teresa.glenn – Page 10 – blog.colorcode.com

Boxing vs. Shakespeare

My dear Blue father strongly dislikes the fact that, here at the Color Code, we refer to the Blue and Red personalities as “heavyweights” and the Yellow and White personalities as “lightweights”. Perhaps there is a negative connotation associated with one or both of those words for him—or he just never liked boxing… Regardless of why, in honor of Father’s Day, this article will attempt to give my father—and anyone else who may benefit by it—another, perhaps more palatable and “Shakespearean” if you will humor me, way of viewing this aspect of our different personalities.

To Seek Control or Avoid Control—That is the Question.

We use the term “heavyweights” for Reds and Blues because, bottom line, Reds and Blues feel more comfortable in situations where they are in charge and can direct others to do what they feel is appropriate, than when they cannot control their circumstances or environment. In other words, they typically seek control because they feel more “at home” that way. It doesn’t mean that ALL Blues and Reds need to be in control to be happy but it is definitely something that needs to be considered.

Whites and Yellows get the term “lightweights” because they typically prefer to spend their lives refusing to be controlled by others, and feel more comfortable taking life as it comes by allowing themselves and others the freedom to make their own decisions. In other words they prefer to avoid control because that is what makes them feel most “at home.” Again, this doesn’t mean that ALL Whites and Yellows are this way, but you would do well to be aware of this.

That’s it.

So, whether you’re fine with the boxing analogy or prefer the “Shakespearean” version, the important thing to remember is that, no matter how you describe them, each role is invaluable to the game of life. In fact, each requires the other to function! One is definitely not better than the other. Both have strengths and limitations that enable them and society to survive as well as contribute. Each enhances the other’s life. And, frankly, each would be lost without the other. Perhaps you can relate this idea to “opposites attract” with your significant other?

One more amazing thing to remember about this is that each personality type serves as a role model for the others in speciﬁc areas of character building. Each color gives balance and perspective to the full spectrum of relationships. In fact, did you know that the “antidote” for your weaknesses as a Blue can be found in the strengths other colors?—but now I’m getting ahead of myself.

Finally, remember that secondary colors and filters always play a role in our personalities. A Red with Yellow will approach “control” very differently than a “White with Blue” would, so it’s important to understand the “whole picture” of yourself or those you are in relationships with—but that’s for another time.

Until next month, here’s to a Happy Father’s Day and a better world through understanding and appreciating each other. CC

PS. In October of last year we published a great article written by Color Code trainer Brittany Barhite entitled In the Ring: Heavyweight vs. Lightweight where she describes the Color Code’s use of the words Heavyweight (Red and Blue) and Lightweight (White and Yellow) using a boxing analogy. If you’re interested, feel free to check it out at http://blog.colorcode.com/in-the-ring-heavyweight-vs-lightweight/.

Joe England has known about the Color Code ever since 1994 when his Grandpa caused quite a family controversy by “quick coding” everyone. Luckily, Joe could see the value in what Grandpa Don was going for and years later, when the opportunity arose to work for the Color Code, Joe jumped at the chance. He is a Yellow, enjoys Swedish Fish and typically gets along with children better than adults.

Ask the Expert

Dear Jeremy,

My “ask the expert” question is this… I am a Red with 25% Yellow; I find that at work there is a good blend of Red & Yellow. However, as soon as I get home, my Red goes away and I’m just Yellow. I would like to be more Red at home, but haven’t figured out how to do it. Any suggestions?

Donitta

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Dear Donitta,

What a great question! Thanks for bringing it up. I hear this with other Reds, actually, so please know that you are not alone.

To answer this, we should first have a quick review on the two types of motives that we talk about in the Color and Character Codes. Then, we’ll dive into what the motives are behind your lack-of-Red-at-home situation.

So… motives. The first kind of motive that we discuss in our trainings is your Driving Core Motive (DCM). The DCM is all about your “Color Code type”. Reds are motivated by Power, Blues by Intimacy, Whites by Peace, and Yellows by Fun.

As you know, that is what we primarily teach and focus on in the Color Code.

Next, we have the ordinary every day motives that are behind our daily actions and activities.

Consider the father shouting at his children. Has he finally lost every shred of patience and resorted to yelling and threatening to intimidate them into compliance? – Or – Is there some kind of imminent danger that he is warning them about?

Those every day kinds of motives, we focus more on in the Character Code, of course.

So let’s talk about you. The answer to your question lies in understanding WHY it is that your Yellow takes over when you get home from work and you can’t get your Red DCM to take the same kind of action it does when you are at work.

If you can understand the answer to that question, you can begin to formulate some ideas and strategies around what to do about the situation.

Many of the Reds that I talk to say two things that may be relevant here for you (as idea starters):

1. They say that they mellow as they mature. For many Reds, they tend to be very hard-charging, and believe that they are always right (and everybody else is wrong) during their 20s and 30s. Later in life, however, they learn to let that go because they’ve learned better ways of dealing with things. Consequently, they may be a lot more passive in their approach to getting things done at home than they used to be.

2. They say that they go to war at work every day and bring their A-game. However, by the time they are done with work for the day, they are tired of running the world and want somebody else to make the decisions and take the initiative when they get home.
I don’t know if that applies to you or not, but it is an example of what other Reds have said in the past.

Once you discover your reason why, then you can make changes.

One general tip that I would be happy to share, however, is to make sure that you have a separate daily to-do list at home. In other words, use your Red gifts to set goals for your home life just like you do in your work life. Prioritize those goals and put due dates on them.

It may actually be helpful to make that daily list and do that goal setting in the morning right after you set your professional goals for the day. That way your mind is already engaged in that Red-conquer mode. Then, when you get home at the end of the day, the list is already there and you have already committed to doing it.

Good luck, Donitta. I hope that helps.

Very best of living,

Jeremy Daniel

Jeremy Daniel (Core Color: Yellow) has been working with the Color Code since 1998 in various capacities from training in the field personally with Dr. Taylor Hartman to designing customized corporate solutions and new training programs for various industries. To ask about Jeremy’s training or speaking services, please email and inquiry to jeremy@colorcodetraining.com.

Find the Key to Each Person

Why are you writing about Alan Horn on a Color Code blog? Well let me tell you: During the interview, Mr. Horn was asked if he could share what his biggest key to success was, and I found his answer to be wonderfully applicable to what we try and teach here at Color Code.

I recently had the privilege of hearing Alan Horn being interviewed for The Hollywood Reporter. Now, for those of you who don’t know who Alan Horn is, let me bring you up to speed. He was one of the founders of Castle Rock Entertainment (Seinfeld, When Harry Met Sally), then went on to become the President and COO of Warner Brothers (where he managed the entire Harry Potter and new Batman Franchises among other things) and now is Chairman of The Walt Disney Company. So, ya, you could say he’s a pretty successful guy and might know a thing or two about success and leadership.

That’s very well and good you say, but why are you writing about Alan Horn on a Color Code blog? Well let me tell you: During the interview, Mr. Horn was asked if he could share what his biggest key to success was, and I found his answer to be wonderfully applicable to what we try and teach here at Color Code.

He said, that when he was serving in the US military, he had the privilege of working under an officer that was an incredible leader. One day, Mr. Horn asked this officer what made him so good at what he did. This officer told Alan that he liked to imagine himself carrying around a giant key ring with 100 different keys on it; and, his main goal was to find which key belonged to which person. Once he could figure that out, the rest was easy. When he knew what made a person tick, he could inspire them, guide them, motivate them and even discipline them in a way that was mutually beneficial. This advice stuck with Alan and he decided to try his best to replicate the strategy. He told the interviewer that this approach to leadership and working with others has been the one thing he would pinpoint as having the most impact on his success.

As you can imagine, Mr. Horn’s words really struck a chord with me and I couldn’t help but relate them to what we teach here at the Color Code. You know, about how important it is to communicate with people from a perspective of their driving core motive instead of ours, and continuing to develop those interpersonal skills we love to share with everyone we can, etc.

So, my challenge for you today is to consider creating your own imaginary key chain with the skills you’ve learned—or have yet to learn—from Color Code and other sources and find the right keys for the people in your life. Who knows, maybe in a few years I’ll be listening to you speak as some big shot? I certainly hope so.

Here’s to a better you and me,

Joe England

Ask The Expert

Dear Jeremy,

Our leadership group recently had some Color Code training for a team building event. It was a great experience, we learned a lot, and people have had nothing but positive things to say about the event.

One concern that I’ve had since then, however, is that one of our team members seems to be using his Color Code as an excuse for the way he acts. Is that common, and do you have any advise for addressing that particular issue?

Thank you for your help!

Cynthia

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Dear Cynthia,

First of all, I’m glad that you enjoyed the training. The classes are meant to be a rich learning, growth-oriented, and overall positive experience. They’re usually a lot of fun, too, which is always nice. 🙂

But let’s talk about your “Mr. Justification” now…

I wouldn’t say this is a terribly common scenario, because we try to emphasize the concept of taking 100% responsibility for the success of your relationships throughout the workshop. However, I wouldn’t say that it’s a rare occurrence either.

The fact is, if a person is unwilling to change or feels that other people should simply always cater to him, then you do tend to run into these kinds of issues.

Here’s how I would discuss it.

The Color Code can either be utilized as a tool or as a weapon.

The whole goal of learning this material, of course, is to be able to use the Color Code as a tool. We use the Color Code to improve communication, strengthen leadership, reduce conflict, build rapport, encourage others, and create success on both an individual contributor level and as a team.

Certain individuals – again, usually a miniscule percentage of people – may, on the other hand, choose to use the Color Code as a weapon. To understand this completely, you have to think both in terms of weapons of offense and defense.

For example, using this as a weapon of offense might mean that the person chooses to stereotype others. This generally takes the form of limiting their opportunities or “putting them in a box”, so to speak. It’s when you refuse to promote someone to a leadership position because, “Whites can’t be decisive”, or “Yellow’s aren’t responsible”, etc.

That kind of approach is quite blatant and completely ignorant. First of all, any Color can succeed in any job. That’s a fact. Second of all, each individual is different. We all have different strengths and limitations and we all learn and adapt over the course of our lives.

The Color Code should never limit anyone. Rather, it is designed to empower.

Let’s talk next of using this as a weapon of defense—think “shield” or “armor”. This is what you are observing in your co-worker, and it is actually more common than the previous, offense-based scenario.

You said that your team member has been using the Color Code as a means to excuse the way he acts, and I’ve seen this many, many times before. For example, an overly aggressive or critical Red who generally treats people poorly might excuse his/her behavior by saying something like, “Listen, you all went to the training and should know that’s just how Reds are. So, just stop taking what I say personally and get your work done!”

And it’s not just Reds, of course… ALL Colors do it.

Blues will excuse themselves for being moody, suspicious, or self-righteous. Whites have reasons for being non-communicative, unmotivated, or socially aloof. Yellows say they can’t possibly be blamed for being irresponsible, forgetful, or uncommitted.

(And that’s just scratching the surface).

Of course the more insecure an individual is, the more likely they will be to justify their bad behavior or blame others for their problems.

The bottom line is that limitations are limitations, period.

Just because you are a Blue, for example, doesn’t give you license to judge others. That’s a limitation that you would do well to work at eliminating.

So remember, the Color Code is a tool, not a weapon. It is designed to help us overcome our limitations and perform on a much higher level, not cripple ourselves with excuses.

Good luck to you, Cynthia. I hope this helped.
Very best of living,

Jeremy

Mother’s Day? We Have Your Back

May 11th is Mother’s Day. To some it’s a big deal and to others, not so much. Either way, we are full of advice for successfully navigating the day.

Blues

I am breaking with Color Code tradition by beginning this advice with the Blues. Why? Because, I’m afraid those of you with Blue mothers will fade before you get to the Blue advice, and that would be a big mistake—BIG. So, pay attention.

Let’s talk about your Blue mother. All your life, she was there for you. She was the mother who volunteered for your field trips, cake bake, sports… the list goes on. She drove you to school when you slept in, and believed you when you fibbed. She made sure your laundry was done perfectly, even after you went to college. She worried that you weren’t eating right, sharing your thoughts, being safety minded… and again, the list goes on. She lived for you.

Best mother EVER.

But, (and this is a big but), your mother can be a martyr. While she has been indulgent, devoted and single-minded in raising you, she does require acknowledgement of these selfless acts.

In your mother’s case it is the thought that counts. Set aside some time, sit down and write her a long and sincere letter. Tell her how much you appreciate everything she’s done—and be specific. Remember things from your childhood, because you can bet she does. Do not (even playfully), criticize her in your letter. It will be her main focus. Otherwise, you will be her hero for a very long time.

Reds

Red mothers are very different from their Blue counterparts. Your mother took an interest in your life, but in a less nurturing way. She was there for you, just less emotionally. She always gave good feedback and good advice (maybe too much sometimes) in a way that left no question that she was right. She expected you to look good, act well, be appropriate, and measure up to her own high standard.

She is the most likely of mothers to view Mother’s Day as a frivolous “Hallmark Holiday”. Still, don’t think for a second that her disdain for the holiday will give you a free pass. Your mother demands respect, and ignoring her on Mother’s Day is disrespectful. For your mother, the best gift is respectful acknowledgement. If you have children, make sure they acknowledge her as well. Never give your Red mother anything that says world’s greatest mom, grandma, etc.

White

Your mother is the kindest and gentlest of all mothers. While growing up, she showed you patience and care. She was able to endure any problem you could throw at her without getting ruffled. She had a quiet elegance, and fortitude. She wanted to give you the best childhood possible. She wasn’t one to offer direction, because she didn’t want to come across as pushy or demanding. In fact, if anything she could be over-indulgent—hesitant to set boundaries.

Your mother doesn’t like being the center of attention, nor does she appreciate fanfare. However, as with any mother, she appreciates acknowledgement. Celebrate Mother’s Day in a quiet way. Let her know how much you appreciate her, but don’t overdo it. Unlike Blues and Yellows, she won’t appreciate effusiveness.

Yellow

Because of your Yellow mother, your childhood was a whirlwind of ups and downs. She adored you and wanted nothing more than for you to have a fun and happy childhood. Your mother wanted you to experience everything life has to offer. Unfortunately, some of the things life had to offer were, running out of gas, parent-teacher nights sans parent, and other missed commitments. Still, she built your self-confidence like no other parent could.

Unlike Reds, Yellows are all about superficial holidays, or any other holiday—especially one that celebrates them. She won’t care if you remind her of all the crazy things she did. She’ll remember them with mirth. Create a day for her that will celebrate her motherhood. Invite everyone, buy gifts, get party hats… she’ll love it.

Hope this helps. To all you mothers out there, Red, Blue, White and Yellow—Happy Mother’s Day. CC

Teresa Glenn has been working with the Color Code since 2006, where her main focus is product development. She has been in the publishing and product development field for over 20 years. Teresa is a core Red with a strong Yellow secondary.

Filters That Can Affect the Bottom Line

Life is all about relationships. We have them, to some extent, with everyone we meet, from your best friend, to the person who checks you out at the grocery store. In each situation, we modify our behavior to meet the needs of the person with whom we are in that relationship. After all, you wouldn’t behave the same way in front of your Grandma as you would a peer. Whether you recognize is or not, that is the Color Code in action.

There are many factors that come into play that define our outward behavior. Your core motive (color) is innate and will never change. But, what about other behavioral influences that play a part in your personality?

Secondary colors certainly play a part. For instance, if you are a Red with a secondary Yellow, you might be more playful, and less stern. Or if you are a White with a Blue secondary, you might be more relationship oriented, and so forth.

Filters derived from life experiences can be another factor in your outward behavior. As we experience life, we are exposed to countless outside influences that shape who we are and how we view life, often causing incongruent behaviors. For example, if a White is born to Red parents, he might begin to take on Red behaviors. Or, if you have worked with someone you admire greatly and try to emulate his behavior, that too, is a filter.

Hundreds of filters just like that exist in our society. Gender, religion, intelligence, shyness, relationships, and cultural influences can all be filters.

Workplace Filters

Culturally speaking, think of the diverse group of people you work with–men, women, young, old, and with varying ethnic backgrounds. All of these groups come with their own set of culture filters you should be aware of to best understand what motivates employees and coworkers beyond their driving core motive. Following are a few examples of what you might see:

Generation

Three generations are actively employed in the workforce today. Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Gen Yers all have different ideas about their role in the workplace.

Possible generational filters might be work ethic, technology use, leadership style, and especially, communications.

Baby Boomers, as a generation, are workaholics, placing job before life balance. The younger generation wants balance. They work at work and play at play.

Baby Boomers are motivated by being valued and told so. Gen Xers like to be rewarded with freedom, and Gen Yers want meaningful work.

Gen Xers and Gen Yers are content to communicate via email, or even texting. Baby Boomers prefer face-to-face, preferably in a meeting.

These generational filters can cause frustration and create derision.

Gender

While the time when “a woman’s place is in the home” is long gone, one thing is certain… filters continue to exist among the sexes. Society has taught us that men are stoic, and women are emotional. Studies do show that women—no matter their driving core motive—are more interested in relationships, and have a tendency to show more empathy than men.

Men are stimulated by the competition, and are motivated by financial rewards. Women are more motivated by acknowledgement.

Ethnicity

Ethnicity filters are not only important to understand now, but will be critical in the future. With the steady migration from other countries, it is imperative that managers understand the cultural filters people bring with them from their country of origin.

For instance, a Hispanic person is accustomed to a rigid socioeconomic class structure. They may have a difficult time learning to trust a supervisor. Family is the most important thing and their job often comes second in time and dedication.

Happy employees are proven to be productive, faithful workers. Cultural filters, in addition to the day-to-day filters we all have, help identify the needs of your employees, and create an understanding vital to smooth operations within the workplace. Learn to respect and adapt to those needs. Reward based on those needs. If a baby boomer needs validation, validate. If an employee values family who are away, reward them with a calling card. If a man needs competition to be motivated, challenge him.

While you’re at it, contemplate your own outward behavior. Do you have filters that have a negative effect on your personality? If so, identify them and work on correcting them. CC

Baby’s Huge Personality

Today my newest grandchild was born. As I hold her, I can’t help but wonder who she will be. Will she grow up to be a leader? An entertainer? A caregiver? Or will she quietly go about her business?

Color Code teaches us that we are born with our personalities. They are innate. Looking at this small, perfect form, it seems that a personality is too unbelievably huge to be contained in her little body. After all, our personalities are huge—they help determine the direction of our lives.

That’s not to say our destiny is controlled by our color. How we use the strengths and limitations of our driving core motive is up to us.

Take Mother Teresa. A Blue right? Wrong. Mother Teresa was a Red. She used her Red strengths as a natural leader to accomplish the impossible.

Walt Disney must be a Yellow—he created the happiest place on earth—but no. His Blue strengths of creativity and perfectionism kept him up at night so he could create the perfect place for you Yellows.

I think we can all guess the color of Albert Einstien. His genius is legendary, but he avoided the limelight and preferred quietly doing his theorizing in private.

If you think growing up Yellow is just one party after another, consider that many of our most popular Yellow presidents—John F. Kennedy, Ronald Regan, Bill Clinton—Yellows, all, and all achieved the highest office in the United States.

No matter her driving core motive, this little one has the potential to do whatever she wants.

So, for now, I see physical characteristics of her parents, like her Blue mother’s mouth and her White father’s eyes, but it will be a while before I will identify if she takes after either in the driving core motive department. CC

Ask the Expert

This month, I wanted to share a great question that was sent into me by one of our Certified Color Code Trainers. Her name is Lisa Hall, and she does an amazing job. Recently, a participant of hers who had attended a Color Code training in the past asked the following question after learning about the Character Code.

Here’s the question, “If our Driving Core Motive does not change, then why not just take the Character Code assessment?’

This is actually a great question, and I can understand where the participant is coming from – especially since we’ve all been conditioned to look at behavior-based personality models. In fact, if this were a behavioral model, the best thing to do would be just to take the Character Code assessment!

Of course, it’s not a behavioral model, and so it’s an important question to carefully consider.

I think you have to look at your Driving Core Motive or “DCM” as the engine that powers the rest of your personality – your needs and wants, your instincts and preferences, the values that you adopt and even the behavior you learn to display. Your DCM is innately present at birth, and as your participant correctly mentioned – it does not change throughout your life.

That means that your need for Power, Intimacy, Peace, or Fun (depending on what your DCM is, of course) will always be there no matter what. You can’t discard it or change it. It is, therefore, one of the very most critical pieces of self-awareness you can have. It will explain why you do what you do and why some things are easy for you to accept or to change while others are terribly difficult. It is also critical that you learn to value your DCM no matter how frustrating it might be at times.
Learning to value yourself is the first, essential part of the personal growth process. You have to know “how you are” naturally to know where you are going. Acceptance of that Core Color ensures that you will be striving to change for the right reasons (meaning that your motives for wanting to change will be clean).

If it were not so, and we tried to change because we never developed a sense of intrinsic value for who we are (i.e., we never learned how to have self-esteem), our efforts to become something else would always leaving us feeling unfulfilled. Even though our behaviors might change, we would still feel a nagging, unsatisfied need from our DCM that was not being fulfilled.

The key is to learn to value your Core Motive and then look for ways to add to it. We can keep all the good stuff and eliminate the behaviors that we don’t like while we strive to add strengths from the other Colors as well.

That’s why we start with the Color Code and then move on to the Character Code.

I guess you could say that it helps to know (and love!) your natural self when you are trying create your future self.

I hope that helps you all.

Very best of living!

Jeremy

Beware the Ides of March–Assassination and Intrigue

On March 15th of 44 BC, the term “The Ides of March” would become forever changed. Its modern meaning? The date that Julius Caesar was assassinated.

Although a seer continued to warn Caesar that harm would befall him no later that the Ides of March, Caesar failed to listen. On his way to the Theatre of Pompey, where he would be assassinated, Caesar passed the seer and joked, “The ides of March have come,” meaning to say that the prophecy had not been fulfilled, to which the seer replied “Aye, Caesar; but not gone.”

Caesar was stabbed to death while leading a meeting of the Roman Senate. The successful conspirators were led by Marcus Junius Brutus, and instigated by Gaius Cassius Longinus.

Caesar was not a lovable man, but a strong and remarkable leader. He won his soldiers’ devotion by the victories that his intellectual ability, applied to warfare, brought them. Yet, though not lovable, Caesar was attractive and, indeed fascinating. His political achievement required ability, in effect amounting to genius, in several different fields.

Brutus was worried that Caesar was aspiring to dictatorship. The assassin loved Caesar as a friend, but he opposed the ascension of any single man to the position of dictator. Brutus’s inflexible sense of honor made it easy for Caesar’s enemies to manipulate him into believing that Caesar must die in order to preserve the republic. While the other conspirators acted out of envy and rivalry, only Brutus truly believed that Caesar’s death would benefit Rome.

Longinus, would never be a strong leader. He was witty and charming and was only interested in making money so he could have status and be accepted good society. Although Cassius was “the moving spirit” in the plot against Caesar, winning over the chief assassins to the cause of tyrannicide, he was no leader.

While successful in their assassination, the unexpected result was that Caesar’s death precipitated the end of the Roman Republic. CC

Colors

Caesar_________________________________________

Brutus__________________________________________

Longinus________________________________________

Are You Guilty of Color Bias?

I am a Red.

When I took the Color Code assessment 8 years ago, I didn’t really understand the paradigm, and quite frankly, didn’t take much stock in it. But, working for Color Code, part of my job description was to get on board (go figure), so I took the test.

You are a Red. When I got those results, I wasn’t pleased. I didn’t feel motivated by power. I conjured images of myself in a Hiltleresque mustache, demanding and rigid, expecting everyone to fear me. Then I read that a Red’s motivation for power is like that of a car engine. Power that moves you forward, not power that makes you have a diabolical need to control the world.

Still, I was sure I must have answered the questions incorrectly. I mean, really! My twenty-page report was full of things about me that couldn’t be true. I can’t be a Red.

Bias #1 Red’s are egotistical bullies, right?

When I became more educated about Color Code and really began to see it in action, I was surprised that I not only had misconceptions about Reds, but other color bias:

Bias #2 I don’t like Blues because they over-articulate.

Bias #3 I don’t like Yellows because they are irresponsible.

Bias #4 I don’t like Whites because they are lazy.

Sound ludicrous? Of course it is. Making blanket derogatory statements about any group of people is BIAS. While it’s true that the limitations I find annoying are generally associated with that color, for me to lump all the people within those DCMs as the sum of their limitations is close to defamatory.

Here is my truth:

Bias #1–Everything my 20-page report said about me is true. I am a Red. I do have all the strengths it describes—assertive, determined, and focused. But, I admit, I have Red limitations too—bossy, demanding, and arrogant. Still, we Reds, (believe it or not), have people who actually like us.

Bias #2 —I am married to a Blue, and while I have to check my patience while he explains in great detail why I can’t have the faucet I want, rather than just say yes or no, I love his consideration, his sensitivity, and his loyalty.

Bias #3–All of my closest friends happen to be Yellows. My oldest Yellow friend was a workmate. Once, I asked her a time-sensitive, work related question. She said she would check on it a call me right back. She hung up and went to a movie. I waited for my phone to ring. In the workplace, she drove me crazy, but the time we spent together outside of the office was magic. We laughed until our stomachs hurt.

Bias #4–Ah, Whites. They hold a special place in my heart. They are intelligent, humorous, and self-deprecating. As a Red, I am baffled by their lack of ambition when they show so much talent and creativity. I want to push and prod them, but I know this is a futile gesture.

Oh, yeah…did I mention that my report also said I have the Blue limitation of being judgmental, the Yellow limitation of being self-centered and the White limitation of being silently stubborn? So! The big and most difficult question: are my biases the fault of the other colors and their pesky little annoyances, or are they a result of my own limitations including the Red limitation of arrogance? If I am to take 100% percent responsibility for my own actions and feelings, I, in all honesty, have to choose the latter and face the consequences.

It is up to me to realize that each person is different—products of nature and nurture. Not only do they have core motives, but, they have secondary colors and filters that modify their behaviors.

Most importantly, they just might have Character. Something I need to work on. CC