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Greetings!
Many of you sent nice comments. Thanks.
This is Week Two of a newsletter that I will to my best to make really useful to you each time you open one.
People surround us who work with us well, or drive us nuts. The more we know about personality types through the Four Windows - the Four Colors - the better chance we have to make things happen the way they should happen for us and, yes, for others.
So check out this week's little newsleter and try out a suggestion or two. Oh, by the way, don't forget to submit a Colors-related story if you have one.
Jack |
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Gold is the Color of the Week
Most Managers Tend To Be GOLD! | |
About half the entire world is Gold (Responsible Protectors of Tradition and Correctness). And those duty- and policy-loving guardians definitely make up the majority of the managerial corps who oversee all levels of business and governmental organizations.
So since we know that, how are we relating to them? Whether Gold folks work for us or supervise us, they tend to be no-nonsense people.
They seem to be slow accepting ideas for major changes, yet -- believe it or not -- they can indeed be persuaded to give us what we want if we are smart enough to speak their language.
We relate well with each one of the four personality types by speaking their language.
Golds want to trust us, so do we speak with consistent integrity and authority? They would rather work inside the box than outside of it; therefore, are we presenting even brand new ideas as part of the system, as easily supported by the establishment, as responsible and correct? Golds usually need and deserve time to carefully consider their decisions, so are we prepared to give them that? Do we speak clearly and with care? Yes, THAT is Gold language.
Just "being ourselves" in our Orange, Blue, or Green preferences can sabotage our hopes and plans. For example, if we are part of a conservative governmental office, why are we astonished that the Gold manager immediately shuts down our surprise rock music at a retirement party? More "annoying" than the rock music is that we might actually think that everybody likes cool surprises. Yeah, yeah - you and I love surprises, but Golds enjoy them sparingly. Had we submitted a plan, tied it to respected programs held in other respected offices, presented the logic of this music for this particular retirement party, and had given the manager plenty of lead time to make the decision - then the chances of shaking the walls and building foundations with drums and bass guitars would have been much better.
Oh by the way, if you are thinking that begging for forgiveness from Golds is easier than asking for permission, think again. Other Colors might yield to forgive you repeatedly, but Golds - even if they do absolve you this time - just may not forget.  |
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| Are You The Color You Think You Are? |
When you take a personality survey, are you the best judge of your own type? Yes, of course, we would all like to think so, but there is plenty of evidence that some of us may be fooling ourselves.
How to know that? Well, if we ask others to tell us how they see us, our friends' image of us may look a lot different from our own. And, in some cases, they are closer to "the real us" than we are.
My Blue (Harmony-Seeking) friend, John, looks Green (Rational) to his wife Susan. No matter how steadfastly John sticks to his Blue vision of himself, Susan insists otherwise.
So what to do? The best path is to assume that they are both right, and then to focus on the behaviors that demonstrate the core values of the Colors in question.
For example, John says he so empathizes with other people that their feelings and emotions distract him from the task at hand and render him unfocused. Blue people, afterall, connect constantly at an emotional level with just about everybody.
Susan, however, pours out dozens of opposite examples: "You're totally into your work," she says. "You are more critical toward people than you are patient and open with them. Most of your activities involve big-picture planning and deep research. You prefer to work alone. You are GREEN, pal. I took the survey with YOU in mind and it came out Green, so there."
After a lot of thought, John came to realize that the work he did and the self-improvement he achieved over the last few years were definitely Green in their approach. He was growing and improving at fundamental and deep levels. He had watched and admired core values of Green colleagues, so he knew he could benefit from adopting some of their strengths.
So has John morphed into a Green in the end? "No," he claims. "I'm a Blue idealist through and through. It takes only a nano-second for me to move all conversations to harmony and world peace. If I've gone "Green," I'm the most huggable Green you'll ever meet..." or so he says!? |
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What's YOUR Story? |
You know your Colors, so what info would you love to share about that? Or about your relationships? Submit a story to dermody@cox.net. If we like it, we'll publish it in a future JackDermody.com Newsletter. The next article is this week's story. |
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Liz Schultz's Story: My Ex Was A Sloppy Blue |
Editor: It's not a secret that Blue people, especially Blue-Orange people, can look sloppy to other Colors. In fact, many Blues will readily admit that paying attention to details may not be their strong suit.
I had to leave my ex-boyfriend Ron - not because I didn't love him. It's just that in this case, love did not conquer all. I shared Orange (freedom-loving) with him, but his total Blue openness to absolutely everything drove me crazy and would always drive me crazy for the rest of our lives.
I have this unique Orange-Gold combo in my first two Colors - which makes me the most organized and action-oriented person you'll ever meet. Ron was a sweetheart and a great conversationalist but - compared to me - this guy was incapable of taking action on too many important things.
Want examples? Well, he'd "help" me clean up the house, but every room had something significant unfinished in it. When we went on trips, we ended up doing only about half the things on our agenda because he had to chat with absolutely everybody, and then he'd drag me on side trips whenever he felt like it.
Don't get me wrong. Ron would jump in front of a truck to save my life, but he was an unorganized slug. I am a mover and shaker. I don't want to slow down - ever. And, alas, he didn't want to speed up often enough.
Knowing and understanding why we drove each other crazy made for a pretty smooth break-up - if breakups can ever be called smooth. We are both happier now, leading our lives in ways that we are naturally comfortable.
Submitted by Liz Schultz. |
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Once you understand the power of Colors, most of your relationships with others make sense. And you begin to breathe easy.
Sincerely,
Jack Dermody
Jack Dermody
JackDermody dot com |
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