by DISC Style
“Imagine you buy a swing set for your children, and the sales rep at the store tells you the estimated assembly time is 4 hours, detailed instructions included. What does this assembly, for each of the four DISC Styles, actually look like?”
The D Stye
The D first inquires whether installation can be provided by the store. When this is not an option, the D takes the box home, looks at the picture on the box, opens the box, and dumps the parts out. Instructions? Don’t need those. This parent assembles the swing set by deciding which part looks most like the picture and there it goes. Assembly time: 3 hours. Extra parts? Yes. Worried about that? No- the D has tested the swing set themselves, and if it’s good enough for them it’s good enough for anybody. Independent task completed.
The I Stye
Facebook entry: Barbecue at my house Saturday, bring the kids, BYOB. (Note that swing set assembly is not mentioned as the main activity.) Friends arrive and party ensues. Random people take turns assembling random parts of the swing set in no apparent order. The directions blow away unnoticed and unread. When the swing set is done, it has an extra tire swing (not in the picture) and 3 extra colors (also not in the picture). Assembly time: 7 hours. Extra parts? Yes. Worried about that? No- they probably didn’t even notice, and the swing set was tested by every child at the party and probably most of the adults, though none of them consciously thought of the testing as a test. Must be just fine! And a good time was had by all.
The S Stlye
The S has a conversation with their spouse about who is the most qualified person they know who might be able to come over and help assemble the swing set. This is necessary for the safety of the children. Their engineer friend comes over and both read through the instructions. They happily assemble the swing set as they talk about their families, review their own swing set memories, and wonder what kind of swing set stories their children will come up with; after all both of their kids will play on this together, making many happy memories. Assembly time: 4 hours. Extra parts? No, except for the extra parts that came standard of course. Swing set is carefully tested within weight limits using items from the garage to make sure it is safe for the children and the adults do not add stress to the swing set by exceeding maximum weight limits. Both are satisfied by a job well done.
The C Stye
The C also purchases a tarp from the store at the same time the swing set is purchased. The C reads through the directions several times, looks up a video online of someone assembling the swing set, re-reads the reviews written by people who had bought the swing set to see if they have assembly tips and advice, and calls the company for clarification when the directions are not satisfactory. This is all necessary to make sure the swing set is assembled correctly. The C carefully opens the box, takes out each part, and lines them up on the tarp that is spread on the yard to make sure no parts are lost in the grass. Each part is counted, catalogued, and checked with the instruction manual to make sure everything is accounted for before assembly begins. The instructions are meticulously followed step by step, with several references to the video and possibly another call to the company. Assembly time: 6 hours. Extra parts? Yes. Worried about that? No- they called the company and discovered that 3 extra screws are included in the packaging by design. Swing set is carefully tested within weight limits to make sure everything is functioning as intended. This swing set will last until the end of time, making the C very satisfied that everything worked exactly as it should.