Ok this snark thread seems to have turned into a work anecdotes thread...I suffered from the same productivity problems mentioned back when I worked for large organisations... Now that I work for myself I have more trouble with my inner perfectionist leading me to do things the slow careful way and take twice as long as my peers who will do things quick and dirty. I just can't let software do poorly what I could do well... it leads to a similar problems with pricing of work.

Something that I find interesting is that I do think my strengths and weaknesses balance does make for uncomfortable fit with fellow workers. My DH on the other hand doesn't interview well and recruiters have trouble figuring out how to peg him, and thus how to place him. But he very quickly becomes the lynch pin of his team, department or organisation (depending on organisation size), generally gets on really well with workmates, and employers LOVE him. In fact almost every employer he has ever had have hired him back at least once, or tried to. Or have begged him not to leave. He's had one employer tell him that his current job description was to just not get another job as they would need him soon and it would be a disaster to loose him while they were finding finance for the project...

It would be interesting to analyse what it is about each of our strengths and weaknesses, personalities (and possibly gender) that leads to this difference in the work place. Oh and our IQs are likely very similar, I might have a point or two on him, but nothing major. I run rings around him organisationally and I would say also in terms of productivity. Maybe speed and efficiency really just aren't cool, though he's no slouch (at certain things anyway).