ENTJ course: Accomplish whatever you want. Then do it again.

This course includes four days of video sessions and email-based course materials. You can purchase this course for anytime, on-demand access. The cost is $195.  Sign up now!

I remember the shock of finding out I was an ENTJ. It’s so embarrassing to find out that all you care about is power. Well, power and money, because money is the measure of power. Well, and also with control, the more control I have over things I can build my power base with, and keep the money flowing.

Okay. So that’s me. And when I found out, at first I was like, “Oh my god, I can’t let anyone know about this.” Then I thought, “Oh, that must be why I always find myself at the front of the room—any room—telling people what to do.” Then I realized this must mean there are other people like me, and I wanted to meet them.

When I coach an ENTJ, we get so much done because ENTJs have the language of efficiency—unfettered by internal discussions with oneself (hello, INTJs) and emotional issues (the ENFJs). We don’t need to mull over 1000 untethered ideas (from ENTPs). We just want to make a decision and move on to the next thing.

This course will be like my easiest coaching sessions—all done in the language of ENTJs. We will not apologize for wanting to make as much money as possible, as fast as we can. We will not apologize for hating teams unless we are leading them. And we will not apologize for thinking there is no need for a vacation because working to meet ourngoals is so fun. Whatever. We will just be our socially unacceptable selves for a short time, and it will be fun.

Here are things we will do:

Day One: Three keys to ENTJ success. 

The pitch—how to talk about any idea you have so that you can get money, or buy in, or team allocation so you can make your vision a reality. Talking about your big ideas is the way you get your big ideas done. So you need to be great at conveying your vision to whoever is listening. I’ll show you how to do that. In fact, it’s my favorite thing to do.

The resume—the top of corporate life ENTJ-land. Which means that’s where you belong. But you need a resume that projects who you are so the people who read the resume know you fit right there with them, at the top. I’ll show you how to write a powerful resume that will get you in the door whenever you need to knock.

The team—you need to be a person who has a team that follows you wherever you go. Key players come with. They bring their friends. You attract great candidates and people watch what you do. This is what needs to happen for you to always have a team you can trust to implement your plans. In effect, you need to become the world’s most effective recruiter. And if you’ve never lead a team, this session will show you why leadership is your strong suit.

Day 2: ENTJ: Hurdles you must overcome. 

Understand what other people care about. Only 2% of the world is an ENTJ. So you have to be able to relate to other people. Not everyone has your high standards. Not everyone thrives on setting goals for themselves and not everyone lives in the future. Some people can’t see it at all, and they’re fine with that. This session will show you how to meet people where they are and get the best from them when interacting with them.

Set your own standards for good parenting. The loneliness and boredom of parenting is huge for an ENTJ because there is no one to lead (try leading a two-year-old) and there is no one to bounce ideas off of. But the ENTJ thrives as a parent if they run their family like they run a company:  organized, peaceful, and meeting each person’s needs, ENTJs can’t help but want to improve things, whether a product, a relationship, a soccer team—whatever the ENTJ is involved in, the ENTJ can see how it could be better, and takes action to make improvements.

Gain confidence as a rule breaker. ENTJs are incredibly self-confident to the point of being intimidating to even the most confident types. The area ENTJs waver is when they find themselves breaking lots of rules. It’s often unclear if it’s normal to break the rules or dysfunctional. In fact, ENTJs and ENTPs are the only two types who have both the self-confidence and independence to truly thrive as rule-breakers. We’ll talk about what makes effective rule-breaking and how to deal with other peoples’ inability to break rules.

Day 3:  Set up a life an ENTJ would love

Setting goals. The goals other people have are not appropriate for the ENTJ. Because you are a goal-meeting machine. So set lofty goals that will make a difference to you if you meet them. And create a team to help you hit that goal. The process of picking a goal, meeting it and picking another is what makes you tick. Set these processes in place wherever you go.

Career achievements.  You have more options than other types when it comes to career. For example, startup life is great for you, as long as you have an idea. So I’ll show you how to come up with an idea and evaluate a partner to execute the idea. And career change is easier for you because it’s mostly about self-confidence, which you have a lot of. I’ll show you how to figure out where you’ll find the most success and how to steer yourself in that direction.

A well-run personal life. We’ll discuss the best way to set up a family so it runs smoothly and meets the needs of all the family members. You’ll find out who is the best partner for an ENTJ. And you’ll learn key factors for a creating an organized, rewarding family without overwhelming people with your very high-standards. Also: ENTJs have a secret superpower for balancing their personal life and their work life and I’ll tell you what this is.

Special surprise: people tell what they have had to do to get along with the ENTJ in their life. We’ll hear from a range of people on what it’s like working with an ENTJ. Here’s a preview:

“His ability to make money is astounding. He’s a magnet for money.”

“No one has ever been so rude to me in my entire life.”

“How does she get all that done?”

Day 4: Ask me anything. This is the night we talk about specific issues you have about life as an ENTJ or any other topic you want to address.

Sign up now!

50 replies
  1. Virginia
    Virginia says:

    I am an INFP (I thought I was an INFJ until recently) so I won’t be taking the course but it is interesting to read the topics. I see now that ENTJs strive for very lofty goals which makes me understand why you strive so hard to create an amazing career and a strong home life. I often think I would be happy with less than you have achieved but your personality type drives you to reach for more.

  2. Chelsea
    Chelsea says:

    Funny, I am a female INTJ and have to admit I was a little freaked out upon learning my type (not tolerating illogical coworkers is obvious and fine, but struggling to be empathetic is quite another).

    As a big fan of your blog and writing, its been fantastic to get more insight into personality types and how they mold who we are professionally and personally.

    Thank you, Penelope for the career advice and for consistently saying with others will not.

  3. Sarah M
    Sarah M says:

    I’m an INTJ and my husband is an ENTJ. Those notes cracked me up. I’m pretty sure my mom has said of my husband at some point, “No one has ever been so rude to me in my entire life”. Sigh.

  4. Christine
    Christine says:

    I am on the line between ENFJ and ENTJ.

    Recommendations on which course I should take?

    Thank you,
    Christine

    • Lindsey
      Lindsey says:

      This is so interesting. Are lots of women on the T/F line actually T’s, but they are taught from childhood to be nice and “sweet” and all of that, so we end up functioning like NF’s sometimes?

      I’m on the line between ENTP and ENFP, and I think I’ll take both courses. The enfp course is super helpful though I test entp a bit more than enfp. I would think J’s would be able to easily choose what is helpful to them from each.

    • Penelope Trunk
      Penelope Trunk says:

      Honestly, ENTJs care so little about other peoples’ feelings that if you sense you on on the line then you are probably and ENFJ. ENTJs simply do not feel like they are on the line.

      ENTJs might be on the line with I/E or J/P, but their T is very strong. Fortunately, there is an ENFJ course coming up and and ENTJ course coming up, so you can go to either one. If you find that you are in the wrong one you can tell me and I’ll let you have access to the other for free.

      Penelope

  5. INTP who is seriously considering taking the course!
    INTP who is seriously considering taking the course! says:

    Penelope,

    I’m a highly successful INTP who always found it easy to make money. I have been jumping from startup to startup, always getting promoted to higher levels in the organization. Is it possible that this course for ENTJs would be helpful to me?

    Curiously, I totally relate to my INTP profile (skilled at analysis, seeing differences and developing categories, solving complex problems). But I’m also totally aligned with what you said about having the language of efficiency unfettered by internal discussions with oneself and emotional issues. And I never need to mull over 1000 untethered ideas — I just want to make a decision and move on to the next thing.

    Developing a good pitch for my grand ideas, gaining confidence as a rule-breaker, understanding what other people care about so that I can influence them, all these topics interest me. Would it make sense to take this course even if it’s not for my profile?

    • Penelope Trunk
      Penelope Trunk says:

      The best reason for a non-ENTJ to take the course is to understand how to work for an ENTJ or understand how to be in a relationship with an ENTJ. If you are not an ENTJ it probably won’t help you with your own type. There will be an INTP course – you should take that.

      That said, there are a few people taking every course just to learn more.

      Penelope

  6. Jane
    Jane says:

    Penelope,

    Have you thought about holding a course on how to be more like ENTJ? Or less like a ISFP? I’m a ISFP(J?) and I would love to be less like myself (ha!), more efficient, get out of my rut, and make some money!

    • Penelope Trunk
      Penelope Trunk says:

      Hilarious question. And also not so hilarious. Because so many courses are how to help people be at peace with the type they are; it’s not only ISFJs! But you can bet that there will lots of discussion about this in the ISFJ course when it comes around.

      Penelope

      • Tom
        Tom says:

        It is hilarious, yet I’d take that course, too. I’d love to be freer, move faster, and worry less about the thoughts or feared judgements of others.

        Please do some kind of course on “Finding/Unleashing Your Inner ENTJ.” I bet it would be a very popular course (maybe your most popular yet.)

  7. April
    April says:

    I live in Europe but am still interested to join. Can you tell me about how many hours per night the course will run?

    • Ali
      Ali says:

      @April…I just wanted to mention that I took the INTJ course from London a few months ago and it was totally worth staying up into the wee hours for.

      The seminars are officially only an hour, but most of them ran long or started late, so I was usually up for about 90 minutes.

      • Penelope Trunk
        Penelope Trunk says:

        Aw. That’s so nice! You know what, you guys? I love these classes so much, so it makes me really happy to hear that everyone else loves them too.

        Penelope

        • Kristin
          Kristin says:

          Here’s another ENTJ on European time who would also like to join. How many Europeans participants do we need to find for you to hold an early-afternoon course (Penelope time, i.e. evening in Europe)? Thanks!

  8. Raluca
    Raluca says:

    I’ve been waiting for a course for INTP. It’s my birthday today, so please give me some good news! When will you do one for INTP?

  9. Diane
    Diane says:

    ESTJ here and I relate to so much of this. Leading, making money, getting an enormous amount of things done. Clearly I need to work on my pitch/resume/positioning though because I have not yet managed to break into the upper ranks in the corporate world. Considering taking this (but also really looking forward to the eventual ESTJ course, right?).

  10. Julia
    Julia says:

    I’m an ENTJ and as such think that I can already do everything better than everyone else. I’m fascinated by you, Penelope, and would love the opportunity to take a course from you but I’m on the fence as to whether or not I really need the specifics of this course (unless there’s a humility portion – but really what good does humility do anyone?). I run my own business so I don’t think I need the resume, confidence, or pitch part. But perhaps I overestimate myself. My kid is twenty so I’m pretty sure I’ve done the majority of wrecking him that I’m going to do. Anyway, love to know if I should get off the fence and if so, on which side. Thanks.

    • Penelope Trunk
      Penelope Trunk says:

      You can just take the course and if you don’t like it, ask for a refund.

      (Interesting thing about refunds: I’m really easy going about them. I’ll give anyone a refund for a course. But less than 1% of people ask for them.)

      Penelope

  11. Ted Kelleher
    Ted Kelleher says:

    When I take a Myers Briggs, I’m clearly ENT, but I always get 1% J or 2 % P, depending on what kind of mood I am in. What does that mean for me? I read descriptions of ENTJ’s and ENTP’s and they both resonate to me to some extent.

    • Penelope Trunk
      Penelope Trunk says:

      One difference between ENTP and ENTJ is their ability to stick with something. An ENTJ does not get bored building the same big vision for years. And ENTP needs new stuff all the time. Also, and ENTP has no interest in building something huge. They want other people to do that. They want to just have new ideas.

      The biggest difference is conflict. An ENTP hates conflict and has a million avoidance tricks. ENTJs love conflict. To an ENTJ an argument is just a pleasant social interaction.

      Interesting side note about ENTJs and ENTPs: they are the only two types who are genuinely able to violate society’s rules and expectations. Other people feel like they are rule breakers but they are not really rule breakers.

      Penelope

      • Kristi
        Kristi says:

        I disagree that ENTPs avoid conflict. I’m squarely ENTP, and I love to debate. Took me a long time to figure out how to avoid arguments, actually.

        I do know at least one ENTP who is conflict-averse, though. And if other people have conflict that I’m not involved in/is boring, it annoys me, and I will try to help resolve it.

        • ENTJ Here
          ENTJ Here says:

          Funny thing about this comment. I’m an ENTJ, my husband is an ENTP. When I read Penelope’s comment about the differences between the two types, I think she is absolutely spot on.

          My husband absolutely loves “debate”. However, he hates “conflict”. I am the flip in some ways. I’ll debate if it’s for a purpose to get me past some obstacle, but I have never understood why he likes to debate things I see as non-important. For instance, if he thinks some kind of food is superior to another, he will want to debate with me (or anyone else) on why I prefer some other kind of food. I assume to try and convince me he’s right because it’s usually a new thing he’s gotten all passionate about. I think – who cares? You eat what you want and I’ll eat what I want and let’s just move on with it already.

          Whereas with true conflict, where emotions and depth start to get involved, I will confront that all day long to make sure it’s resolved and not causing chaos or unpleasantness — either in our house or at work. He will avoid that type of conflict like the plague. I think that’s the difference.

          • Kristi
            Kristi says:

            Oh, that’s useful perspective–an ENTP married to an ENTJ!

            I get that debate is not the same as conflict. I think I am similar to you in that I want to root out anything that could fester. The ENTJ I dated, however, totally avoided conflict of any kind in his personal life. Work was a completely different story.

            A good reminder that people vary.

      • Joyce
        Joyce says:

        Thank you for this distinction about conflict. I always thought that I could be a J instead of a P if I could be more organized.

  12. Tracey
    Tracey says:

    Awaiting INFP course….also would like a course on how to interact with colleagues/family member/friends with Aspergers. I recently found out my mother has Aspergers. I think perhaps this is why I am drawn to you and your writing. There’s a certain familiarity that I find comforting.

  13. gordana dragicevic
    gordana dragicevic says:

    There’s a mistake on the Quistic site.
    It says “Duration: Sept. 21 – Oct. 1”, while it is actually Sept. 28 – Oct. 1

  14. Liz
    Liz says:

    Will this later be available as an On-Demand course? I would love to sign up but have commitments during some of the times.

  15. Amity
    Amity says:

    For a long time I scored ENFP. I worked as a k-12 teacher for many years. After graduate school I started leading adult teams and developing curriculum and I now score as an ENTJ. Is this a normal thing? Seriously considering the course!

  16. Cass
    Cass says:

    This write up is great. Finding out I was an ENTJ changed my life. I always thought there was something wrong with me mainly bc I was always pissing others off and I never knew why. I was the same, I took the test multiple times over the years just to see if it was correct. I took different versions of the test as well. 98% of the time I scored ENTJ 2% was ENTP. Based on the suggestions made from ENTJ personality write ups I have learned how to manage myself, my triggers, and exactly how much time I can pretend to enjoy things like boring small talk before I need to get away. I have accepted my weaknesses, like introverted feeling, and I give myself time to process emotions (it usually takes days or weeks). I have also started a Ph.D Engineering program, which is heaven for me because I am in the land of rationals, no feeling talks required. I have never been happier in my life. At first I feared my ENTJness, but now I fully embrace it. Dating, I don’t even bother with anymore because I understand why I would break up with men so quickly, if I could not envision the future with them I never thought it was worth it. I know I will get married one day but I have accepted that I am more rational then most women in that I can often see how a relationship will play out before it even happens. When I see no future it is very easy for me to cut it off and move on abruptly. I don’t bother with dating because the thought of sitting across from a person making boring small talk is just torture.

  17. Ali Shanti (Alexis Neely)
    Ali Shanti (Alexis Neely) says:

    Damn Penelope, all these years later and the first thing I read reminds me how similar we are.

    Would you do a course like this that is shorter and for people who work w ENTJs? I would send everyone on both my teams.

    Ali

  18. Kate
    Kate says:

    I’m thinking about taking this course. I’m off the charts NT but am 50/50 E/I and have some P. I like to think I’m INTP at home and ENTJ out in the work world.

    But then I was thinking, “well, of course I have to go into ENTJ-mode at work and be in charge, because no one else knows how to run things, and no one else will step up to the plate and get things done and tell everyone else what they need to do, and when someone else tries to, they do it really badly.”

    Then I thought, wow, of course, only an ENTJ would even think that so I better take this class. And I love the idea of being in an environment where I don’t have to apologize for thinking that or pretend that I’m not really in charge.

  19. Carlee Busby
    Carlee Busby says:

    Interest piqued. Totally 100% ENTJ but wasn’t planning on signing up for a class. I feel like after so many years I’ve soaked up all the advice from you that I can… But I’m changing jobs (not company) the week this starts and want to make sure I am set up for success. I’m naturally a very bossy, truthful, intimidating person, but I’m going into a new job where I’m not feeling as confident as I normally am and therefore not as effective as I could be. I want to talk about how to be more of my natural ENTJ when I’m in over my head. Is this something we could discuss?

  20. Daphne
    Daphne says:

    Be that as it may, maybe I overestimate myself. My child is twenty so I’m almost certain I’ve done the lion’s share of destroying him that I’m going to do. Anyway, love to know whether I ought to get off the wall and provided that this is true, on which side. Much appreciated.

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