Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and roger)
The Wakefield Doctrine is a theory of personality that has three (personality) types called clarks, scotts and rogers. The names refer to the character of the world as the individual experiences it. clarks are living in the world of the outsider, scotts experience the reality of the predator and rogers see the world as from the middle of a herd. Knowing how a person sees the world is the key to understanding them.
The following is the next installment of a story, an allegory, if you will, illustrating the three personality types. To understand how each of the three main characters arrived at the party click on their names: clark, scott or roger. To read the whole story up to this point click here.
Enjoy the Party.
“excuse me…is something wrong?”
Sam was happy and relieved to have made it into the Samba Room without being seen, everyone’s attention, as he anticipated, was focused on the entrance of his boss and that new intern, Jimmie (‘…host and guest of honor, damn! how do they do that?’). Standing safely in the corner just to the right of the entrance, Sam could see the entire room. A bandstand/stage at the far end of the room, the bar was set up halfway along the wall opposite his current position, which was at the head of the buffet table. A row of white linen tablecloths and stainless steel serving dishes, the food appeared un-molested, most dishes still covered. Sam always made it his first priority to understand the layout of the room, where the exits and the bathrooms were, what the most likely (social) convergence points were, only then was it safe to decide what to do about the people. Sam knew that, paradoxically, this spot adjacent to the entrance afforded him the maximum cover, while still permitting a complete range of options. The only problem was that he was not alone.
There was a woman, standing at the ‘rolls and salad’ end of buffet table, seemingly engaged in arranging the condiments. Despite the inadequate air conditioning, she was wearing a slightly worn cardigan sweater over a black and pink print dress, and Sam noted, she seemed to have a lacy handkerchief tucked in the cuff of her right sleeve. Moving back towards the wall, Sam could see her in profile, it was Jen (or Jennie), the Office Administrator. Responsible for everything from paperclips to Post-its, she, (Jen or Jennie), was the person every employee had to work with, that is, if they planned on staying at the Company . She took her position seriously and personally. Jen (or Jennie) felt that she owed it to her employer ( she actually thought of the CEO of the Company as her employer ), to make sure that the material and supplies that she was responsible for did not go to waste. She was feared by the newer employees and grudgingly respected by those with any amount of time invested in this Company. And, at the moment, she seemed to be arranging (and re-arranging) the baskets of rolls and aligning the salad tongs, and …crying. When Sam spoke, Jen (or Jennie) turned to him with an expression on her face that could only be one of relief, somehow that changed to a guarded, but slightly fearful look of assessment as she recognized Sam (‘…come on, Sam this is not worth the effort’)Alex Delgiudice always enjoys the moment of entering a room, and tonight certainly was no exception. The room was crowded as she walked through the door and it was clear that everyone there found, with her entrance into the Samba Room, a focus. She felt the energy, the attention that was almost palpable. Alex was the focal point, not just for everyone to look at, but she immediately became the organizing principle, the topic of the conversations of nearly everyone at the party.
( “..no frickin way! yes, that is her! Wow! That Jimmie, aye carumba! muy potente!!! Look at the shoes, can you believe it! That is soo…hawt, wow and you say she runs the whole M&A Department?? Yeah, I heard she worked under the CEO himself when she first joined the company…if you know what I mean… How cruel!” )
Violet had surprised herself by standing with a group of people she didn’t know, some were from the Research Department where she worked, but quite a few she only knew from the cafeteria. She had just made her escape from that guy, (Mel?), telling him that she really had to use the ladies room. He seemed like a nice enough guy and she let him make her promise to find out who the host of the party was and how he managed to escort Ms. Delgiudice. Violet, felt a little guilty about leaving Mel, standing by himself. Once she got away from him, she decided that she might stay at the party just a little longer, no sense going to the trouble of getting all dressed up and then just going home alone…again. She moved in the general direction of the crowd of people who gathered around the M&A Dept Head, Ms. DelGuidice. Violet decided that if she did nothing else tonight, it would all be worthwhile provided she found a way to talk with her hoped-to-be-future-boss before the end of this evening.
Mel stood by himself in front of the bar and surveyed the room. He made a note to himself that he made another good decision (to attend this party). Scanning the room, it looked like everyone from the Company was here! The Host, this Jimmie guy, was clearly a very popular person. Mel marveled at the audacity necessary to, not only arrange for your own birthday party, but to manage to get this many people to show up! Impressive. Looking over in the direction of where the Head of the M&A Dept was being surrounded by partygoers, Mel made a mental note to get over to say hello to Alex. He planned on making the opportunity to get her aside and see what she was like, outside of the business formal office environment at work. He looked around the room for the girl he was just talking to, wondering if she would remember to bring him something back from the buffet table, not seeing her, he moved to join the small group that was standing and watching the band set up on the stage at the far end of the room.
“Goddamn icing better not stick to this outfit!” Wondering why this job was so important to her friend, Meg stood in the kitchen prep area of the Calypso Club staring at the 4 foot birthday cake, a step-ladder standing right next to it. The top of the cake was open.
‘Get in cake …wait for the signal… jump up and yell ‘Happy Birthday” that sounded simple enough. Almost the easiest $100.00 I’ve earned, Meg laughed to herself. Watching the busboys and cooks stare at her from the prep area, Meg thought how funny it would be if she made them give her a pastry bag to use as a prop. ‘nah, too easy. Get in, get out‘ the approach had always worked for her. If it weren’t for her best friend being in a jam… ‘but that’s what friends are for, right’? Meg knew that Zoey really needed to keep her job at the agency, so when she got the phone call asking her to stand in at this birthday party…‘of course!‘ was Meg’s immediate reply. The relief in her friend’s voice was all the thanks she needed, ‘small payback for what she did last year, I owe that girl my life‘.
Meg called the escort service and told them that she wouldn’t be available for the night. Her boss was not happy. There was shouting, of course, she was expecting that, but when he said that the agency had a reservation request from the CEO of one of the most prominent companies in town and that Meg was perfect, the perfect girl for the job, she was almost tempted. But friends came first! Screw the old CEO and his cronies, let ’em find a girl on their own!
Making sure the sous chef was watching, smiling to herself ( that trouble smile, her mother used to call it) Meg pulled at the top of her outfit and shouted, “hey! any of you guys here got some glue…or maybe a pastry bag?”
(…to be continued)
About clarkscottroger
Very interesting continuation and loved how you made Alex a Delgiudice, lol!! Also, loved how Jen or Jenni was described and can tell you, when I worked in corporate years back,I knew someone just like her. Seriously, can’t wait to see how this all plays out now.
@Janine
…the memories are re-structured to protect the not-particularly-innocent! This little project (the Doctrine as Allegory) is starting to scare me a bit, growing as it seems by itself. But then our friend Molly sort of warned us about how characters have a way of deciding what they want to do, all on their own…
It’s very interesting to see this all playing out! Looking forward to the rest of the story. :)
@Amy
should be interesting (what? sure I suppose I am the person who knows what’s going to happen next) (…yeah, right)
The character of Sam – on point. As clarks, we do that very thing – scope out a room first, take in details of absolutely everything and know each and every avenue of exit. This last is of ultimate importance! clarks must know they can exit a place quickly if needs be. LOL And really, if they are among strangers, it’s not as if anyone will notice….except usually they’ll be one or two people who notice and might comment: “gee Marge, wasn’t there a young woman standing over there against that far wall near the bandstand? Did you know her? No? Guess she had enough of the party…..now what were you saying about….”
This Meg character – she’s really thinking “I should be getting at least 300 bucks for this but I’m doin’ it for Zoey.” Meg is a loyal friend. scotts will be there if you need them. Most of the time.
@DS#1
Yeah, I’m starting to like Violet too. Meg on the other hand, if Mel isn’t careful, I may just have to bring him to Meg’s attention.
I am enjoying this story. Seeing all the personalities interact is fun, and knowing what they are thinking is even better. I can’t imagine being Alex.
@Molly
What will be interesting is where there will be be sympatico among the different combinations/pairings, it may not be as predictable as you might think.
Wow, so you ARE having someone jump out of a cake — can’t wait for that scene to unfold!
@Emily
…well some of that is kinda Stacy’s fault what with suggesting there be a slightly crazy scottian women. Never having jumped out of a cake or, for that matter never having be in the physical presence of women-launching cakes, I will appreciate any ideas, suggestions or input into the event. If you know anyone who actually has jumped from a cake, not only would love to talk to her, I would send her a Wakefield Doctrine DocTee (photo documentation necessary, of course! lol)
Like I said… this is one hell of a party to be attending (cyber-istically speaking). Oh, and the pastry bag? Gotta love it. A true scottian female indeed-ee-o!
@Jennifer
thank you, coming from you (a scottian woman) I take that as a high compliment
Almost forgot. The video? Damn. Something that might come out of the mouth of Meg. LOL
I know of a woman who does the sort of thing that Meg is doing… She lives at the place with the white limo, between here and *ahem* that place we go to shop. My husband met her husband at an acquaintances house — Samtrax is the name he goes by (in real life).
We don’t like Samtrax half as much as we like Deer Tracks, though he is quite the character. Deer Tracks is very interesting, but that is a WHOLE ‘nother story. ;)
@Molly
any chance of getting some actual cake technique? lol what is the term they use in movies and other fiction where experts are brought in for the purposes of assuring authenticity?
I got my shirt the other day… I was so busy I completely forgot to tell you.. but it got my husband talking. So now we are trying to figure out what we are… I am leaning toward a Roger! :) I think… but maybe I am a clark. Oh boy – this is how all the conversations start!
@Stacy
(…err honey? I found this shirt in the laundry. …a ‘Doctrine’??! is there something we need to talk about?) lol
You know, believe it or not, having two people working out their respective pre-dominant types can actually speed the in semi-unexpected ways! As you know it is all about how (a person) relates themselves to the world around them, so watch for someone to say something to the effect, “this is my type and the reason I know this is because the rules of the Doctrine dictate it…” (or) “hey this is great I’m a scott!!!” (or even) “it may not necessarily be true, but there is the possibility that one of us might not me immediately correct, however…”
It’s fun reading about these characters. I’m pretty sure I know who Violet is, but I’m going to refrain from labelling the others. I’m still not perfect at this IDing personalities stuff…though I could tell my own immediately. LOL
@Cyndi
yeah, we do recognize ‘our people’ lol …the thing about spotting the other two, just comes down to practice. But if you have any thought for the trajectory of Violet’s (or Sam’s) evening, I will be happy to see what we can do!
I enjoyed the introduction of Jen (or Jennie), and the whole party scene. Can relate to some of it, and it does bring back memories of previous office parties. I hope you write lots more of these…. scenarios we can all relate to and the interesting characters – Clarks, Rogers and Scotts! Thoroughly enjoyed this morning’s reading…thanks! :)
@Melanie
Glad to hear that, I am looking forward to seeing what these people are up to and it also presents a fun way to see the 3 personality types in real life situations.!
Really getting interesting here. I’ve known so many like Jen over the years. Sad thing is, they’re usually the first one to go when cuts occur. Jumping out of a cake? First, climbing in, without messing up the outside, must be extremely difficult, but then, is there a ladder inside for them to climb down? Never been involved with this at all. Not the major part of the story, of course, but it does raise questions. Great read!
@Rich
lol I am hoping there are some cake-jumpers out there willing to lend some of their expertise! It is an odd but persistent cultural artifact, this over-doing of the birthday celebration, but I am seeing that most of us have known people like Jen (or Jennie) and Mel and even our Ms. Deligiudice! The thing that makes the Doctrine so unique is that it manages to deal with the way that people act from a perspective that does not make any act (or intent or trait or interest) the exclusive domain of any one personality type! We actually take the position that ‘everyone does everything’, the key for us is what does it represent to the personality type we are discussing? IN other words, even though Meg (our cake jumper-out–of-er) is a scottian woman, it is ‘possible’ for Violet or even Jen (or Jennie) our clark and roger, respectively, to jump from the cake! Kind of fun to imagine the differences in approach for these other two, and their differences would be a reflection of their different worldviews! Thanks for stopping it!