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Summary: Great book! This has helped me get along in business.
Review: Great book! This has helped me get along in business.Marjorie Brody, CSP, CMCProfessional speaker, author and business trainerPresident, Liberty Bell Speakers AssociationPresident, Brody Communications Ltd.
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Summary: The Platinum Rule is solid material and a great read!
Review: Over the years there have been many books written to explore human personality, some by academics and some by laymen. This work stands out among them as a superior learning tool written by two academically trained experts who are also actual practitioners of their messages. It is solid material and a downright good read. Dr.s Tony Alessandra and Michael O¹Connor are the leading authorities alive today on the subject of Behavioral Styles. Alessandra is a professional speaker and trainer who has specialized in the application of behavioral science in the business world. As a former college professor he taught sales and marketing for several years. As an individual he has practiced what he preached. Alessandra spent several successful years in sales and sales management positions and now counts among his closest acquaintances the top thought leaders in the worldwide business community. His experience as a professional speaker to over two thousand audiences shows up in the book, it is very entertaining and motivational.Dr. O¹Connor is the brains behind many works on behavioral style, most notably the Performax materials published by Carlson Learning. His scientific mind and technical training make this a well structured and highly accessible work.The book offers readers immediate insight into their own relationships and their personal behavior patterns. Real world examples are peppered throughout and do a great job of keeping the reader engaged. Examples are well balanced among various life situations and industries. Business people will especially enjoy the practical and entertaining nature of the book.The Platinum Rule addresses a basic human truth: the fact that we are all alike in many ways and we are all different in other ways. If we will take the brief time necessary to notice our differences then we will instantly see how to better connect with each other. The book shows how to easily observe the four most common ³styles² of behavior. It goes on to show you exactly how to deal with each style. Readers will instantly know from their own experiences that the suggestions will work. Once you have read this book, solutions become obvious and tension between people disappears. This is one of the most practical and enjoyable books ever written on this topic.Respectfully submitted by:Jim Cathcart, author of The Acorn Principle, Know Yourself-Grow Yourself, and Relationship Selling. President of the Cathcart Institute, La Jolla, CA. Past president of the National Speakers Association.
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Summary: GREAT info for anyone to have more success with others!
Review: Personality Inventories have been one of the most effective tools I have used in my 10 years as a small business owner. I have not onlly had better relationships with customers but also with my wife, my friends, and family. Thanks Tony for putting some common sense into people management!
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Summary: Practical, effective application of the Social Styles model
Review: The authors have reworked and improved upon the social styles model of David Merril (but haven't given him any credit that I could find). The book is easy to read and the strategies are practical and effective. Anyone who wants to work more effectively with others and get more enjoyment out of their relationships would benefit from reading this book.
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Summary: Practical, effective application of the Social Styles model
Review: The authors have reworked and improved upon the social stylesmodel of David Merril (but haven't given him any credit that I could find). The book is easy to read and the strategies are practical and effective. Anyone who wants to work more effectively with others and get more enjoyment out of their relationships would benefit from reading this book.
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Summary: The golden rule... to the next level
Review: The basic premise is that you should treat others not as you would want to be treated but how THEY would like to be treated. And the manner of treatment that they prefer may differ drastically from the manner of treatment that you may like. This is so obvious in its' simplicity I had to kick myself for not thinking of it on my own.Now the real key is the ability to identify the differing personality types. The book has a very straightforward methodology for determining the 4 basic personality types and associated subtypes. Once you can classify individuals into the major types it becomes much easier to identify the most effective methods for dealing. Many of which are explored in the book. When I read the book originally I was working for a startup company with one chief executive, a marketing director, myself the technology director, a chief financial officer, and others. I was shocked at how accurately the book described each of us as we related to the major personality types. I only wish that I had come upon this text prior to this experience as it would have helped me immensely in dealing with each of these individuals. This is a very important and practical text for anyone who has to deal with diverse styles and motivations either in business or in their personal lives.
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Summary: The golden rule... to the next level
Review: The basic premise is that you should treat others not as you would want to be treated but how THEY would like to be treated. And the manner of treatment that they prefer may differ drastically from the manner of treatment that you may like. This is so obvious in its' simplicity I had to kick myself for not thinking of it on my own. Now the real key is the ability to identify the differing personality types. The book has a very straightforward methodology for determining the 4 basic personality types and associated subtypes. Once you can classify individuals into the major types it becomes much easier to identify the most effective methods for dealing. Many of which are explored in the book. When I read the book originally I was working for a startup company with one chief executive, a marketing director, myself the technology director, a chief financial officer, and others. I was shocked at how accurately the book described each of us as we related to the major personality types. I only wish that I had come upon this text prior to this experience as it would have helped me immensely in dealing with each of these individuals. This is a very important and practical text for anyone who has to deal with diverse styles and motivations either in business or in their personal lives.
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Summary: The Best of the Personality Styles Books
Review: The Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," is an excellent rule for ethical treatment of others. The Platinum Rule: "Do unto others as they prefer to be done unto," is an excellent rule for communicating with people in all kinds of environments.
Tony Alessandra and Michael O'Connor have written an excellent book similar to lots of other books that are out there. All the books and systems are based on the same Jungian Psychology of Personality Types.
You'll hear these different systems under a variety of names. You'll hear them as personality types or social styles or other things.
The most complex and best document of all of these is the Myers Briggs Type Inventory. It uses four dimensions to create sixteen basic personality types. Most of the social style systems are a bit simpler. They use two dimensions to create four personality types.
In my supervisory training and in using this material myself, I found that the MBTI is much more effective and nuanced in terms of analysis. But, I found that the social style systems are more likely to be used, and used effectively, when communicating in a social or business setting.
Essentially, you learn two things from any of these systems. You learn, first of all, how you tend to communicate, and what you value. Do you communicate directly or indirectly? Are you focused on the mission to be accomplished or on the relationship with the person you're communicating with?
The basic social style structure then shows you how to figure out what styles other people may use and a few other important things. You can learn how what you do can be very ineffective with some other people. And, you can use some things you can do differently to make your communication more effective.
There is a third advantage to this material if you are applying it in a work group where everybody uses the same material. That advantage is that this material will give you a common language for describing many types of communications in supervisory situations.
All of that is true for all the material that's out there on social styles. I think this is the best book, though.
What Alessandra and O'Connor have done that is different from others is they have given you the ability to use a very simple and rough-cut method and then also the ability to go deeper into more variance of style. It's almost like getting the best of the more complex instruments in with the simpler ones.
I've been using varieties of this material for almost thirty years in supervisory skills training. I've found that just about all of the reputable systems are first rate. But, you should buy this book if you want one solid insight and reference source to help you do more effective communicating.
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Summary: One of the best systems for improving communication
Review: The Platinum rule presents an easy to learn and apply system of personality typing based on an individual's social style and interpersonal interaction. This differs from many other systems of personality typing in that it is based primarily on a person's observable behavior and style, rather than on their deeper inner motivations, functions, attitudes, etc. It's a great tool to use in any relationship, business or personal. I use it often and train my staff in the system. It really works and is extremely effective! Tony Alessandra's work is a more updated, refined, expanded and user friendly version of the work on social styles by David Merrill. A good companion book with more analytical and theoretical information on this work (for all you Thinker types) is Merrill and Reid's "Personal Styles and Effective Performance".
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Summary: Powerful common-sense principles for building relationships
Review: The Platinum Rule provides powerful common-sense principles for building relationships. It is must reading for anyone who depends on others (and who doesn't?). George Morrisey, author, "Morrisey on Planning"
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