In any business, most of our time is spent with people…and a lot of your time is wasted by some people.  It's important to be able to identify them.  Thankfully, they usually have very distinctive qualities.  Here's a categorisation of some of them:

The Job Changer (or the window shopper) They have a job but they're always looking for a better one.  They've probably had six jobs this year already and every time they leave, it's not their fault that it didn't work out.

Potential Troublemaker - they have a chip on their shoulder and blame others for their mistakes.  Seldom do they have a good word to say about anyone.

The Grouch - negative to the core.  Every day is a bad day.  Always has an excuse why performance is down.  A regular Mr. Doom and Gloom.  You waste a lot of time recovering from these people, after they go.

Big Mouth - they'll tell you how to run your business and where you're presently going wrong.  The BIG MOUTH never delivers the goods!

The Flatterer - they'll tell you your business is the greatest.  It's pure flattery and insincere flattery at that.  Be wary of them.  You'll never get a straight answer and they're likely to be 'yes men'.

The Egomaniac - they're looking for flattery and aren't satisfied until they get someone telling them how great they are.  They're always talking about themselves.

The Name-Dropper - they know everyone from the Mayor to the Manager of the little store down the street, they tend to keep dropping until you're impressed.

The Talker - you can't shut them up.  Wind them up and they rattle until they're out of breath.  They never listen and they love the sound of their own voice.

The Dashing Hero Type - they spend most of their time chatting people up.  They look good but you get little activity out of them - at least not the kind you would like for the good of the company.

The Procrastinator - never waste time with these individuals.  They never come to a decision and they're hard to motivate.

Heaven forbid if you come across a talking, dashing hero type who likes to name drop but uses flattery to disguise his real procrastinating spirit!  Would he be worse than the big mouth egomaniac, grouch who is looking for another job?