The buzz around Susan Cain’s book Quiet: The power of Introverts in a World That Just Can’t Stop Talking continues to build. Watching her speak here in London last week it’s clear she’s hit a cultural chord. As of today, #33 on the Amazon chart.

Introverts clearly have a tough time making themselves heard. She’s also quite right that extroverts tend to dominate the group processes we see in various organizations. Cain emphasizes solitary work and reflection, and no doubt, there is not enough of either. I’m not sure she understands that with proper training and facilitation, and just good listening skills, a lot of the challenges she identifies for introverts can be overcome. The value of group work and collaborative work is also hard to deny.

And…

The backlash has begun.

My good friend Alan Black, creativity consultant extraordinaire and hipster graphic artist produced this somewhat tongue-in-cheek, and yet thought provoking visual, about the care and feeding of Extroverts. Reading through it, he makes some good points. Extroverts are often ignored as well, and, their needs are never catered to, they are taken for granted.

Thanks for a bit of fun Alan.  You can see more of his drawing and visual work here. Or visit his cartooning blog: http://alaniscartooning.blogspot.co.uk/