The Three Jesse Test

When faced with a difficult situation in education, or politics Howard Gardner offered the following suggestion of the “Three Jesse Test“. Take what ever the issue is and observe in your mind how Jesse Helms, Jesse Ventura, and Jesse Jackson would react to what ever the particular situation is. Because these three never seem to come to agreement on anything it will give you a great indication on how the different audiences may react to your positions or comments.

In the research I have done on exceptional leaders, most all of them have a great ability to observe their environment, culture, organization and situations from multiple perspective. The “Three Jesse Test” is a concrete way to look at different situations in very extreme perspectives.