When finding new employees, companies have to answer the following three questions:
- Does the candidate have the required qualifications?
- Does the candidate have the required skills and experience?
- Is the candidate a good fit for the team or company?
The first two criteria can be easily clarified by checking the candidate’s qualifications and experience against the qualifications and experience required for the role. Finding employees who are a good fit is harder, however. Here there are no concrete facts to go by, and the employer may have very limited information on which to make this crucial assessment.
Let’s see if ChatGPT can help us make this decision.
Life Scripts
Every person has a “life script”, this means that (at least subconsciously) they have a life plan for where they will live, what sort of relationships they will have, what sort of career they will have and also whether or not they will be happy and fulfilled or if they will be a bystander to life.
Life scripts are formed in early childhood by impressions and instructions received at this young age. People who have “successful” life scripts rarely think about their script, as they see no need to do so. People who have harmartic (tragic) scripts may have to delve deep into their scripts to try and determine which script instructions and assumptions are causing them to self-destruct.
The primary elements of a life-script include:
- Models: Who the person is expected to be like: “Your grandfather was a great footballer, you can be that good as well.”
- Permissions: Things the person is allowed to do: “Always ask what you want for, that way you’ll be sure to get exactly what you want.”
- Injunctions: Things the person is not allowed to do: “Don’t ever be cruel to animals.”
- Decisions: Decisions made in childhood: “I’m going to be the best footballer ever.”
- OK’ness: What constitutes OK’ness: “I am awesome because I’m a good footballer.”
- Not OK’ness: What constitutes not OK’ness: “Oh my god, did you see how cruel that person was to their dog?”
Altogether, these elemental attitudes and decisions determine the primary course and perimeters of a person’s life, unless that person makes a conscious decision to evaluate and redecide their life.
Script Analysis and ChatGPT 4
For a person to understand themselves and achieve self-knowledge, it is useful for the person to analyse their life script and identify what is driving them forward in a particular direction, or alternatively, identify what is preventing them from changing and taking a more successful route through life. This exercise is called script analysis.
ChatGPT 4 makes a surprisingly good script analyst, as demonstrated in the below example. (This example was generated using a custom GPT – Script Analyst.)
Shared Chat link.
Transactional Analysis (TA) is a psychoanalytic theory and method of therapy wherein social transactions are analyzed to determine the ego state of the communicator (whether parent-like, child-like, or adult-like) as a basis for understanding behavior. In applying Transactional Analysis to a figure like Steve Jobs, one would look at both his public and private personas to infer potential life scripts that influenced his decisions and interactions.
Life Script Development
Steve Jobs’s life script could be postulated based on publicly known facts about his early life, personality, career, and interpersonal relationships. Life scripts in TA are unconscious life plans influenced by parental messages and early decisions, guiding individuals through their life paths.
- Early Decisions and Influences: Jobs was adopted, which is a significant early life event that could have shaped his feelings of rejection and fears of abandonment, potentially fostering a compensatory drive for control and perfection. Jobs might have internalized an “I’ll prove my worth” script, where his subsequent drive for innovation and perfection in technology was a form of compensation and a quest for self-validation.
- Parental Figures and Messages: Being raised by adoptive parents who supported his interests in electronics likely reinforced a script of striving for innovation and excellence. Jobs’s biological parents were both intellectuals (his father was a political science professor and his mother a speech therapist), which might have also subconsciously influenced his drive towards significant, world-changing endeavors.
- Career and Interpersonal Relationships: Jobs’s career was marked by his visionary ideas and charismatic, though often polarizing, leadership style. His interactions often displayed a high level of intensity and a demand for the utmost commitment and perfection, reflecting a possible “Be perfect” driver, which in TA terms, is a psychological pressure to perform at high standards at all times.
Life Positions and Their Manifestations
Jobs’s behavior and career also reflect certain life positions, another concept in TA, which might include:
- “I’m OK, You’re OK”: This is the healthiest position and involves a good balance of self-acceptance and acceptance of others. Jobs could occasionally be seen operating from this position when he praised his team and collaborated effectively, driving innovation.
- “I’m OK, You’re Not OK”: Jobs often exhibited this position during his interactions, where he might have viewed his own ideas as superior, leading to significant conflicts with colleagues and board members. This position likely fueled the decisive, sometimes ruthless business decisions he made, such as those during his tenure at Apple when he cut projects he deemed unworthy.
Conclusions
Steve Jobs’s life script can be interpreted as one driven by a need to prove his worth through perfection and innovation, shaped by early experiences of adoption and influenced by the nurturing yet demanding environment provided by his adoptive parents. His script might have been characterized by a struggle between seeking validation through achievements and a relentless drive that strained many of his personal and professional relationships. His script suggests a complex interplay of striving for success and battling internal feelings of inadequacy or rejection.
ChatGPT’s script analysis does a relatively good job of describing Steve Jobs’s tempestuous and successful corporation-building life.
The Company Script
In addition to the life scripts of individuals, we can identify a personality and Life Script for any socio-cultural organisation. For example, some societies may be “out there” and have an outgoing personality, some societies may pride themselves on their intellectualism, and some societies may pride themselves on their correctitude and furtherance of moral standards.
Therefore, in addition to asking ChatGPT 4 to do a script analysis of an individual, we can also ask ChatGPT 4 to do a script analysis of an entire company:
Shared Chat link.
You
Considering Apple Inc in totality as a corporate personality, explain the company script in human terms. In your script analysis, explain how Apple’s psuedo-human personality acts towards achieving its own script goal.
Script Analyst
Analyzing Apple Inc. as a corporate entity with a “pseudo-human personality” involves personifying its business strategies, brand identity, and corporate behaviors within the framework of Transactional Analysis (TA). In TA, a life script refers to an unconscious life plan that influences behavior patterns. Transposing this concept onto Apple Inc. involves interpreting the company’s actions, public relations, and product strategies as if they were the manifestations of a coherent individual personality with specific life goals.
The Script of Apple Inc.
Script Belief: Apple’s corporate script can be said to revolve around the belief in innovation, aesthetics, simplicity, and premium quality. This belief system drives its strategic decisions and interactions with the market and its consumers.
Script Goal: The goal of Apple’s script is to maintain its status as a leader in innovation and to remain at the forefront of technology, with a strong emphasis on user experience and design. This goal is pursued with the intention of creating a world where technology complements and enhances human capability in a user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing manner.
Script Driver: The drivers for Apple include “Be Perfect,” “Be Innovative,” and “Be the First,” which can be seen in its commitment to high-quality product releases and its pioneering of new technology markets (e.g., personal computing, smartphones, and more recently wearables and home technology).
Script Injunctions: Apple operates with a strong injunction to “Please others” through user-centric design and customer service but also to “Try hard” in areas of product development and market expansion.
Manifestations of the Script
- Innovation as a Life Position: Apple consistently pushes the boundaries of what is possible with technology. Its frequent reinventions of product categories—such as the iPhone transforming telecommunication, or the iPad creating a new niche between smartphones and laptops—demonstrate a script that compels it to innovate and lead.
- Control over Ecosystem: Apple’s control over both its hardware and software ecosystems (e.g., iOS, macOS) exemplifies a “Parental” script attitude of nurturing through control. This control ensures a seamless and integrated user experience, reflecting its “Be Perfect” driver.
- Market Behavior and Brand Loyalty: Apple’s marketing strategies foster a strong emotional connection with its customers, akin to a “Nurturing Parent” role in TA. The company creates a sense of belonging and loyalty among its users, encouraging them to adopt the full range of its products and services.
- Response to Competition: In its competitive stance, Apple often adopts an “Adult” rational approach—focusing on its own innovations rather than directly attacking competitors. However, its vigorous defense of its intellectual properties and its strategic positioning in legal and business negotiations also show a “Controlling Parent” aspect, defending its script against external threats.
- Adaptation to External Feedback: Apple’s response to criticism and failure (e.g., addressing product flaws or altering policies due to consumer backlash) reflects an adaptive script that incorporates learning and growth without straying far from its core script values.
By analyzing Apple Inc. as if it were a person, we can see that its corporate personality is driven by a deep-seated belief in innovation and quality, shaped by a script that seeks to transform the world through technology. Its script goals are achieved by consistently adhering to its belief in excellence and by influencing consumer behavior and industry standards. Apple’s script, with its complex interplay of drivers and injunctions, directs it to behave in ways that consistently reinforce its position as a leader in the technology sector, impacting both its users’ lives and the global market.
A Good Fit
If we want to know if an potential employee will be a good fit for a company, we can check to see if the candidate’s life script is aligned with the company’s life script. If it is, then in all probability the candidate will be able to adapt to life in the company with minimum stress. If not, the candidate may not fit into the company, seeing as they won’t “see” why the company places a stress on particular areas, and subsequently they won’t understand why they are expected to put in extra effort to make sure these areas are addressed appropriately.
Let’s ask ChatGPT for the ideal life script of a potential employee for Apple.
Shared Chat link.
You
Given the above script analysis of Apple Inc., what type of TA life script would be best suited for a potential employee of Apple?
Script Analyst
For an individual seeking to thrive within Apple Inc., aligning with the company’s corporate script is crucial. Given Apple’s emphasis on innovation, quality, control, and customer experience, the most suitable Transactional Analysis (TA) life script for a potential employee would involve several key components:
Complementary Script Traits for an Apple Employee
- Striving for Excellence (Be Perfect): Apple prides itself on high-quality and aesthetically pleasing products. An employee with a script that drives them to excel, pay meticulous attention to detail, and uphold high standards would resonate well with Apple’s corporate ethos.
- Innovative and Proactive (Be Innovative): Given Apple’s foundational principle of pioneering new technologies and redefining existing ones, a script that includes a strong inclination toward innovation and creativity is essential. Employees who are not just receptive to change but are proactive in driving it would find a rewarding environment at Apple.
- Resilience in the Face of Challenges (Try Hard): Apple’s script includes pushing boundaries and continuously improving. An employee script that embraces challenges and sees them as opportunities to learn and grow would be well-suited to the company’s culture.
- Customer-Centric Attitude (Please Others): Since Apple invests heavily in creating an unparalleled user experience, potential employees should have a script that emphasizes empathy, user satisfaction, and the desire to connect with and please the customer. This aligns with Apple’s nurturing approach towards its users.
- Team-Oriented and Collaborative (Be Strong): Apple’s work environment necessitates collaboration across various teams and disciplines to innovate and execute projects seamlessly. An employee script that supports being a strong team player who can handle responsibilities and support colleagues will integrate well.
- Adaptability (Be Open): Apple’s landscape is dynamic, with frequent shifts in technology and consumer preferences. An employee with a script that includes flexibility and the ability to adapt to new methods, tools, and environments would thrive at Apple.
Ideal Script Pattern
- Early Script Decisions: An ideal employee would have formed early script decisions that value innovation, quality, and resilience. Such decisions could stem from an upbringing or early career experiences that emphasized continuous improvement, creativity, and problem-solving.
- Driver Messages: The primary drivers would be “Be Perfect”, “Try Hard”, “Be Innovative”, and “Please Others”. These drivers would motivate the employee to align closely with Apple’s goals and working style.
- Counter Scripts: It’s beneficial for potential Apple employees to manage any counter scripts that could hinder performance, such as fear of failure or reluctance to change. Emphasizing personal development areas that counteract such scripts can help in adapting fully to Apple’s demanding environment.
By adopting a life script that complements Apple’s corporate script, a potential employee can effectively contribute to the company’s objectives and fit into its culture. This alignment not only enhances the individual’s career satisfaction and growth but also ensures their contributions are impactful within the company.
Summary
ChatGPT has successfully identified the drivers, characteristics and elements of life script that would be ideal to have in a new Apple employee. To check if an employee excels in these areas, Apple could provide interview questions or a psychometric test that focus on these specific areas. Doing this would allow Apple to assess the level of cultural fit of job candidates, thus making the hiring process more predictable in regards to the question, “Is the candidate a good fit for the team or company?”