I will versus you should

Chaps gossip too. Usually in the pub.
And sometimes really juicy, useful stuff comes up. OK, so I was chatting with a friend last week and attention turned to, let’s call him Mr. A. “Oh, he’s a ‘you should’”, said my friend “what do you mean?” said I. “There are two sorts of people in the world, the ‘you should’s and the ‘I will’s”.
That reminded me of another conversation a few weeks ago, when the remark “he’s a be-er rather than a doer” was made.
Are we onto something here? Perhaps so, for I can certainly recall working and socializing with people who make things happen, as well as those who expect others to get on with things.
Here’s the first test question, “what do you do?” If the answer includes a verb (a doing word no less), then chances are you’re talking to a doer. “I make chairs”, “I drive a bus” or even “I run a company” will do (whoops, no pun intended), suggesting an attitude of well, er, getting things done. Titles as an answer, “I’m the King’s wig-carrier”, “I’m the administrative assistant to the administrator of administrative affairs” may suggest a different attitude to life, one who is content to be, for example.
The second test question carries more risk, “shall we have lunch?” But here’s where you flush out the “you should”-er. Answers like “Love to, I’ll cook us something”, “Gigolos has got it’s third Michelin star, I’ll book a table and extend the mortgage” or even “Great, I’ll get us a KFC, two pieces or three?” may be over the top, or under it in one case, but they certainly expose the doers. “Good idea, we should try Mongolian”, “I haven’t found a good curry here yet, could you try to find us one?” on the other hand, suggest those of a “you should” disposition.
I’m not making judgements here, the world needs all three. The “you should”s make good advisers, auditors, reviewers; the “be-ers” are excellent chairman, and know when to leave stuff alone. It’s just that the doers make the world move.
But don’t take doing to excess, next time you’re having a gossip in the pub, there’s nothing wrong with “your round!”