Q: It seems that no matter where I work, whether it is a big business or a small one, there always seems to be one person who just skates by on the thinnest amount of work. I work with a guy like that right now and he drives me crazy. I thought that maybe I should report him to my manager, but then again, maybe she knows and doesn’t care? – TJ

A: I knew a guy like that once too. We both began work at the same firm on the same day, and this guy started out like gangbusters. He got into the office early every day, stayed late, volunteered to do extra projects, and worked weekends with out a peep. He was a working machine.

For a month.

I didn’t notice it right away of course because I had already pegged the guy as a workaholic. But after a few months I realized that he was no longer the work monster he once was.

We had become friendly by then and so I asked him about it. “What I do, Steve, is work like a madman for a month when I start a job. That creates my ‘brand’ if you will. Bosses see me through the ‘hard-worker’ template from then on. But what I have learned is that I don’t have to keep it up after a while and yet they continue to think of me that way.”

Alrighty then.

There really are all sorts of types of people you deal with in your job, aren’t there? There is . . .

The Loyal Soldier: The Loyal Soldier is the type of employee every business needs and every boss looks to hire. Having someone who is willing to do what needs to get done, and does so competently and without complaining, is what we all want in our businesses.

The Braggart: This guy has no shame. He’s the one who loves to proclaim how much work he does, how important he is to the company, how the whole enterprise works because of him.

Personally, one thing I have learned is that truly great people let their work and their character do the speaking. They feel no need to show off. My brother likes to remind me that if I have to explain the joke, it’s not funny. That’s the deal here.

If you have to tell people how great you are, you aren’t.

Mr. 9-to-5: You know this guy, right? This is the person who is just there for the paycheck. While lots of people go to work to make a difference, Mr. 9-to-5 goes to work to make a buck. Don’t expect more.

The Comic Relief: The work version of the class clown has an essential role in the functioning of many an organization. She keeps things light and is usually great for the culture (just as long as she also gets the job done.)

The Skater: This was my colleague above. The skater skates by . . . until he doesn’t and gets canned.

The Creative Genius: A few weeks ago, I was in China attending the World Entrepreneurship Forum. This annual event brings together entrepreneurs from all over the world to share ideas, tips, strategies, and lessons. I always love going to this event because it is just so damn inspiring to see how different entrepreneurs work creatively to solve problems, whether they hail from South America, France, Africa, Singapore, the U.S., or wherever.

While listening to legendary VC Tim Draper in my panel discussion (whose investments include Skype, Hotmail, and Tesla) and Mao Jingxiang, a young Chinese entrepreneur who made the 2015 list of Forbes China’s “entrepreneurship elite below 30” (among others), I realized that such creativity really can thrive anywhere, be it the Silicon Valley or Communist China, given the right incentives.

And that’s a great take-away for we small business people.

If you own a business, one way to get ahead is to tap into thispower of creative entrepreneurship. By fostering an environment that allows your people to be inventive and try new things, so-called “intrapreneurship” has the potential to reshape your business for the better.Indeed, you don’t have to be or hire thecreative genius. By offering the right incentives (money, ego-stroking, equity, freedom, what have you), you just may find one within your midst.

And that beats a skater anyday.

Today’s tip: The Junior World Entrepreneurship Forum (JWEF) is a global initiative derived from the World Entrepreneurship Forum. It is a global community of students and young entrepreneurs that aims at promoting and accelerating junior entrepreneurship globally. If this interests you, you can learn more here.