Surrounded by Idiots

Master the four basic behavior types and change the way you communicate!

A runaway bestseller in Sweden that has sold more than a million copies worldwide, Surrounded by Idiots shares a simple, revolutionary method of understanding the people around you that will change how you interact with everyone from your coworkers to your spouse. Author Thomas Erikson explains that there are four key behavior types that define how we interact with and perceive the people around us. Understanding someone's pattern of behavior is the key to successful communication. The so-called 'idiots' in our lives are most often simply people who have a different behavior profile and style of communication. Erikson breaks down the four kinds of behavior types-Reds who are dominant and commanding, Yellows who are social and optimistic, Greens who are laid back and friendly, and Blues who are analytical and precise-and explains how to identify and interact with each type of person. Instead of being bogged down with overly technical categorizations, the simple four-color system allows you to speedily identify a friend or coworker and adjust how you speak and share with them. Surrounded by Idiots is full of practical information for interacting with people based on their color, including the strengths and weaknesses of all the profiles, how to give positive and negative feedback to each, and the best way to word an email when writing to someone with a different profile.

Autorentext

Thomas Erikson

Klappentext

Do you ever think you're the only one making any sense? Or tried to reason with your partner with disastrous results? Do long, rambling answers drive you crazy? Or does your colleague's abrasive manner rub you the wrong way?

You are not alone. After a disastrous meeting with a highly successful entrepreneur, who was genuinely convinced he was 'surrounded by idiots', communication expert and bestselling author, Thomas Erikson dedicated himself to understanding how people function and why we often struggle to connect with certain types of people.

Surrounded by Idiots is an international phenomenon, selling over 1.5 million copies worldwide. It offers a simple, yet ground-breaking method for assessing the personalities of people we communicate with - in and out of the office - based on four personality types (Red, Blue, Green and Yellow), and provides insights into how we can adjust the way we speak and share information.

Erikson will help you understand yourself better, hone communication and social skills, handle conflict with confidence, improve dynamics with your boss and team, and get the best out of the people you deal with and manage. He also shares simple tricks on body language, improving written communication, advice on when to back away or when to push on, and when to speak up or shut up. Packed with 'aha!' and 'oh no!' moments, Surrounded by Idiots will help you understand and communicate with those around you, even people you currently think are beyond all comprehension.

And with a bit of luck you can also be confident that the idiot out there isn't you!

Zusammenfassung

"A useful guide to communicating with the uncommunicable ... clearly, dynamically presented and easy to grasp."-*Publisher's Weekly

"Readers will be delighted. Most everyone can benefit from this book, especially those in the workplace. In addition, parents, educators, and students will find these insights valuable."-*Booklist, Starred Review

Inhalt

Foreword by David Bonnstetter
Introduction: The Man Who Was Surrounded by Idiots

1. Communication Happens on the Listener's Terms

2. Why Are We the Way We Are?

3. An Introduction to the System

4. Red Behavior: How to Recognize a Real Alpha and Avoid Getting in His Way

5. Yellow Behavior: How to Recognize Someone Who No Longer Has His Feet on the Ground and
   How to Get Him Back to Reality Again

6. Green Behavior: Why Change Is So Difficult-and How to Get Around It

7. Blue Behavior: In Pursuit of Perfection

8. The Annoying Flip Side-or No One Is Completely Perfect: Strengths and Weaknesses-What
   No One Wants to Talk About

   9. Learning New Things: How to Use What You've Learned

   10. Body Language: Why How You Move Matters: How Do You Really Look?

   11. A Real-Life Example: The Company Party-How to Understand Everyone You Meet

   12. Adaptation: How to Handle Idiots (I.E., Everyone Who Isn't like You)

   13. How to Deliver Really Bad News, Because Even Positive Criticism Is Still . . . Criticism: The Challenge
       of Speaking Your Mind

   14. Who Gets Along-and Why It Works: Group Dynamics in Its Finest Form

   15. Written Communication: How to Evaluate Someone When You Can't Meet Him in Person

   16. What Makes Us As Mad As Hell?: Temperament Can Reveal Everything About a Person

   17. Stress Factors and Energy Thieves. What Is Stress-Really?

   18. A Short Reflection Through History: Nothing Has Changed-People Have Always Been like This

   19. Voices from Real Life

   20. A Quick Little Quiz to See What You've Learned

   21. A Final Example from Everyday Life: Perhaps the Most Enlightening Team Project in the History of the World