Cool Reads! Surrounded by Idiots

In Surrounded by Idiots, Thomas Erikson presents the DISC personality theory. According to DISC theory there are four main personality types we all exhibit. This isn’t to pigeon hole anyone since it’s a spectrum with most people being 80% one personality type and 20% another. The DISC behaviours Erikson explains, are deeply ingrained in human psyche as he references observations dating back to ancient history.

Erikson assigns each personality type a colour. Red for dominance; yellow for influence; green for stability; and blue for compliance.

This isn’t to say that people can never exhibit traits of other personality types, just where one’s comfort zone is. I’m personally a yellow but I can very easily slide into red behaviors. My lack of blueness may explain why I have to push myself extra hard on activities where details matter most.

Think of it as a shorthand for dealing with different types of people. Each personality type has it’s own strengths and weaknesses. If you can increase your awareness of peoples personality type, you stand a better chance at communicating effectively with them.

What’s great about the book is that after reading through a variety of examples and situations I can now make a quick assessment of someones personality type and adjust my communication style with them accordingly. I’ve already used the technique to work with a particularly green family member on a project that historically would have caused friction.

Improve your personal interactions with different types of people.

Master them all to take it to the C level.