“Schedulers are judicious about schedules, Probers perceptive of options. Schedulers tend to believe that one’s work comes before all else. Probers are much more insistent that the work be enjoyable and to the purpose. By committing themselves to a set agenda, Schedulers tend to stop looking for alternatives and options and so may never know what they’re missing. By keeping their options open Probers are reluctant to commit themselves to schedules and so are inclined to miss deadlines and leave tasks unfinished.

Schedulers tend to be neat and orderly. They like their desk at work to be tidy, and their house picked up. Not that they always manage all of these chores, but they are unhappy when their personal space is a mess, and straightening things up is often near the top of their list. Probers, in contrast, have a much greater tolerance for disorder in their physical environment. They seem absorbed in whatever they’re doing or thinking about at the moment, and are somewhat oblivious to the details of housekeeping.

The two styles are complementary in turning in a job well done: Probers to spot opportunities and lay out alternatives, and Schedulers to be timely and press for closure.