It was one of the lectures given at the most recent (XXIV) conference of the International Szondi Association (ISA). Such a conference is held every three years. This time, it took place on 3–5 September in Rimini. The common theme is Leopold Szondi’s (1893–1986) theory of personality. Unfortunately, it is not very well known around the world. Szondi introduced the theory in the late 1940s. 

On my birthdays since 1975, my two sons (who are honest!) have been the ones to decide whether I get to ‘upgrade’.

This story began when I turned 70. The thing is that I was afraid to tell other people. What if they thought I was too old to work with? Hmmm. At the same time, I thought it was cowardly. Not my style. Then I realised I could say, ‘7-0’. It sounds better. After I’d been doing that for a while, a younger consultant said: ‘You’re certainly not 7-0. You’re 7.0!’ I bought into that straight away 😉

Well, by having identified my ‘jackpot’ activity with HumanGuide – that is, what should I do when I’m using at the same time all my strongest factors Imagination, Structure, Quality and Power – according to the personality theory Eight boxes (more on humanguide.com). 

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the HumanGuide concept. The project began in 1986 with the development of a personality test for the selection of bus guides.

The anniversary also coincides with my 80th birthday, so I am working on my succession plan. I enjoy helping to develop the application of the concept, so I have chosen to be a ‘passionaire’, as I do not believe in the strategy of being a traditional pensioner.

That’s what a man said to me as he was going round the office to say goodbye to his colleagues. ‘Oops,’ I thought...

 What does that mean? Well, it’s a bit like when you’re in a state of flow. The concept was introduced by the Hungarian Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his book. Flow is described as the optimal experience. You’re enjoying yourself😉

I call them passionaires. I have been interested in this phenomenon for many years. One of them even lived to be 100. Despite his intense lifestyle, he was rarely ill…

Well, not exactly. First, let’s consider Swedish culture as a sort of contrast. The extreme version of our culture can be illustrated by Ove, that is, the main character in the book and film A Man Called Ove. To describe Ove, I’ll use the Eight Boxes personality theory. In my view, his personality looks like this:

I’ve finally come up with a good way to use AI…
 
Many people highlight the risks and drawbacks of AI. That’s typical behaviour whenever something new comes along. For example, when cars first appeared, someone would walk ahead carrying a flag to warn people…

Some people find themselves in this situation. It might have been going on for a long time, but what can be done about it?

In my work as a consultant – over many years – I have come across several people with this problem. The tricky thing is that you can’t quite put your finger on why it is the way it is. And if you can’t do that, it’s not so easy to fix. What should you change? 

Nine years ago, Katja Göller took the HumanGuide test…

Her feedback at the time was: ‘I’ve taken many personality tests. This was the first one that helped me understand why I was unhappy at work.’

It is a method that I have been trying myself since December 2003. It originates from the ancient Romans. I read in a newspaper that they used white stones for good days and black stones for bad days. They placed the stones in a bowl every day, which was emptied once a month. They could then see how the month had been and draw conclusions from that.

Personality tests are mostly used in connection with recruitment. No one wants to make an unsuitable recruitment decision. It is expensive and also results in significant time losses.

However, many people are sceptical about such tests. This is understandable, as many are of poor quality or are administered by users who don’ use them in an appropriate manner.

However, I am very disturbed that tests are not used to provide important insights into one's own personality for good personal development. This presupposes, of course, that it is a good test and also understandable to the layman. 

Here you can read from an example. You will see the dialogue by email between the client and the coach, who is me Rolf Kenmo, the founder of the HumanGuide concept (1986) The client is called X – as being anonymous. It is an entrepreneur personality…

You see her test result below – the profile á la HumanGuide. Explanations for the eight factors you find here.

Here you can read about the example…

You will find the answer to that question further down in this article, but first let's talk about major concerns in the labour market. Mental ill health is on the rise. And rising. What could be the reason for this?

One major reason is that many people have performance-based self-esteem, i.e. they define themselves by their achievements. You have to be good. Preferably as good as everyone else. You will never succeed in this. It is impossible, if you think about it. For example, if you are in a room with 20 other people, you cannot possibly be as good as all  the other nineteen... 

For a while, that was my goal. To kind of max it out. It sounded good... Now I'm 79, but I prefer the format 7.9 ;-) My goal has now changed – it makes more sense, I think...

When I turned 70, I was careful about talking about my age. I thought there was a risk that some people would skip me, so I wouldn't be able to continue running my business... After a while, I thought that was cowardly, so I started saying 7-0. It sounds sharper. After a few weeks, a younger consultant colleague said: “Rolf, you're not 7-0. You're 7 point 0.” I thought that was much better, so I adopted it. Now I've developed it further... It now means that my two sincere sons decide annually whether I can upgrade...

Bubble jumping is one of the words on the list of new Swedish words for 2023. The concept involves consciously changing your environment to get out of your own “bubble” and gain new perspectives and knowledge. Bubble jumping was coined by USA engineer Max Hawkins in response to computer programs that, based on previous experiences, could predict where he would be, who he would meet, and what he would do during a day.

When I had my 70th birthday it was the first time in my life, I hesitated to tell my age. In my mind I feared I would be defined as old and useless… After a while, because I am an incredibly positive person, I said to myself: I am 7 – 0.

But if you are depressed, what do you do? Try hard to get hope. Make sure you are rested. Do what you enjoy. Meet inspiring people. Do things that you know others appreciate... And the like...