Mike Shur – The Assessment Specialist
People ask, “What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?” This is a pretty cool question for me because I’d say, “I would do PERSONALITY TYPE.” And lucky for me, that’s exactly what I “do”!
Originally, I did not know I’d be passionate about Type Development. I started out as a New York lawyer after earning my Juris Doctor from New York University Law School.
Actually, it goes back further than that! Becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States, after migrating from Russia as a boy, I always wanted to be very American. I was an over-achiever, striving for top grades, like earning 3 bachelor degrees at one time as an undergraduate at Brown University. . . and participating in every social activity possible like a local TV game show for brainiacs in high school. I wanted to do it all and do it well! The next thing I knew, I was a living, breathing Wall Street lawyer.After noticing my heart just wasn’t into being a corporate lawyer and feeling like practicing law was draining my spirit, I began my journey toward finding my special niche.
It was clearly time for change. I transitioned from corporate law in New York, to in-house law at IBM in Northern California – remaining focused on discovering my niche. Suddenly, my path seemed clear when I seized the opportunity to test my skills as senior web Strategist for IBM’s Marketing Department. My new Marketing career broadened when IBM sold its storage business to Hitachi, which manifested a Global Strategic Marketing position for me with Hitachi.
That was my turning point. It was then, when I realized I have a knack for Leadership and Development. I jumped in with both feet and focused on Hitachi’s world-wide launch, forming a team by enlisting top producers from departments as diverse as technical engineers and developers, sales teams, and senior executives. After managing the collaborative team I’d assembled for Hitachi and launching the successful growth of the division, I was ready to hone my Leadership Skills even more.
I left Hitachi to join the publisher of the country’s number one personality type instrument, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®. As CPP’s Product Manager, I was responsible for marketing and branding all MBTI® products. I was excited and ready to roll!
I began living and breathing TYPE, learning every tool within my reach and then pushing to learn more. I became certified in MBTI®, STRONG, FIRO-B, and CPI 260, and learned about tools like TKI and MBTI®ThinkBox. I steadily became the product expert for not only my employer, but also for Type Industry Professionals. I collaborated with authors, met the Myers family, and eagerly participated in as many Industry Events and Associations as my personal and business life would allow!
Five years later, I found myself with several years’ experience consulting as The Assessment Specialist, partnering as product expert with organizational development firms and individual practitioners, as well as recently-accredited MBTI users. And, the question I poised to myself was, “What’s next?” More collaboration! As an ENTP (that’s Type Talk for Extraverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Perceiving), few things move and inspire me more than collaboration, exploring the possibilities, and sharing.
In February 2010, I officially began pursuing my full-time career as The Assessment Specialist. I’m enjoying the freedom of strategizing with amazing firms and individual practitioners providing Organizational Development to the business sector, government agencies, and higher education. I bring value to employee development for all business models and industries, and I possess a unique ability to understand the special needs of high-performance, high-intensity teams such as senior executives and corporate attorneys from an insider’s perspective.
When you’re ready to explore the world of Organizational Development and Leadership Training, here are 4 tips I recommend to help you get a solid start:
1. Examine the facts
2. Consider the possibilities
3. Prioritize
4. Note the impact of your choices
