LIFO Gift Shop
If you asked anyone to help you choose a gift for your boss, coworker, or subordinate, even for your spouse, the first thing e will do is to ask you “what is his /her personality looks like?”
Choosing a valentine's gift is not about what we like, and it is not a lot where we will pick a random gift and pray that the other person will like it. As we always believe “do unto others the way they want to be done unto”. Don’t ask yourself what would they buy for me? Ask yourself what would they like to have?
Have you ever tried to select a gift for someone according to his/her life orientation? Life Orientations® or LIFO® is our unique survey that describes our behavioral tendency. If you understood those four orientations towards life, you will be able to communicate and collaborate much easier with others and yourself, including selecting the right valentine’s gift.
Let’s a have a quick look at the four orientations and then suggest possible gifts that each type will most probably like.
Supporting-Giving
People with Supporting-Giving orientation have the value of excellence, responsiveness, and cooperation. They seek to be helpful, trusted, and valued by others. They always seek to work on something of a higher meaning and purpose.
Selecting a gift for such a type is very easy because they are always understanding and considerate. A customized gift or antique will be a very nice gift for them, something to remind them of how valued they are to us. Supporting-Giving people are always seeking a higher value, so if you printed his favorite quote or moto on the gift that will make him over the moon.
Take care that supports giving is always looking for fairness, he wants everyone to be treated equally. If you are buying a gift for him, make sure that everyone else gets a good gift too.
The real gift for the support giving a type of people is about how you will give him the gift. Prepare some nice words of appreciation, tell him directly, or write them on a nice card.
Controlling-Taking
Controlling-Taking person is action-oriented. They value action, competence, and risk-taking. They love to feel like they are challenging hard situations and take quick action to win. They are very good at telling people what to do. So what kind of challenging gift where they can move pieces? Stuff like board games, strategy games, or outdoor adventures would be a perfect gift.
Take care that Controlling-Taking people like winning. If you are playing on the same team he may push you a little, or exert more control over the game. If you are playing against each other he may try to get indulged inaction before reading the instructions carefully. Anyways try to have nice gameplay.
Conserving-Holding
Conserving-Holding people are very analytical. They look at the situations as mathematical problems that need methodical analysis. They are very organized and love to put everything in place. Usually, they will be happy with stationery, planners, and trackers.
Another type of gift that they may like is puzzles and riddles. They will be engaged for hours collecting clues and figuring out how to solve the problem.
Take care that Conserving-Holding may be delayed in action, so they will prefer single-player games where there is no rush from others.
Adapting-Dealing
They are happy as long everyone is happy. Adapting-Dealing are always looking for harmony, they have a great deal of flexibility and empathy towards others. They are very sociable too.
If you can hold a gathering for all his close beloved ones you have given him the perfect gift. Spending quality time with close friends and family where everyone is in harmony and happiness is like a heaven to Adapting-Dealing person.
But take care when you are preparing the guest list. One of the challenges that you will face with adapting to dealing is that he is very conservative. If he doesn’t like anything or anyone in the gathering, he will not tell you or show you. Another thing that he needs everyone to be in harmony, so it will not be very nice to invite any pullies or people who don’t know/ like each other.
Selecting a perfect valentine’s gift was a tiring process, but understanding people’s life orientations make it a lot easier.
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