Surrounded by Idiots: The Four Types of Human Behavior and How to Effectively Communicate with Each in Business (and in Life)
- Downloads：7374
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-01 12:53:38
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Thomas Erikson
- ISBN：1250255171
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
A runaway bestseller in Sweden that has sold more than a million copies worldwide， Surrounded by Idiots shares a groundbreaking new 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。 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。
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。 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。
Reviews
Amanda
，
To be honest I didn’t finish it， the idea that everyone can be identified as one of 4 colours （ but then some people can can be a mix of two colours） doesn’t sit with me。 I’m not keen on the style of writing， it’s very anecdotal， filled with the author’s encounters with ‘reds’ or ‘blues’。 The book is ok there are just better books I could be reading！
Vibhor Jain
，
Nothing special in this one。 Its just that what most people know but can't put to words is presented in an understandable way。 By the end it felt， it was more for promotion of own work by the author。 The questionnaire in the end lets you know whether you've understood the system or not but what I found missing was the questionnaire to judge yourself。 That probably would be shared if you avail the services of Author's company ;） Nothing special in this one。 Its just that what most people know but can't put to words is presented in an understandable way。 By the end it felt， it was more for promotion of own work by the author。 The questionnaire in the end lets you know whether you've understood the system or not but what I found missing was the questionnaire to judge yourself。 That probably would be shared if you avail the services of Author's company ;） 。。。more
Mia
，
Interesting， but nothing new for people who read a bit about personalities / human behavior。 I felt there was quite a bit of filler that could've been cut out without losing the essence of the book。 Fine for what it is but nothing spectacular。 Interesting， but nothing new for people who read a bit about personalities / human behavior。 I felt there was quite a bit of filler that could've been cut out without losing the essence of the book。 Fine for what it is but nothing spectacular。 。。。more
Stefan
，
Cele patru tipuri de temperament ale lui Hipocrate explicate prin viziunea， experienta si studiile individuale ale unui analist comportamental。Exemplele sunt orientate catre o perspectiva managerială dar sunt expuse într-o notă amuzantă și optimistă。
Abhinaya Anandamurugan
，
The book is very hard hitting in examining the the sense of thinking why doesn't other people understand the way one does。 Alternatively put， as the author pens it - why am I surrounded by idiots！ This book is funny and informative at the same time based on a behavior profiling research tool useful for real-life analysis。 An interesting book based on the DISC system of behavior/Temperament assessment。 The first few chapters of the book outlines the basic types D， I， S， C and their normal modalit The book is very hard hitting in examining the the sense of thinking why doesn't other people understand the way one does。 Alternatively put， as the author pens it - why am I surrounded by idiots！ This book is funny and informative at the same time based on a behavior profiling research tool useful for real-life analysis。 An interesting book based on the DISC system of behavior/Temperament assessment。 The first few chapters of the book outlines the basic types D， I， S， C and their normal modalities of behavior， general temperament and motivators。 I could see myself very much in the explanation given particular to my category and the real-life situations illustrated in this book。 Reading other individual types， I could see myself laughing at how accurate mine was， yelling at certain types and how irksome some others were。 The later chapters are focused towards how to get along， communication and what annoys each type。 I found these chapters particularly interesting as I could see why certain disagreements with people arose and how each type understands the problems from their point of view。 The chapter corresponding to 'which types get along with each other' made total sense。 It was interesting to read the contrasting perspectives and how certain types naturally get along and others butt heads。 I could compare it with all the people in my life whom I get along with and notice similarities and patterns to outlined types。 Last chapter focuses on a bit of theory giving a historical basis for the work illustrated in this book。 Mainly focused on William Moulten Marsten's work on 'Emotions of Normal people'， which later popularized as 'DISA' system of behavioral profiling and some historical perspective for those interested in a little bit further research。 There are also some interesting anecdotes picked up from different cultures which has similar way to categorizing people's behavior。 The book is fairly dense without any academic jargon targeted towards general audience。 Easy to stop and continue chapters。 There is no need read it in a continuous fashion， one can pick up chapters at any order and finish it。 Although it would make sense to read the type description chapters first before skipping chapters。 Overall good read， definitely recommended for anyone interested in self-improvement also for anyone in business sector。 Would be an asset for HR folks。 。。。more
Petra Abrahámová
，
It's a good book， easy to read， informative。 I hope I will be able to use what I've learned about communication with others。 It's a good book， easy to read， informative。 I hope I will be able to use what I've learned about communication with others。 。。。more
Annie Éclat
，
If you already read about Sanguine， Choleric， Melancholic and Phlegmatic， you can add this for your next reading。
Angela
，
Ponderous， yet entertaining。 Not sure if any of it is valid since there’s so much controversy on the internet。 But overall， an interesting approach to a non scientist’s view of personalities and behaviors。
Rose
，
It all makes sense now， for someone who isn't read up on human psychology， behaviour and personality traits。It's very simplified and generalised but a lot of the information holds true if you can swallow generalisation。 I don't think that necessarily is misleading or makes the book bad， as many in other reviews believe。 It all makes sense now， for someone who isn't read up on human psychology， behaviour and personality traits。It's very simplified and generalised but a lot of the information holds true if you can swallow generalisation。 I don't think that necessarily is misleading or makes the book bad， as many in other reviews believe。 。。。more
Rain
，
I liked this book and learned a ton about myself and the people I love ！ Learned about how to interact better with people according to their “color” 。 I wish I would have known this earlier in life
Ciara Spurgeon
，
Would give it five stars easily if it wasn't so full of grammatical errors。 This was such an interesting read， I now know I fall solidly into the Yellow personality type and have been psychoanalysing my boyfriend with his Blue personality all afternoon。 Would give it five stars easily if it wasn't so full of grammatical errors。 This was such an interesting read， I now know I fall solidly into the Yellow personality type and have been psychoanalysing my boyfriend with his Blue personality all afternoon。 。。。more
Daniel Garae
，
It could be only a blog post not a book！
Sharon
，
Perhaps this works better in a meeting format and then reading it straight through as a book。 I found aspects of it very redundant and I also found the delineation between types a little bit severe。 I think we’re all on a spectrum between colors。
Conor Campbell
，
Oversimplified and reductionist。 Places people in neat， 1-D， immutable boxes that fails to consider the complexity of people， their wants and needs， and their ability to change。
Chrysa Foundoulaki
，
Θα ήταν καλύτερο αν δεν επαναλαμβανόταν και αν δεν είχε τόσες λεπτομέρειες και παραδείγματα！ Και το λέω αυτό ενώ δεν είμαι μία κόκκινη。。
Mary Burt-Godwin
，
DNF
Alixander Gazzard-Weldon
，
A great conceptThe author presents an interesting evolution of the four temperaments/ four humours theory developed by Hippocrates。It was great to see these put into the context of a business environment - to really help the reader see the different types in those they work with every single day。They also provided lots of great advice for not only recognizing these types but how to deal with them in different situations。
Dixit Nagpal
，
I didn’t see much of practicality of this book ， there is a case build on 4 types of personality however I believe there are many more dimensions to it than funnel into 4 broad categories。 How people behave is contextual and behavioural driven ， as long as you are having good presence of EQ ， this book is not necessary
Sara
，
Easy to read。 I really liked it。
Yvette Watson
，
Halfway that's all I could handle reading。 I felt like the same information was being recycled over and over。 There was a point that I put it down and came back a week later and it still irritated me。 Not worth the time reading。 Halfway that's all I could handle reading。 I felt like the same information was being recycled over and over。 There was a point that I put it down and came back a week later and it still irritated me。 Not worth the time reading。 。。。more
بشرى الشحي
，
A fun read。 I enjoyed it alot， it shines the light on the differences of the people between us。 Simply written。 However， as the authour emphasized it takes practice and if you are willing and persistent it will help you alot in your workplace and home environment。 The book provides so many real-life examples which I found helped alot in processing the information。
Joona
，
Opetti paljon！ Mietin nykyään jokaisen ihmisen värityypin perusteella。Loppui kuin seinään siksi - 1 tähti
Haris
，
Want to avoid misunderstanding in the workplace （and outside） when dealing with people different from you？ check it out！Easy to read with lots of practical examples that put you in other peoples' shoes and make you understand their viewpoint。 Takeaway: a functional team needs all the colours！ Want to avoid misunderstanding in the workplace （and outside） when dealing with people different from you？ check it out！Easy to read with lots of practical examples that put you in other peoples' shoes and make you understand their viewpoint。 Takeaway: a functional team needs all the colours！ 。。。more
Tihana Iveković
，
Very insightful！ I've learned a lot and it is fun analyzing the people in my surrounding after reading this book。 Very insightful！ I've learned a lot and it is fun analyzing the people in my surrounding after reading this book。 。。。more
Anna
，
I felt this book became very repetitive towards the end。 It was informative but I feel as though the book didn’t offer enough information for its length
Sabine Bjermeland
，
Fantastic
Dana
，
3。5☆
Taňuli
，
Well this was a waste of time。。。
Caroline Nolan
，
very simplistic， easy read。。。 don't read if you really want to learn anything very simplistic， easy read。。。 don't read if you really want to learn anything 。。。more
Rebecca
，