Surrounded by Idiots: The Four Types of Human Behavior and How to Effectively Communicate with Each in Business (and in Life)
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-08-06 06:54:41
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Thomas Erikson
- ISBN：1250179939
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
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！
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！
Reviews
Lena
，
I LOVED this book！ If you're in a place to ACTUALLY do self reflection I think it can be helpful。 Additionally， it can help with relating to others that are SO different from yourself。 This was a library book that I checked out。 However， I HAVE to buy this！ I thoroughly enjoyed this book！ Such great insight！ I often laughed out load at how precise this book described my behavior/thoughts。 I'm a sucker for human relation/behavior books！ This book fed that love 100%。 I LOVED this book！ If you're in a place to ACTUALLY do self reflection I think it can be helpful。 Additionally， it can help with relating to others that are SO different from yourself。 This was a library book that I checked out。 However， I HAVE to buy this！ I thoroughly enjoyed this book！ Such great insight！ I often laughed out load at how precise this book described my behavior/thoughts。 I'm a sucker for human relation/behavior books！ This book fed that love 100%。 。。。more
Simone Angela
，
I found this very engaging。 It's a little risky to throw people into 4 categories， but to be honest， it's a system that is quite useful when you take it with a grain of salt。 I found this very engaging。 It's a little risky to throw people into 4 categories， but to be honest， it's a system that is quite useful when you take it with a grain of salt。 。。。more
Laird Bell
，
After finishing this book I perused the reviews and I found them confusing in no part of the book does he state he’s come up with a new idea he’s taken an already existing idea and refined it in his own style I enjoyed the narrative and his own personal touch with the personal examples from his life and I definitely learned something new even if some of it seemed like common sense also I did enjoy the part where he gives hints on how to stress out certain colours
Lara Valls
，
Escaping from the heat wave in Hamburg （were I’m currently at）， I’ve picked up this book that I’ve seen around a lot in book stores and libraries。Very enjoyable， can be skimmed through in 2 hours。I’m definitely a combination of a red and a blue （maybe more with yellow¿？）It was funny to read and think of people that I know that are very archetypes of types described in this book。Red: Max from work， Julie from work… definitely know how to approach them moving forward。Yellow: Franzi， Paula， Agustin Escaping from the heat wave in Hamburg （were I’m currently at）， I’ve picked up this book that I’ve seen around a lot in book stores and libraries。Very enjoyable， can be skimmed through in 2 hours。I’m definitely a combination of a red and a blue （maybe more with yellow¿？）It was funny to read and think of people that I know that are very archetypes of types described in this book。Red: Max from work， Julie from work… definitely know how to approach them moving forward。Yellow: Franzi， Paula， Agustin…Blue: Enrique， Green: KeeganThose were the ones that I saw clearly very identified。All in all， good read。 Not earth breaking， super valuable， but enjoyable with little useful caviots。I can definitely see how bringing out some parts of you more in some situations than in others can be super useful。When I’m decisive situations， bringing in my shark self （aka when I’m the most ‘red’） and get shit done。When I’m in a situation that requires more collaboration and positive attitude， bringing out the yellow in me。And when I’m decision making mode， the blue。 When I’m confrontational situations， maybe bringing the green， and leaving it all to solve itself to some degree… 。。。more
Rose Zhang
，
"Flexibility and the ability to interpret other people's needs is what characterizes a good communicator。"---I'm a personality test nerd。 I love MBTI， and Enneagrams， so when I saw people recommending this book saying it's about reading people and understanding them， I was sold。However， I'm not very sure of the verity of this book。 Yes， all personality tests aren't necessarily scientific， but this one kind of felt like really putting people into boxes。It was still very informative and interestin "Flexibility and the ability to interpret other people's needs is what characterizes a good communicator。"---I'm a personality test nerd。 I love MBTI， and Enneagrams， so when I saw people recommending this book saying it's about reading people and understanding them， I was sold。However， I'm not very sure of the verity of this book。 Yes， all personality tests aren't necessarily scientific， but this one kind of felt like really putting people into boxes。It was still very informative and interesting to look at the main four different types of people you can encounter at the workplace。I think it was an okay read， really just okay。 Not as life-altering as some other has said。 。。。more
Tegan McKernon
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Some useful tips but could have been condensed into half the pages
Charmaine
，
Very interesting and helpful insights about color profiles。 I liked the parts explaining each color， how to deal with them， and common behavior。 However， the exceptions would be the majority of the book。 I found this to be waaaay too long and repetitive。 There's an excess of useless fluff。 It could have been written a LOT more concisely in an article。 I also found each color profile to be exaggerated。 Perhaps it was for the sake of this book， but I don't agree with quite a bit。 Additionally， fro Very interesting and helpful insights about color profiles。 I liked the parts explaining each color， how to deal with them， and common behavior。 However， the exceptions would be the majority of the book。 I found this to be waaaay too long and repetitive。 There's an excess of useless fluff。 It could have been written a LOT more concisely in an article。 I also found each color profile to be exaggerated。 Perhaps it was for the sake of this book， but I don't agree with quite a bit。 Additionally， from the first moment I picked up this book， I knew I was all four colors （but mainly blue）。 Human beings are complicated， and I believe everyone has some percentage of every color。 In conclusion， I have many complaints， and only got about three chapters of worthy content。 。。。more
Tom John
，
In a way I feel for the people taking this book seriously。 It looks like the author came up with the theory over the years， spent so much time on it that he couldn't fathom it as a waste of time。 It says he has 20 years of experience training executives in companies。 It looks like he had a confirmation bias to hang on to his theories。 Can't blame him， he may believe them to be true。 I found it not much different than astrology， it also plays on the confirmation bias of people。 It's what they wan In a way I feel for the people taking this book seriously。 It looks like the author came up with the theory over the years， spent so much time on it that he couldn't fathom it as a waste of time。 It says he has 20 years of experience training executives in companies。 It looks like he had a confirmation bias to hang on to his theories。 Can't blame him， he may believe them to be true。 I found it not much different than astrology， it also plays on the confirmation bias of people。 It's what they want to hear about others and gives a relief of justifying any quality in themselves that they don't like。 。。。more
Alexander Theofanidis
，
Ειλικρινά， αισθάνομαι λίγο ηλίθιος που το αγόρασα。。。Κάτι σαν new age σκουπίδι， σχεδόν 400 σελίδες ακατάσχετης μωρολογίας， γραμμένο για ηλίθιους ή νήπια， με πρόφαση την ψυχολογία （。。。for the dummiest of dummies）， γραμμένο με μοναδικό σκοπό να βγάλει λεφτά ο συγγραφέας （και ο εκδότης）。Το βιβλίο βασίζεται στη μέθοδο DISC （ω πόσα λογοπαίγνια συγκρατώ αυτή τη στιγμή。。。） που στερείται επιστημονικής βάσης και αυτή η έλλειψη φαίνεται ξεκάθαρα σε κάθε σελίδα。 Κάθε ένα από τα τέσσερα προφίλ （συνταγματάρχη Ειλικρινά， αισθάνομαι λίγο ηλίθιος που το αγόρασα。。。Κάτι σαν new age σκουπίδι， σχεδόν 400 σελίδες ακατάσχετης μωρολογίας， γραμμένο για ηλίθιους ή νήπια， με πρόφαση την ψυχολογία （。。。for the dummiest of dummies）， γραμμένο με μοναδικό σκοπό να βγάλει λεφτά ο συγγραφέας （και ο εκδότης）。Το βιβλίο βασίζεται στη μέθοδο DISC （ω πόσα λογοπαίγνια συγκρατώ αυτή τη στιγμή。。。） που στερείται επιστημονικής βάσης και αυτή η έλλειψη φαίνεται ξεκάθαρα σε κάθε σελίδα。 Κάθε ένα από τα τέσσερα προφίλ （συνταγματάρχης Μουστάρδας， Κύριος Κόκκινος， Μπλε Κουρακάο και Κίτρινο της Χολής;） παρουσιάζονται ως αλήθειες εξ αποκαλύψεως χωρίς επιστημονικό έρεισμα， με την αυθεντία που μόνο ένας αγράμματος παππούς που νουθετεί το 3 ετών εγγόνι του μπορεί να επικαλεστεί από το πουθενά。Έρευνες， μελέτες， διπλές τυφλές δοκιμές ΟΥΤΕ ΣΤΑ ΟΝΕΙΡΑ ΣΑΣ。 Το είπε ο Τόμας Έρικσον， ρουφήχτε το σαν αυγό και σκάστε。Βρίσκεται μόλις ένα κλικ πάνω από τον απόλυτο πάτο που αντιπροσωπεύουν τα βιβλία αστρολογίας και τα εγχειρίδια αυτοβοήθειας και είναι φρικαλέο ακόμη και στο πως δομείται。Συμπέρασμα: Αν δείτε ότι ο συγγραφέας ενός βιβλίου παραδίδει Χ σεμινάρια το χρόνο （και αισθάνεται τόσο περήφανος γι' αυτό ώστε να το περιλαμβάνει στο "αυτί" του βιβλίου） απομακρυνθείτε σβέλτα και μην πετάτε τα κερδισμένα με κόπο χρήματά σας για να κάνετε ακόμη πιο πλούσιο ένα τέτοιο βλακάθαρμα （νεολογισμός）。ΑΝ ΘΕΛΕΤΕ ΝΑ ΑΝΑΓΝΩΡΙΣΕΤΕ ΕΝΑΝ ΗΛΙΘΙΟ， ΔΕΙΤΕ ΠΟΙΟΙ ΕΒΑΛΑΝ 5 ΑΣΤΕΡΑΚΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΕΚΘΕΙΑΖΟΥΝ ΕΙΛΙΚΡΙΝΑ ΤΟ ΒΙΒΛΙΟ （αγνοήστε τους εμφανείς κολαούζους και κράχτες， εστιάστε στους αφελείς ηλίθιους που θεώρησαν ότι το πνευματικό ισοδύναμο ενός συνδυασμού ισχαιμικού/εγκεφαλικού ήταν η απόλυτη αποκάλυψη στη ζωή τους）。 。。。more
Sanja Anicic
，
A tad bit repetitive and， in my opinion， narrow minded when it comes to describing the different colours/ types of people they represent。 Other than that， having used this system at work myself， I do agree with it’s affectedness and efficiency。
Tomislav Zrnc
，
4 stars if it were advertised as basics of psychology for regular human interaction。
Kimberly Ollison
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This was fun。 I'm totally yellow with a pinch of green and a touch of red。 My husband is totally green with a touch of blue。 My 7 year old is bright red！ Quote-ish: "Are they idiots or did you fail to understand them？" This was fun。 I'm totally yellow with a pinch of green and a touch of red。 My husband is totally green with a touch of blue。 My 7 year old is bright red！ Quote-ish: "Are they idiots or did you fail to understand them？" 。。。more
Sean
，
I recommend everyone reads this book。 Helps me daily in understanding people and why they behave and communicate the way they do。
Mohamed Ibrahim
，
I don’t think I would’ve given this book a chance if it wasn’t recommended to me so many times。 Couldn’t make it half way through the book。 Can be distilled as a spin on horoscopes， with 4 instead of 12 groups; shallow， wishy-washy and can be applicable to anything/anyone if you squint hard enough。
Sarah
，
It was very insightful to not only learn about my primary colours （Yellow and Red）。 But also to learn how to handle certain things such as conflicts with the other colours。 In my life， I've often asked myself why somebody reacted the way they did or why things that came easy to me; where difficult for others。 Must read book for people interested in human behaviour！ It was very insightful to not only learn about my primary colours （Yellow and Red）。 But also to learn how to handle certain things such as conflicts with the other colours。 In my life， I've often asked myself why somebody reacted the way they did or why things that came easy to me; where difficult for others。 Must read book for people interested in human behaviour！ 。。。more
Lauren Hughes
，
Such an interesting and insightful read。
Katie Flowers
，
This book was AMAZING。 I don’t usually read non-fiction with my free time。 But this book managed to keep my intrigued enough to finish it and be entertained in the process， while learning about my own personality and others’。
Sally
，
Reading by itself was quite quick and this is probably one of the better management via personalities I’ve read。 I still don’t believe this will translate well into real life scenarios but it was fun seeing which colours people I know would fit into
mauro
，
Great title。 Okay book。 Quite repetitive。
Bihter Neymen
，
Fazla genel ve bir o kadar da sanki bir internette daha doğrusu blogda okuyabileceğiniz içerik tarzında。
Hana
，
Big waste of time。
Lojain
，
A very informative book ！ Teaches a lot about the different behaviors of people ， how to deal and adapt to them， etc。。
Jasmine
，
3。5 stars！ It was very interesting & definitely put things into perspective for me。 But it had minimal social/familial context to it， which I think would have added much more depth。
Tea
，
Minu meelest on kõigil， kes inimestega töötavad， vaja aegajalt endale meelde tuletada， et me oleme erinevad。 Eriti stressis ja kurnatuna hakkavad inimesed （sinust erinevad inimesed） närvi ajama ja õhkkond kipub ärevaks minema。 Kasulik lugemine oli， kuigi paljut sellest olin juba varem kuulnud。 Seekordne jaotus lihtsalt oli värviline。。。
Jody
，
Interesting and engaging first half。 Slow and boring second half。 What colour does that make me ha ha
Christian Furuly
，
Veldig overfladisk bok og en dustete tittel
Tara Cignarella
，
There was a ton of interesting information on types of personalities and how to handle each kind。 I would have preferred more quizzes or data to determine what types I am and others。 Also， there was a lot of stories that felt like filler。Recommended For: Those who need help understand people around them， especially coworkers
Jimmy
，
كتاب ممتاز جداً بيحلل الشخصيات الأربعة حسب نظام ديسا، تحليل شيق وممتع ولكن لم يعجبني التكرار البسيط، لكن المعلومات قيمة جداً ومحتاج ورقة وقلم وتلخيص لأقصى استفادة ممكنة。
Niya N
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Blue- Rigid， too much detail- Choice paralysis - take too long to analyse all information before they can feel safe to make the right decision Green- human doormat， letting everyone walk all over them， passive wallflowers who want to avoid conflict & please others- Get hurt by negative feedback， has a martyr complex， blaming themselves- Never take any initiative as it feels like taking responsibility is too much work- Creatures of habit who don’t deal well with change， it stresses them outYellow Blue- Rigid， too much detail- Choice paralysis - take too long to analyse all information before they can feel safe to make the right decision Green- human doormat， letting everyone walk all over them， passive wallflowers who want to avoid conflict & please others- Get hurt by negative feedback， has a martyr complex， blaming themselves- Never take any initiative as it feels like taking responsibility is too much work- Creatures of habit who don’t deal well with change， it stresses them outYellow - Unable to take feedback， bad listeners- Time optimists， full of idea and creativity but never finish projects- Unable to delegate because they think nobody can say it better than themRed- not relational people， aggressive and very driven and competitive - Not possible to be reasoned with when they get going， but you shouldn’t give in。 Stand your ground and remain calm until the aggression is out。 Then continue the argument with facts 。。。more
Martin Ďurec
，