• Methodical?


• Just get the job done any old way (get it over with)?


• At the car wash? (There's no one to talk to in the driveway!)


• Huh? You mean I'm supposed to wash the car?

First of all, we're all combinations of the these styles. Usually two will be predominant.  For example, you may be very social and bottom line oriented.... Yellowand Red. Yet you could be (and probably are) married to a creative person who needs details (Blue and Green).  Now that you've met my husband and me, let me introduce my son:  A charming 16 year old with adult social skills and a very inventive mind ... Yellow and Blue. When he discovered this a few years ago, he was delighted to understand  "Why dad reacts different from me!"  Non of us are "wrong"... we each have a unique style.  Now we use it to become a team, to complement one another.

Let's go back to the business meeting and check their colors.

Ellen is Green, very detailed, very systems oriented, a counter.  She has worked very hard and thoroughly to give her co-workers the most valuable information.... which she believes is critical to making the best decisions.

Unfortunately for her, Susie and Janice are Yellows, very social, great talkers, and they have very little time for details....unless it's about something chatty going on in their lives.  They mean no disrespect to their speaker, but they could care less about all those dull details.  Is it lunchtime yet?

Ann is a Red. .. a do-er, action oriented and interested in the bottom line.  Red is the person who will tell you that you need a breath mint, are late for the meeting, need to hurry up with the project, or that you did a great job.  This is simply the truth, and she will tell it like it is.  The fact that there are bodies on the side of the road .... well, Red has moved on and doesn't notice.    A Red Mom is inclined to tell a mildly hurt child, "be brave, get over it. It'll be fine tomorrow"...unless she understands her child's style and responds to that!

Creative Nancy is Blue.  She's more inclined to listen to what Ellen is saying, but it triggers new ideas that need to be explored....maybe an alternative way to handle the situation.  If the information is really dull, she's doodling about an idea for something totally unrelated....

How could each of these women present the information at the meeting, true to her own style, and meet the needs of each other and their business?

Ellen (for her own sake) needs to have a completely documented report.  If she presents the Highlights of the information quickly,  engages Susie and Janice with questions or comments addressed to them (they'll feel included, which is important), and asks if there are creative suggestions from Nancy, she will cover all the bases.

If Susie or Janice are presenting, they need to keep their side-tracking remarks to a minimum (so they can have a social time later, perhaps?).  Their information should also cover highlights first. Ann will be relieved! Nancy could be invited to contribute ideas, and Ellen could flesh them out later. Ann can co-ordinate the whole process.  Great!  Let's do lunch!

Ann's meeting is brief and to the point.  She needs to work at involving the others, which she needs to do anyway since she's inclined to believe if you want a job done right, do it yourself.  If she asks Susie and Janice to hold their questions until the end, she can delegate details to Ellen (to handle later) and open up a little toward Nancy's creativity.... which may seem difficult because Ann is wired much faster than Nancy and anxious to get on with it.  Patience, Ann, patience....

Nancy can present a great meeting.  She's creative and innovative.  If she sticks to the headlines, Red Ann is with her, at least for the important points.  She is capable of fielding questions from our Yellow Socializers, Susie and Janice, and Ellen can get details from the answers. 

Knowing your personality style allows you to draw on a reservoir of power - - knowing that you possess all four colors in your personality, but one or two will be predominant.  You can learn to recognize what  colors are dominant in others and then use this knowledge for better communication and understanding of others. 

Perhaps you are stumped with a project, and you are predominately yellow.  It's time to talk to yourself about getting more Blue!  Or go seek the counsel of someone you know is Blue.  Perhaps the Red person needs to sit down, put her feet up, be more creative and Blue.  And maybe the Green just needs to get a little more Red and be assertive (gulp).  It's all in there.... just draw it out!  And we all need to be more Green at tax time!

Now, if you can't tell what color you are.... you are convinced you are evenly matched.... No, you aren't hopeless.  Actually,  you have probably learned to balance the various styles within yourself.  You are a very awesome individual well on the road to success!