MBTI Type: ISTJ

Bob is a professional who manages his own show, picks out all the arrangements, and concerns himself with the details of whatever he does – he would rather be doing that than settling down with a nice girl, which he says he’ll get to after he takes care of their business. He is straightforward, career-oriented, but also thinks that “someday” he will find a nice girl and settle down. He has expectations based on his own personal experiences—that most girls in “show business” aren’t interested in settling down, aren’t particularly insightful or intellectual, and aren’t up to his standards. He is proactive in doing things, from deciding they should all spend Christmas in Vermont, to how he organizes and brings their entire company up there only a few days before Christmas (and he doesn’t care about the expense). He rather bluntly wishes his best friend would “stop meddling in my life,” and constantly refers to the “emotional blackmail” Phil lays on him, for having saved his life (“from that moment on, it’s like you think you own it!”). Bob does not share his feelings, but tends to act on them – his respect and affection for their old general makes him go out of his way to make his Christmas spectacular for him, especially after he reads part of a letter in which he knows the general has been turned down from a reenlistment because they no longer want him. Bob is good at spotting talent when he sees it (of Betty, he says he would not change a thing) but has no idea why she is no longer speaking to him, why she abruptly blows hot and cold toward him, or that Phil and Judy have thrown them together on purpose and concocted a fake proposal in order to free them to fall in love (it backfires).

Enneagram: 1w2

Bob gets accused by Phil of being something of a “grump,” who spends too much time alone, and needs to lighten up in his life. He is driven by his principles, focused on work, and even though he could turn the Christmas Eve show into a money-making venture with a hundred thousand dollars in free advertising for their show, he refuses, saying he would never profit off someone else being “down on their luck.” He is quick to get angry and accuse others of misbehavior, telling Phil that faking his engagement was a stupid, selfish, and irresponsible thing to do (especially since it ran off the girl he has fallen for). Bob has an extremely active 2 wing – in one instance, he angrily says he’s going to go check a compartment on a train, and if he finds two girls in there, he’s going to give them a piece of his mind – but then when they turn up a minute later, he’s happy to have given him their sleeping berth for the night. He immediately starts thinking of ways to help the general with his struggling business / hotel, without thinking about how he could turn a profit from it (and spending a lot of money in the process). It’s his warm, generous nature that draws Betty to him, and he also looks after her whenever he can, even just to ask her what she wants for dinner or if she’s warm enough.

Interested in finding out your type? Get 16 Kinds of Crazy: The Sixteen Personality Types today!