Title: Omgiven av Idioter (Surrounded by Idiots)
Author: Thomas Erikson
Series: –
Genre: Nonfiction
Length: 8 hours 53 minutes
Published: 2016, Word Audio Publishing
My Grade: 4 out of 5

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

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.

MY REVIEW

I’ve been meaning to read this book for years now but the time-deprived nerd that I am, I always prioritize a fantasy book before nonfiction. I’ve heard people talking about the different colors and had the basic understanding of them before picking this up. But I’m really glad that I decided that audiobooks actually was something for me. It’s perfect for the books that I don’t want to spend time reading myself. Perfect for squeezing in when I’m out and about. It is however a little difficult when taking tests for example (as in the end of this book), very hard to keep track of the questions and answers. Well well. I’m not here to review the book type, haha!

A while ago, we had an afterwork activity at the office where one girl asked questions, and depending on your answer, you took a step towards each corner of the room. At my management department (and among those who participated), I was the only one down in the blue corner. I’m not surprised. I’m very well-organized, I love lists and being prepared and doing a thorough job. After reading this book, I also think that I have some green in me and in some cases even red. But definitely blue.

In the beginning of the book, the author describes the main defining features of the four colors (red, yellow, green, and blue), then moves on to how to handle the different colors depending on situation, how to deliver criticism for example. He also said that we readers most likely got faces in front of us when he wrote the descriptions, but I didn’t really get any. Does that say anything about me as a blue person? That I’m more thing and result oriented rather than relationship oriented?

The book was not as entertaining as Introvert by Linus Jonkman was, but it was very interesting and factful. Easy to follow, lots of examples. It is however a very exaggerated book. And I think that if people think of this book in absolutes, it will not find them right. The author says that being just a single color is very rare and I also think it is hard to make people understand the bigger picture and meaning behind the colors if they are not extremes.

Erikson manages really well to stay objective though. All the colors have their pros and cons and he presents them very evenly and puts an equal amount of emphasis on all colors.

I don’t really agree that you can put labels on people. But I believe that this book’s purpose is to generally give an understanding of different human behaviors and how to handle them. I’m not sure that I’m aware enough of my surroundings and people (who doesn’t really interest me (yes, I’m blue)) to be able to tell who is acting how, but hopefully this book is the start of something new.

I’ve also realized that even if I’m blue, I’m right where I’m supposed to be at work. I have honestly wondered many times if I really fit in as a project manager in the construction sector. The perfect group of people consists of all colors. I don’t know if I’m all alone being blue, but if I am, I have a big spot to fill. Maybe this is when I start to see my own value.

All in all, this book deserves a 4! I look forward to listening to Omgiven av Psykopater (Surrounded by Psychopaths).