Surrounded by Idiots

Surrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erikson could possibly be the simplest book I’ve read on the simplification of four basic personality types that we can all understand. Thomas is an expert in the DISC profile systems, but he’s converted the assessment results into a digestible four-color system along a two-by-two matrix. In this conversation, we will gain an understanding of the purpose of such assessments. We also learn what can cause decision inertia in any senior leadership team.

Interview Highlights

• Mark loves the book title – Surrounded by Idiots
• The reason Thomas became interested in personality assessments
• Why anyone should take the DISC assessment
• Converting the four letters to a coloring system
• Are personalities fixed or are they considered natural or typical tendencies?
• Are we dominant in only one color?
• Should or can HR Directors use DISC in the hiring process?
• DISC is a system, not a brand

REDS – decisive, fast-forward, goal-oriented, competitive

YELLOWS – people-oriented, smile more, positive, good communicators

GREENS – stable, low-keyed, good listeners

BLUES – task-oriented, introvert, detail-minded, analytical

Books Mentioned

Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Important Links

1. Amazon author page
2. Surrounded by Idiots website
3. LinkedIn profile
4. YouTube channel (which is excellent)