Surrounded by Idiots (The Surrounded by Idiots Series)

"Surrounded by Idiots" by Thomas Erikson is a refreshing take on personality types and communication. Far from labeling people as difficult or 'idiots,' the book presents a fascinating framework using four colors (Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue) to describe a range of personality traits. This color-coded system is more than just a tool for categorization—it's a bridge to better understanding the diverse ways people perceive and interact with the world.

Erikson’s approach encourages us to see beyond superficial misunderstandings and recognize that each personality type has its unique strengths and weaknesses. By doing so, we learn to appreciate that differences in behavior and communication are not signs of incompetence or foolishness but are reflections of diverse perspectives and experiences.

What makes "Surrounded by Idiots" particularly valuable is its practical application. The book offers clear, actionable advice on how to adapt our communication strategies according to different personality types. This not only enhances personal relationships but also improves workplace dynamics. Understanding that no one is an 'idiot,' but rather that we all experience the world differently, is pivotal in fostering a more inclusive and productive environment.

Erikson's writing is accessible and engaging, making complex psychological concepts easy to grasp. He empowers readers to transform their interpersonal challenges into opportunities for growth and collaboration. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to improve their communication skills, enhance their emotional intelligence, and better navigate the colorful spectrum of human personalities.

"Surrounded by Idiots" is basically a fun dive into why sometimes it feels like you're the only sane person in the room. The guy behind it, Thomas Erikson, uses this color system to break down personality types: Red for those bossy types who take charge, Yellow for the life-of-the-party folks, Green for the chill, laid-back ones, and Blue for the detail-oriented planners. It's kind of like having a cheat sheet for dealing with everyone from your boss to your in-laws.

Erikson, who knows a ton about how people tick, makes all this psychology stuff feel like a breeze to get. He’s filled the book with stories and examples that make you go, "Ah, so that's why they do that!" And even though he's laying down some pretty deep thoughts, he keeps it light with some laughs along the way.

Now, sure, the idea that everyone can be neatly sorted into just four types has got its fair share of eye rolls. Life and people are way more complicated than that. And, of course, not all the stories and tips will hit the mark for everyone. But, getting the gist of these personality colors can really change the game in how you get along with people. Whether it's at work, trying to navigate a project with a team that's all over the place, or at home, figuring out why your partner is so obsessed with planning every minute of a vacation, Erikson's got a point: knowing a bit about these types can smooth things over.

So, even with its simplifications and generalizations, "Surrounded by Idiots" is a hit for a reason. It’s got a casual, friendly way of clueing you into why people act the way they do, and it dishes out advice on how to handle it without losing your mind. Whether or not you buy into the whole color-coded personality thing, there's something pretty cool about getting a new lens to see why the world—and everyone in it—works the way they do.

This book describes four behavior types by sorting them into colors: red, blue, green and yellow. People that are sorted into these behavior types typically exhibit the same characteristics. For example, the book claims that green individuals are typically laid back and sometimes struggle to make decisions. Since teachers need to be able to understand and manage behavior, this book can be a foundation for how we interpret different social situations with students. While Erikson does point out that we should not use this classification method on children, it does give us some background knowledge on students and what drives behavior (e.g. environment). There are many aspects of the book that I enjoyed. The book begins with a description of how and why he and his father began classifying behavior in this way. They used what is called the DISC method to establish these four behavior types. He explains that most people are a combination of two or three behavior types; very few people are just one type. Erikson describes the basis of behavior – what causes us to behave in the way that we do. He then moves on to provide an overview of the system, listing characteristics of each color in a diagram provided on page thirteen. After this introduction, he dives into how we can recognize each behavior type, how each behavior type deals with stress, which behavior types are best suited to work together, how to give feedback to each behavior type and so on. In chapter nineteen, Erikson provides examples of how people who have been sorted into the different behavior types react to different questions about their behavior and the book. Each of these people who were interviewed have read the book and are able to explain how they feel about the portrayal of individuals who belong to the group they do – most of them seem almost annoyed. For example, Hakan seems annoyed that the interviewer points out what he says is contradictory. The book ends with an interactive quiz, which is perhaps one of my favorite parts. It allows the reader to self-assess and determine what they took from this book and how they (now) understand the different behavior types. While there are not many things that I would change about the book, there are some pieces that could help provide some clarity for the reader. I loved how each behavior was talked about in detail; however, there were some parts where I really had to stop and think about what behavior was being talked about and reflect on what was said about that “color” chapters beforehand. This was likely due to the fact that it would spend the course of four chapters talking about each behavior type individually in relation to one concept or situation. It may have been better for the author to adjust this so that each situation was talked about for a single behavior type. For example, perhaps chapters four through nine could have talked about just green behavior, describing the different situations, scenarios and ideas that are discussed for that behavior throughout the book. This was not a huge issue since there were a variety of visuals, but it may be difficult for some readers who lack reading comprehension skills or have problems organizing information in their minds.

Reading the profile for this book made me curious, so I had to read the entire book. The author has lumped the entire human race into four basic personality categories, Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue. For the record, no one believes they are surrounded by idiots, unless of course it might be a Red or the type-A and very dominant personality category.

I confess to being able to think of someone who fit into the Red and Blue category almost perfectly, but anyone with the Green and Yellow categories have mixed color personality traits.

Yellows are outgoing and cheerful talkers who never listen to anyone else, but they communicate well. Greens are agreeable and easygoing and make excellent listeners, do not change well.

The Blue personality is the perfectionist who does everything well, always knows the answers to everything, is always on time, and will be upset if you aren’t.

I found this interesting if a little like a horoscope and you can fit anyone into them if you try hard enough. It did say that people could be a little of multiple categories, so maybe even all of them at one time or another. There was a section where the author discussed a party where alcohol was served and people who were absolutely one color when sober was a completely different color when drinking.

My conclusion is that you should read this for yourself, but I took it with a grain of salt. It was interesting enough to rate 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

To be completely honest, I decided to read this book, titled Surrounded by Idiots - The Four Types of Human Behavior and How to Effectively Communicate with Each in Business (and Life), after a particularly difficult day of teaching high school students. I saw the words “Surrounded by Idiots” in the list of options and thought, yup that’s the one. Every teacher can relate to those difficult days sometimes, but the ideas Erikson writes about in this book can be relatable to anyone at any time. He starts off explaining that we, in fact, are not surrounded by idiots. We are simply surrounded by people who are different than us and who think differently than us. Everyone has a tendency to think people who are different than us are idiots, but that is not necessarily the case. Perhaps if I was having a better day when I chose to read this book, I would have looked at the rest of the title – “The Four Types of Human Behavior and How to Effectively Communicate with Each in Business (and Life).” This is a little more descriptive of the ideas Erikson touches on. The four types of human behavior, as Erikson explains it, is broken down into four different colors. This is just his way of organizing the information, but I find it clever and easy to follow. Erikson says on page 13, that most of the population is a combination of two colors, while few are purely one color or a mixture of three colors. He starts off with just describing personality characteristics of each color and how to recognize if someone in your life is a red, yellow, green, or blue. I very much enjoyed this, because I could pin point exact people in my life and what color they are. My sister is a dead on Red for instance. Throughout all the chapters of Surrounded by Idiots, I could confirm my sister is a Red in the way she handles conflict, in her body language, in how she sends emails (my sister and I are also coworkers), and in what “makes her mad as hell” as Erikson puts it. I am a self-proclaimed Green. My Red sister and I get along great in social situations, but when it comes to making plans… that is a different story. Erikson talks about how the different colors work together and what challenges they may face starting on page 193. This got me thinking more about work related relationships, and I’ve got to say, Erikson is completely right in his assessment of collaborating colors. I won’t spoil all the details for you, but again it brought up situations I’ve been in with coworkers, etc. You may be able to tell from what I’ve written so far, but it was extremely difficult for me to not think of every single person in my life (work or social) and how they match up with the different colors in this book and the relationship I have with people of each personality type. This was enjoyable to me. Erikson touches on many character traits, in work and social situations, of all four colors and how they communicate with the other colors – hence the more descriptive part of the title. He also gives plenty real life examples of coworkers of his or friends of his and their interactions. This made it realistic or relatable to me. I will say, it is kind of hard not to get defensive or think “nu uh, you’re wrong Erikson!” when he describes the weakness of the color(s) you identify with most. But keep in mind, and Erikson will remind also remind you, we are all human and no one or one personality color is perfect or superior. Overall, I very much enjoyed reading Surrounded by Idiots even though it was not the book I thought it was when I hit “buy with one click” on Amazon. As a teacher, I would highly recommend this book to other teachers because you will think of certain students or coworkers who are Red, Yellow, Green, or Blue as you read and get insight on how to work with them in a productive and empathetic manner. I’d give the book a 4.5/5. (I’d give it a 5, but it touched on some of my Green insecurities). The book is $14.99 here on Amazon and is 270 pages in length.