St. Martin's Essentials Surrounded by Idiots: The Four Types of Human Behavior and How to Effectively Communicate with Each in Business (and in Life)

the book was supposed to be hardcover with the same design instead came with completely black cover with a wrapped paper design

The book is interesting to a certain degree.

The product is not the one I requested, I thought it’s the original one as there’s difference in the prices than the other with paper cover but unfortunately it’s high copy But the entire paper quality is not bad

Ein lesenswertes Buch, das mir gut gefallen hat. Ich kann es gerne weiterempfehlen!

Libro arrivato in perfette condizioni, non l'ho ancora letto ma ne ho sentito parlare positivamente.

This book describes four behavior types by sorting them into colors: red, blue, green and yellow. People that are sorted into these behavior types typically exhibit the same characteristics. For example, the book claims that green individuals are typically laid back and sometimes struggle to make decisions. Since teachers need to be able to understand and manage behavior, this book can be a foundation for how we interpret different social situations with students. While Erikson does point out that we should not use this classification method on children, it does give us some background knowledge on students and what drives behavior (e.g. environment). There are many aspects of the book that I enjoyed. The book begins with a description of how and why he and his father began classifying behavior in this way. They used what is called the DISC method to establish these four behavior types. He explains that most people are a combination of two or three behavior types; very few people are just one type. Erikson describes the basis of behavior – what causes us to behave in the way that we do. He then moves on to provide an overview of the system, listing characteristics of each color in a diagram provided on page thirteen. After this introduction, he dives into how we can recognize each behavior type, how each behavior type deals with stress, which behavior types are best suited to work together, how to give feedback to each behavior type and so on. In chapter nineteen, Erikson provides examples of how people who have been sorted into the different behavior types react to different questions about their behavior and the book. Each of these people who were interviewed have read the book and are able to explain how they feel about the portrayal of individuals who belong to the group they do – most of them seem almost annoyed. For example, Hakan seems annoyed that the interviewer points out what he says is contradictory. The book ends with an interactive quiz, which is perhaps one of my favorite parts. It allows the reader to self-assess and determine what they took from this book and how they (now) understand the different behavior types. While there are not many things that I would change about the book, there are some pieces that could help provide some clarity for the reader. I loved how each behavior was talked about in detail; however, there were some parts where I really had to stop and think about what behavior was being talked about and reflect on what was said about that “color” chapters beforehand. This was likely due to the fact that it would spend the course of four chapters talking about each behavior type individually in relation to one concept or situation. It may have been better for the author to adjust this so that each situation was talked about for a single behavior type. For example, perhaps chapters four through nine could have talked about just green behavior, describing the different situations, scenarios and ideas that are discussed for that behavior throughout the book. This was not a huge issue since there were a variety of visuals, but it may be difficult for some readers who lack reading comprehension skills or have problems organizing information in their minds.

I’m not a pro reader, but I can binge read books that are really good - Simple, fun, and teach you something you can immediately apply. Surrounded by idiots caught my attention from the first few pages. It is one of those books that make you wonder how different society would be if everyone read it once. After I finished this book, I made a list of all the closest people I interact with (family, friends, coworkers, lovers) and tried to identify their “colors”. My perception of these people went from being “aggressive” or a “pushover” to “Red” and “Green”. It subconsciously became second nature to me to quickly identify what colors someone I am talking to falls under and so naturally you start understanding why people are the way they are and how YOU can adapt to them better to make the most out of that interaction/relationship. One area in which I found this information to be quite amusing and helpful to analyze is in the context of romantic relationships. I started seeing the “true colors” of my past partners and inherently saw why the relationships were either great, or not, and where they went wrong and how knowing this information now and applying the knowledge in the next relationship will be drastically life changing. I realized why as a Yellow, Red with hints of Blue I was having problems with someone that was Red and Blue - My “yellow side” clashed with their “blue side” while actually complementing their “red side”. Our common "redness" led us to fall for each other as we both like someone with the same qualities, but also played a role in weakness as it brought some subconscious competitiveness that is not good in a romantic partnership, especially if one or both partners aren’t emotionally mature enough to see things for what they are instead of falling prey to the supposed societal norms and perceptions that are unfortunately being reinforced in everyday social media content. It’s truly remarkable once you realize how humans self sabotage and this book definitely helps you realize that. I can also now see the downfall of my past relationship with a mostly Green person. My Red side could not only not tolerate being with a Green person, but it made my redness go into overdrive and into survival model (instinctual human behavior) which ultimately caused the imbalance that led to a breakup. In my personal view, It’s important to not see this as a lesson of « I can’t entertain a prospect with a color that challenges mine » as 1) though challenging, it is actually *goals* to be with someone that has some opposing qualities so both partners can adopt traits that can help them become a more upgraded and newer version of themselves that will open new doors in life. Remember, a partner should ultimately make you grow, not just make you feel comfortable. As a yellow, you want and need to become more blue, and as a blue you would most definitely benefit from being more yellow; in fact, it’s exactly those lack of yellow traits that have you somewhat stuck in your life and same goes for the yellow person - they both represent the characteristics that are needed to take their lives to the next level! and 2) because you come to understand that unless yo are both 100% one color, everyone (~85% of the population) will have a mix of colors and that you will have to learn to adapt to each other. I think couples needs to read this book more than anybody! In summary this book is a 9.5/10. Fun, simple, and impactful. Must read!

The book I received was far from new, completely faded by the sun, corners broken and pen markings all over. Total scam !!