INTJ
The Portrait of the Mastermind (iNTj)
Copyrighted © 1996 Prometheus Nemesis Book Company.

Of the four aspects of strategic analysis and definition it is the
contingency planning or entailment organizing role that reaches the highest
development in INTJs. Entailing or contingency planning is not an informative
activity, rather it is a directive one in which the planner tells others what to
do and in what order to do it. As the organizing capabilities the INTJs increase
so does their inclination to take charge of whatever is going on.
It is in their abilities that INTJs differ from the other NTs, while in most
of their attitudes they are just like the others. However there is one attitude
that sets them apart from other NTs: they tend to be much more self-confident
than the rest, having, for obscure reasons, developed a very strong will. They
are rather rare, comprising no more than, say, one percent of the population.
Being very judicious, decisions come naturally to them; indeed, they can hardly
rest until they have things settled, decided, and set. They are the people who
are able to formulate coherent and comprehensive contingency plans, hence
contingency organizers or "entailers."
INTJs will adopt ideas only if they are useful, which is to say if they
work efficiently toward accomplishing the INTJ's well-defined goals. Natural
leaders, INTJs are not at all eager to take command of projects or groups,
preferring to stay in the background until others demonstrate their inability to
lead. Once in charge, however, INTJs are the supreme pragmatists, seeing reality
as a crucible for refining their strategies for goal-directed action. In a
sense, INTJs approach reality as they would a giant chess board, always seeking
strategies that have a high payoff, and always devising contingency plans in
case of error or adversity. To the INTJ, organizational structure and
operational procedures are never arbitrary, never set in concrete, but are quite
malleable and can be changed, improved, streamlined. In their drive for
efficient action, INTJs are the most open-minded of all the types. No idea is
too far-fetched to be entertained-if it is useful. INTJs are natural
brainstormers, always open to new concepts and, in fact, aggressively seeking
them. They are also alert to the consequences of applying new ideas or
positions. Theories which cannot be made to work are quickly discarded by the
INTJs. On the other hand, INTJs can be quite ruthless in implementing effective
ideas, seldom counting personal cost in terms of time and energy.
A full description of the Mastermind is in Please Understand Me or Please
Understand Me II
INTJ interest groups are at http://www.intj.org/
and http://www.qis.net/~jschmitz/intjopen.html