C + D · one of the twelve blends

Cd personality type (The Arbiter)

The Arbiter checks the facts, then makes the call.

This type used to be called The Strategic Analyst.

The Arbiter studies the data, then decides and acts.

Cd is one of the twelve blends in the WiredType model. Conscientiousness leads, and Dominance is close behind. People also write this blend as CD or C/D. The Dc blend, in which Dominance leads, is a different type. This page describes the Arbiter. If the Arbiter is your type, you will likely recognize yourself in it. If you live or work with an Arbiter, it shows what the Arbiter is wired to do and how to work well together.

Take the free test See all 25 types

This page describes the Cd type in general. Take the free test to see your own result. It is free, and you won’t be asked for a credit card or any payment details. You can also see the Full Profile and its price for the complete Cd report.

Traits of the Arbiter

This section covers what drives the Arbiter and what the Arbiter works to avoid, then the Arbiter's main strength, main weakness, motto and signature animal, from WiredType's profile of the Cd type.

What drives the Arbiter

  • The Arbiter wants evidence behind each call, so when a coworker sends a request, they look at how the last three requests like it turned out, and they still answer the same day.
  • They want family choices to hold up, so they compare three car seats line by line, then pick one by dinner.
  • The Arbiter wants their careful work recognized, so they notice when a friend in the group chat thanks them for checking the trip budget.
  • They want their calls to hold up, so each month they check their budget against their bank statement and change one line.
  • The Arbiter wants the real cause, so they keep asking questions after everyone else accepts the first explanation, and then they name the fix.

What the Arbiter works to avoid

  • The Arbiter can fear being wrong in front of others, from the second a coworker rechecks the Arbiter's spreadsheet and gets a different total.
  • They can fear the gut-feel decision, and the hard moment comes when their partner wants to sign a lease today after one walk-through.
  • They can dread a half-checked decision, so a friend texting "just pick a place, we leave in 5 minutes" puts them on edge.
  • The Arbiter can fear signing for a loan when the lender's phone quote and the written terms show two different rates.
  • They can fear approving a call that falls apart six months later, and the hard moment comes at the signature line.

Superpower (main strength)

The Arbiter rechecks the numbers on a plan, such as a move or a trip, then names a date and keeps it, so everyone plans around one fixed day.

Kryptonite (main weakness)

Once the Arbiter has the numbers, they give their answer before anyone else finishes talking, and people feel overruled.

Motto

“Show me where that number came from. Then we decide today.”

Signature animal

The raven holds on to the details until it is time to act.

How the Arbiter works with each style

Each section describes what tends to happen between the Arbiter and a colleague of one style, and gives a line the Arbiter can say. If you are that colleague, read your own style's section.

DCd and D (Dominance)

A D-type colleague wants the Arbiter's analysis and gets impatient waiting for it. When the D-type acts before the data is in, the Arbiter worries about the risk the D-type skipped. The pairing works best when the Arbiter's recommendation reaches the D-type on the day the D-type needs to decide. When it arrives late, the D-type has already moved on to the next decision.

What the Arbiter can say to a D-type colleague: “My pick is the second quote, and I am confident in it. The numbers are on this one page. If you see a flaw, tell me today.”

ICd and I (Influence)

The Arbiter backs an idea only once its numbers hold. On Monday an I-type colleague pitches five ideas while the Arbiter is still testing the first. The Arbiter's questions can sound cold to the I-type. The I-type's pace looks to the Arbiter like nobody checked anything. The pairing works once the two split roles: the Arbiter tests each idea, and the I-type sells the ones that pass.

What the Arbiter can say to an I-type colleague: “I love these ideas. Let me take your top two and check the costs. I will send you my pick with the numbers by Thursday at noon.”

SCd and S (Steadiness)

An S-type colleague knows where a plan will be hard to carry out, and often waits to be asked before saying so. The Arbiter does well to ask that colleague while the analysis is still a draft. Otherwise the plan ships with a gap the S-type saw and the Arbiter learns about in week two.

What the Arbiter can say to an S-type colleague: “Before we lock this in on Friday, which part of this plan will be hardest for you to carry out? I want your honest read.”

CCd and C (Conscientiousness)

Working with another C-type colleague is comfortable for the Arbiter, and most of the lost time goes into arguing about method. In a Monday kickoff, the two can spend the hour on how to run the churn study before anyone opens the data. The Arbiter's Dominance helps here: the Arbiter pushes for a decision that two pure C-types would keep putting off.

What the Arbiter can say to a C-type colleague: “Can we spend 15 minutes on how we compare the options, then split the research? We talk Thursday at 2 with what we found and book it.”

Is Cd your type?

The free test is five scenarios and shows your most likely type. You do not need to give an email address. Your Full Profile is written from your four scores and goes deeper on the Cd profile, across 53 pages: the full portrait, strengths and growth, leadership, career, and relationships.

Take the free test See the Full Profile, $29.95

If you already know your type, invite someone you know to take the free test and compare. You will both see how your types work together.

Compare with someone you know
A sample page from the Cd Full Profile, titled What charges you. What drains.
Sample page A page from the Cd Full Profile, exactly as a buyer receives it. If your type is different, your Full Profile has the same page written for your type. Open the page full size.