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Greetings!
When you are passing this newsletter to friends who are unfamiliar with Color personality types, you can urge them to see a brief description of the four types at JackDermody.com/4w. If they want to take the survey for themselves and get a full explanation of the system, then kindly send them to JackDermody.com/4wps. Thanks. |

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Blue is the Color of the Week
It's a Myth That Blue People Waste Time
| Blue people get poked fun of the most at my workshops. "They talk too much at work." "How do they get their work done with all that socializing?" "Let's all just sing Kumbayah while the company goes bankrupt from lack of action!"
I quickly ask workshop participants what the workplace would be like without the Blue folks. And the first concession is usually, "Well, the atmosphere might not be as friendly."
Exactly. The very root characteristic of our harmony-seeking Blues is the word feeling (Carl Jung's word) and its cousin friendly (Isabel Myers' word). When you combine the natural introspection and intuitiveness of our Blue folks with their DNA-level need for friendliness, you get the social interaction that naturally comes with being friendly.
Task-oriented Greens and Golds go a little crazy with all this "friendliness" in high-intensity work settings. People who love to make plans, meet goals, and obey timelines get nervous around people who don't seem to be as in love with stark performance as they are.
So what to do about "all the friendly people?"
First let's consider performance - meeting those goals and honoring timelines. How well do our Blue colleagues perform? In most cases, they likely perform as well as anyone else, so we might have to admit that the "problem" is with our own perception of Blues. We must admit that, well, they don't work like we do, but what's that got to do with the final product? If they deliver, then let them be as friendly as they want, especially when the people they "chat" with are on top of their work as well.
Now Blue folks, however, will be the first to admit that they get easily distracted with ideas and may find themselves overtaxed with projects. They also have a hard time saying "no" to requests from bosses, colleagues, and friends. In this case, we can help our Blue friends out by helping them focus on what's most important.
Remember that, besides being friendly, Blues are Idealists. They are always, always on a path directed to doing the right thing for themselves and everyone else. Talk to them in an Idealist's language and watch performance soar.  |
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Three Greens and One Blue on YouTube
How You Can Figure Out Colors Without a Survey |
Greens and Blues have one thing in common. They live in their heads. Processing ideas is THEM. The Greens, however, are the "Thinkers" while the Blues are the "Feelers" - in Myers-Briggs terminology.
How to tell them apart can be found in their body language and speech.
Click on the YouTube link below and watch our current Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, the only Blue, speaking on Meet the Press at the same table as three Greens: Newt Gingrich, Al Sharpton, and the moderator David Gregory.
Here is a summary of what to look for:
GREENS: Newt Gingrich, Al Sharpton, and Meet the Press Moderator David Gregory
· Drawing starkly clear pictures with hands - pointing, chopping, framing
· Matter-of-fact delivery
· Well referenced big-picture orientations
· Referencing knowledgeable sources, leaders
· Breaking answers into categories and examples
BLUE: Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
· Soft, open-handed ( imploring) gestures with hands, very little jerking or chopping
· Pleasant, smiling, soft delivery
· Idealistic big picture
· Referencing universal people and their interactions
· Speaking in sweeping rather than finely-drawn scenarios
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yANobP-60yo
Questions or comments? Send Jack an e-mail. Dermody@cox.net ! |
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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Mary Weiss's Story: My Gold Hubby Says "No" To Everything |
Jack, my story is just to ask you for some advice. It feels like my Gold husband Joe rejects every idea I have. Examples: "Honey, let's not go out with Suzie and Bob next Friday again. How about an overnight - you and me alone -- Sedona?" (No.) "Honey, if we move the furniture around, we'll have more room?" (No.) Fruit instead of eggs for breakfast? (No.)
I'm Orange and I do understand that Golds - including husband "Mr. Tradition" - need good and solid reasons to get comfortable with change, but I'm beginning to feel he doesn't care at all what I want. Any ideas?
Mary Weiss
Jack: I totally get it, Mary. I have a whole bunch of Gold folks in my life, so here are a few ideas that could work.
(1) Do not expect a Gold to sign on to your timetables right away, especially if you like doing stuff at the last minute. So learn patience first. Golds usually already have lists and schedules that are as important to them as breathing. Making changes naturally feels wrong to many Golds.
(2) Gold people will insist that they are not stubborn monsters and that they are indeed open to change and they are true givers in the relationship as much as their partners are. So how best to approach them with new ideas?
a. Don't surprise them. Make a gentle intro to the idea. "Honey, remember the first time we went to Sedona? I miss that place." As he nods in agreement, propose an idea to think about, like "If we went again, what's a a good time later to do that on your schedule?" But if he dismisses the idea quickly, come right back with "Honey, I will bring this up again later. You need to know something like this is very important to me - to us actually." (Say it matter-of-factly, not emotionally. That's Goldspeak.)
b. Remember that Gold folks think concretely. "Honey, I need to borrow your logistical brain for a minute. Three couples from work are coming to dinner on Saturday, so what can we do with the furniture in this room to accommodate everybody?"
c. Don't break traditions abruptly. Approach new ideas gently. So you want him to start eating fruit for breakfast? "Honey, these blackberries are just like the ones we had in Oregon last summer. I left a couple by your eggs to sample. I have more if you want some."
(3) Put yourself in the place that Gold people recognize as a good place. Happiness and joy for them is enhanced by orderliness, tradition, and respect. Life gets better for them when additions to life are built on the foundations that have already been created. They would rather not tear walls down when there is no crisis. The quick "No" from a Gold will often really mean "You scared me with that idea," or "Not now," or "I need to think about it and I'll get back to you."
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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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