Book Review: ‘Surrounded By Idiots’ Thomas Erikson Penguin – 2019
‘When I was 25, I met Sture…one of the first comments Sture made was that he was surrounded by idiots…I asked him if he really believed that he was surrounded by idiots. He glared at me and explained that few of his employees were worth having…his definition of idiocy was anyone who didn’t think or act like him…I have one thing to thank Sture for – he awakened my interest…without him this book would never have been written’
What follows are approximately 250 pages of distilled wisdom as Erikson studied human personality types and explored how we might do better than Sture and learn how to function well in mixed-personality teams.
From the cover and on through various diagrams throughout the book, Erikson has colour-coded the four main personality types as Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue.
Sture was a Red.
Reds are quick to react, take control, and lead, unconcerned for the impact on decisions on others. Decisive and confident.
Yellows are impulsive, talkers, involve others, team players, enthusiastic, optimistic, and charming.
Greens are calm, stable, avoid conflict or change, thoughtful, patient, loyal team players.
Blues are slower, analytical, meticulous planners, relate better to spreadsheets and data more than people, well organised.
Erikson contends that ‘about 80% of all people have a combination of two colours that dominate behaviour’, but the aim of the book is not simply to enable readers to self-analyse or identify others’ colours, but to learn how to relate better with individuals with different colours.
The style of writing is factual without being too technical and laced with humour.
In an interview with a Red, he asked ‘What advice would you give to people who meet you?’ The red lady, a CEO, answered ‘Put your energy into the task at hand. You can socialise at the weekend’.
To a blue economist, he asked, ‘Do you ever hang out with yellows?’. He replied ‘No. I tend to avoid them. I wouldn’t be able to stand all that talking…about everything and nothing…five minutes with a yellow I’m at my wits' end.’
Towards the end of the book is a useful quiz to test how much you have understood, and a comprehensive index so you can quickly refer to any main points.
I enjoyed Surrounded by Idiots. Some similar systems, for example, the Enneagram, are more complex. I prefer simplicity; having four main types worked for me. Of course, analysing others and oneself using any similar tools is quite good fun, but the real value of the book is to go beyond self-awareness to learn how to ‘love one’s neighbour as oneself’ even when wired completely differently.
My L-plates are firmly fixed on.