Surrounded by Idiots is an easy-to-read book that offers a method for assessing personalities based on four personality types - Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow. The book provides insights into how we can adjust the way we communicate and share information to better connect with these different types of people.

The book is well laid out and easy to understand, making it an easy read for anyone interested in improving their communication and social skills. The author shares practical advice on handling conflict, improving dynamics with bosses and teams, and getting the best out of the people you deal with and manage.

However, some section lacks scientific evidence to support its claims. The concept of dividing people into four personality types is also a simplified approach that may not take into account the complexities of individuals.

That said, Surrounded by Idiots is a useful resource for anyone looking to improve their communication skills, is easily digestible and full of helpful information.

I found the book to be interesting, though I found it to be lacking actual scientific evidence. It was very generalized - but still an interesting perspective on understanding human psychology and the behavior of humans

What an interesting book! It provided me with useful insights into how I connect with other based on personality types and has made me thoughtful about how to improve communication. I appreciate the digital copy from Netgalley and publisher in exchange for my honest review. I know a few people who would enjoy this book.

An easy to read explanation of the four colours. Probably didn't need the interview chapter (which I skipped) but overall an easy to digest and user friendly book.

I’m a counsellor so this is a great book from the perspective of understanding personality types. I’m trained in Transactional Analysis which is complicated and I found this an easier way of identifying personalities differences. I do take these types with a hint of caution because it’s hard to gather all the complexities of individual humans into four types. Erikson does give a good argument for his DISC model and there were times when I did smile to myself because i recognised a characteristic from myself or friends/family, It did help to assign colours to types and I think this will help me remember them better. All in all a very good read.

Sorry I could not get past the first 15%. I found it wasn't engaging. I have not posted a review online.

I was excited to read this book as we had done some of this training at work and I was keen to explore more about this topic.

Apart from understanding what makes yourself tick, it is more important, I believe, to understand what makes your colleagues tick too, as this will make a big difference to your working life if you have some tricky workmates.

The book is well laid out and easy to digest and understand. Learning how to handle colleagues (in fact, anyone you come into contact with in life) is invaluable. It can be an eye-opener too when you realise how differently you look at things from other people and why they make behave in that strange way (or as the title states - like idiots!).

Recommended reading.

I had to read this book because the title reminds me of my uncle who used to say he's surrounded by idiots (yes, he's a D).

The DISC method identifies four categories of behaviours and many companies use it to assess their employees.. Thomas Erikson gives us insights about these categories, how to recognise to which category/ies colleagues, friends or family members belong, how they react and how to deal with them.

I found the descriptions of each category very accurate and the book helped me remember everything I learned many years ago when I did the test and had to implement the communication tactics to my customer calls. I wished there were a bit more tips and tricks to help recognise people who belong to 2 or 3 categories, they are quite difficult to pinpoint and some friends/colleagues are still a mystery.
My C side wishes for more statistics. We learn how many people (in %) belong to 1, 2 or 3 categories but I'd love to know which category is most/least represented, which 2- or 3-category combinations are rare or most common. My I side just skimmed over the book's sources (who has time to read all of that?) and my S side just remembered it's the birthday of a friend's pet and I should write her a small note ;-)

I definitely recommend this book if you're interested in understanding how to communicate with people who react differently from you. It has already helped me in a delicate situation this week and we could solve it without escalating to the boss.

Thank you to the publisher who provided me with an e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’d like me, you’re surrounded by idiots (especially in the working environment) then this will be your new manual for a significantly less stressy life. Easily digestible and full of helpful information, this would make an ideal cheeky gift for the annual office Secret Santa....!

I was drawn to the title of this book and wasn't disappointed. It gives an easy to read insight into the DISC/DISA method, which Thomas Erikson describes as the "world's most widely used method to describe differences in human communication." The intention of the book is for the reader to gain an understanding of people's behaviour types and way of seeing the world that will inevitably differ from our own. By doing this, it can help us improve communication and understanding what makes other people tick.

The system splits behaviour types into four categories that are associated with a corresponding colour. Blue (analytical), red (dominant), yellow (inspiring) and green (stable). This is similar to the sanguine, choleric, melancholic and phlegmatic temperament theory from ancient philosophy so it's not a new concept.. Erikson describes how around 80% of people have a combination of two colours that dominate their behaviour, 5% are dominated by one colour, and the rest dominated by three. There are chapters on how to recognise each colour type, and then practical suggestions about how to get the best from each type. There are real life stories and scenarios that show the behaviour categories in action.

I certainly recognised myself in the category descriptions and reflected on how others might perceive these behaviours. I also recognised friends, family and colleagues.

It's an entertaining and interesting read and while it's not an exact science, Surrounded by Idiots might be useful to anyone interested in becoming more self-aware and more understanding (and forgiving) of other people.

Mixed feelings on this book. On the one hand, it’s a decent description of different personality types based on the DISC system which is pretty widely used by organisations now. The book explains the characteristics of each type and how to get the best out of them., which is really helpful. There were a couple of downsides for me. Firstly, if you’ve had a DISC profile done, you probably know what your “letters” are. Erikson chooses to use colours not letters though, and the colours on my profile don’t match the ones he’s using, so this might be confusing to some. My second issue was that I don’t think all the tactics he suggests would work as well in a British workplace. We all know as Brits we’re not massively direct, so I’d suggest putting a hand up in front of someone’s face and moving it back and forth, for example, might not go down well. Also the suggestion that driving above the speed limit to please a certain colour type... I don’t know. I just felt it didn’t chime with the way we work here, although the core descriptions and developing an understanding of others were useful.