89

5 Lack of sentimentality

there are no questions with “yes” answers, questions with “no” answers are below

• I am, perhaps, more sentimental and more often worried than my friends and buddies. -1.0
• I am easily touched, arousing compassion. -0.94
• Sometimes I am prone to suffer for a long time. -0.92

6 Creative approach to doing business

• I liked and would suit the job of a coordinator organizing the implementation of innovations more than most people. 0.92
• I am flexible in discussions, I easily find logical arguments to defend any thesis that is needed at the moment. 0.91
• I often look for more advantageous deviations from the accepted norm than I strive for the established state as the most successful. 0.9
• I often change goals, “juggle” them in the process of my activities, thanks to this I always achieve something effectively. 0.89
• I usually think over and plan not one, but several different alternatives for the development of a situation at once. 0.85

7 Doesn’t like bright displays of emotion

• I always prefer even emotions in others, without outbursts. 0.95
• I do not like other people’s loud laughter. 0.9
• In emotions, I am usually attracted by their strength and passion. -0.95
• I prefer the language of strong and clear emotions, rather than halftones. -0.89

8 Developed time management

• I constantly feel time as the most important resource, I specifically rationalize and plan its use. 0.94
• I have a set of strategic goals, gradually calculated for several years. 0.91
• I know how to combine things and use every minute of my time. 0.88

9 Entrepreneurial activity

• When doing important useful work, I do not know fatigue myself and am ready to “drive” my assistants to exhaustion. 0.95
• I would make a great entrepreneur - I am always on the move, I captivate people, make them move and work, I am interested in technical innovations and I see better than others the benefits or disadvantages, prospects or futility of any undertakings. 0.94
• I easily make decisions that will lead to a positive result, provided that before that I first have to go through a zone of great resistance. 0.93
• I am impatient, and I immediately put any task I like on practical tracks. 0.92
• I easily focus on the next new task. 0.92
• For me, an idea for something immediately turns into action, movement and work, I do not need time for intermediate emotional excitement and swinging. 0.91
• I like to take on complex tasks and problems so that they “guide” me and do not allow me to get bored and relax. 0.9
• I feel confident in critical situations with many influencing forces and a lack of time. 0.89
• Not everyone can withstand my intense work schedule, the rhythm of which I often change “on the fly”. 0.88
• I am a good speaker, I can briefly and clearly convey the material to the listener.0.88
• I always haggle at the market. 0.83
• I can do almost everything and am able to do everything. 0.8
• When it is necessary to evaluate some step and make a business decision, I am usually indecisive and prone to hesitation. -0.94
• If I need to make a phone call on business, then most often I put this call off as much as possible “for later”. -0.91

10 Thinks through his actions in advance

there are no questions with “yes” answers, questions with “no” answers are below

• My shortcomings are that I often take on too much, I have a poor vision of the future, I need people who would logically organize me and “cool me down”. -0.93
• Often in life I “step on the same rake” [repeat my mistakes]. -0.91
• I often make poorly thought-out decisions. -0.9

11 Practicality

• I value concreteness and practicality more than the ability for abstract reasoning. 0.98
• I am indifferent to theories, strive for practical activities and prefer close specific goals that bring me real benefit. 0.97
• Practical benefit is more important than any perfect motionless beauty. 0.92

12 Prefers moderate solutions

• I am a supporter of moderate rather than radical decisions. 0.94
• In other people, I am more often irritated by their indifference, then shamelessness and lack of conscience. -0.94
• If I lived in the past, I could have become a revolutionary. -0.93
• In my practice, I do not want to know anything about the gradual accumulation of quantity and quality - I believe in decisive shifts, heroic leaps and turning points. -0.92

13 Hard work

• I am very hardworking. 0.96
• I am a “workaholic” by nature. 0.94
• I try to live in such a way that nothing escapes my personal control. 0.93
• I am demanding and uncompromising, I work a lot and despise lazy people. 0.92
• The work of a commercial director would suit me better than the work of a freelance artist. 0.91
• I am hardworking, I like to be loaded with the work assigned to me. 0.88
• I look for work only when the problem of inevitable expenses arises. -0.88

14 Takes responsibilities seriously

• I always take my duties very seriously. 0.97
• Perhaps, sometimes I am boring in my exactingness and obligation. 0.93
• Other people’s irresponsibility hurts me (apparently, more than many of my other acquaintances). 0.93
• I do not like those who have everything clear, everything is scheduled - this is alien to me. -0.96