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Summary: What Color is You're Parachu. . . um...I mean...Pigeon Hole?
Review: "What Color is You're Parachute?", the ever popular "self-help" book now in its 100 gazillionth printing, was primarily focused on helping an individual identify a career compatible to their personality. "Please Understand Me II", is an interesting, and seemingly accurate, methodology for identifying an individual's temperament. Are you an NT (intuitive & thinking - Rational), an NF (intuitive & feeling - Idealist)? If you are an "Idealist", have you ever heard/read the Greek mythological story of Pygmalion? As to the issue of accuracy: A certain curious individual took five different tests, from a variety of sources, all based on this temperament methodology, and arrived at the same conclusion as to temperament every time. I was amazed (oops). Ok, is was me. So what; this is about you anyway. Each time I took the test I was in a different mood, I think, and it was at varying times of day/night. My temperament description it dead-on according to many that have known me for a while. Many issues are discussed, including mating, work, communication, and a thorough overview of the temperament orientation. This is not at all like astrology. The types are carefully defined, and divergent in orientation. And no; it is not all touchy-feely. You may not like some of what you hear. However, I promise you that everyone, in varying degrees of course, will benefit from this book. Use it to understand you relationships; your attitudes; your communication style; and for plain-old fun (and it is great fun). By the way, I am a Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judger (INTJ), a "Rational-Mastermind" temperament (wow, that's a little embarrassing to say out loud). If the book is correct, I would definitely tell you if I thought it was a load of hooey. And I am enjoying it thoroughly.
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Summary: A wonderful standout in a field of frequent flakiness
Review: The earlier version of this book, Please Understand Me, by Keirsey and Bates, sold nearly 2 million copies since its publication in 1978. The book's popularity came from its great usefulness as a training and counseling guide. Many business people are at least passably familiar with the Myers-Brigg's personality typology. This book updates and expands on the previous book, while remaining highly readable and more practical than ever. Myers and Briggs distinguished 16 personality types. Keirsey maintains this typology but groups them into four categories: the Rational (NT), Idealist (NF), Artisan (SP), and Guardian (SJ). These may not be the only possible groupings, but a great many readers have found these personality groupings to illuminate overall personality and temperament types. Keirsey has added four kinds of intelligence (tactical, logistical, diplomatic, and strategic) to the Myers-Briggs framework, with each of the personality types having a different balance of these abilities. In a business environment, this book can improve understanding of other people in your organization. By taking the Keirsey Temperament Sorter and the Keirsey Four-Types Sorter, you will gain a better understanding of your own strengths and weaknesses. Once you have understood this framework, you will soon find that you can quickly identify the personality types of people with whom you interact. This can be an advantage in a competitive situation, as well as in fostering intra-organizational cooperation and communication. Many executives are already familiar with communication barriers between technologists and managers. This book provides a detailed perspective to recognize these and more subtle differences in perception, emotional responses, and cognitive style. One beneficial result of absorbing this book is an enhanced appreciation of the differences between individuals. Rather than seeing differences as a problem, this framework enables you to combine differing strengths within a team to form a more effective whole. We all know that each of us has strengths and weaknesses. This book helps identify them with more precision and offers insights on optimizing communication between the types. As with any intellectual construct that classifies human beings, a degree of skepticism is called for. This typology is not set in stone and there is a danger of being too quick to mentally fit an individual into one of the four temperaments or 16 types. Nevertheless, this is probably the most plausible and usable personality typing system available. This book can help everyone in an organization take practical steps to follow the frequent managerial exhortations to work as a team.
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Summary: Excellent read.
Review: I really liked this book a lot. It gave wonderful background information about the Myers-Briggs personality typing theory, the temperment descriptions were great (and very detailed), and the type descriptions were detailed and easy to understand. The only complaints that I have about the book are: there could have been more information on parent/child type interactions and type interactions in relationships (i.e. more information on _specific_ type interactions).
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Summary: A good reference book for human relations
Review: PLEASE UNDERSTAND ME II is based on the works of Myers, Briggs, and Jung. But David Keirsey believes that these founders of Typology were wrong to believe that the greatest difference between people is whether they are Introverts or Extraverts. Keirsey believes that the iNtuition ("thinking done without recourse to either logical or empirical investigation") preference versus the Sensing ("paying attention to what is going on outside oneself") preference is much more important. Therefore, Keirsey's personality test is different from the MBTI, although they have a 75% overlap (meaning, if you are an ENFP according to the MBTI test, then there is a 75% chance you will be an ENFP according to Keirsey). As other reviewers have noted, David Keirsey has organized the 16 personality types into four more general categories of Temperament: the Idealists (NF), who are the identity seekers; the Artisans (SP), who are the thrill seekers; the Guardians (SJ), who long for security and want to instill traditional values in others; and the Rationals (NT), who want to find orderly ways of doing things and are inclined toward science. I find this classification to be very helpful; I agree with Keirsey that trying to remember 16 personality types is far too much. Four temperaments is easier. And in case you don't want to answer all 70 questions to find out your Personality Type, you can take the much shorter "Temperament Sorter" that Keirsey has developed. PLEASE UNDERSTAND ME II has been of incredible help to me over the last two years in dealing with some *extremely* complicated inter-personal relations. It has literally helped save my sanity; this book is one of the staples of my life. But it is not a book I would recommend for cover-to-cover reading. I consider this a reference book, and I consult it on a weekly basis.
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Summary: This book can change your life for the better!
Review: After reading Please Understand Me II, I found myself suspending harsh judgment toward others in favor of accepting and understanding why and how habits, behaviors, and preferences differ from mine. My ENTJ type is only 2% of the population and this book not only explains how this type fits in with all the others, but also how to apply this to both dating and leadership. Unlike arbitrary constructions like astrology, you can test and retest this science and find that it works over and over again! If you are concerned with putting people "in a box," keep in mind that the personality inventory accounts for preferences and motivation, not necessarily actions. I found this refreshing after studying a concrete business model that types people according to what they do behaviorally without considering their inherent motivations and preferences. I would highly recommend this to anyone who has ever tested as an intuitive "N", for anyone who wants to understand team dynamics in any environment, and for those of you who feel like your significant other just doesn't understand where you are coming from...
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Summary: Absolutely fabulous
Review: Wow. Where does one even begin with this masterpiece? To say that this is a good book is a real understatement. It is a virtually perfect diamond in the rough. Properly accepted and applied, it just may do to psychology what The Origin of Species did to biology and what The Wealth of Nations did to economics. Legions of books have been written about the fundamental function of human minds. So why this one, you ask? Because it is dead-on and has something for everyone. Keirsey combines the cutting-edge research of Myers and Briggs with the time-tested philosophy that people's personality falls into one of four basic groups: the Guardians, the Artisans, the Idealists, and the Rationals. He then goes on to describe the basic worldviews of the four temperaments. They are astonishingly accurate. You will often experiences sheer exhilaration when you let this book show you who you really are. The feeling of having words given to aspects of your personality that you already knew but could not tangibly state, is indescribable. But this is only the beginning. You will find the answers to an incredible array of life's dilemmas compacted in this marvel of literature: --So many personality differences and stereotypes between men and women are summarized in one page of this one book, in the form of the Thinking/Feeling preference.
--Extending on this thought, gone are the ways of attempting to stereotype people based on race, religion, or sex. Now we have the tools to type people according to who they really are. This book is applicable in any culture and any time.
--Many other mysteries of life will be answered. For example, why does your boss seem so insistent on being the BOSS as opposed to simply hearing out a logical point-of-view? (Hint: Guardians and Rationals are opposites.) Or why, those of you who believe that the spirit is good and the flesh is evil, do so many people sell out to fleshy desires? (Hint: Artisans and Idealists are opposites.) Or why do some of your subordinates at work demand an answer for every single explanation you make and act downright anti-establishment in the process? (See hint #1.)
--The chapter on childhood and parenting alone is worth the price of the entire book. So much family dysfunctionality would be healed if parents would understand its principles.
--Finally, we have a guide to choosing a mate that works! This section is also, by itself, worth the entire price of the book. The lone weakness of this book is that Keirsey, a Rational, allowed substantial personal bias into his work. This partiality is especially notable in the section on mating, where he goes to great lengths to defend the weaknesses of a Rational's style of romance. The irony is that Rationals are, according to Keirsey, the most impartial and the most self-critical of the styles. Why he failed to apply himself here is unclear. Simply put, this glitch reduces the book from six stars to five. Take the bias tongue-in-cheek and buy this book. Now. And make its message a staple of your life. Hint: it is so powerful that you probably won't have to try. It will set in on its own and give you freedom in dealing with people as you have probably never had before.
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Summary: Many uses for this information...
Review: This is a great book. It is written in easy-to-understand language. It not only will help you to get an understanding of how you work, but also provide insight as to how you interact with friend(s),lover(s), family member(s), colleague(s), and other associates. The concepts in this book can help you to recognize problem areas where your personality TYPE might be in conflict with those you associate with. By becoming aware of yourself as well as the personality Types of those you associate with, you will be able to avoid many conflicts, and recognize them if/when they do occur. The concepts here can help you to recognize the inherent differences in personalities in order to help you communicate better with those who don't see things quite the same. You will also gain an understanding of why people may react better depending on how you communicate with them. As an ESTJ myself - I can tell you that the value of this book is well worth it's cost.
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Summary: A very useful book ... highly recommended
Review: This book promotes self-discovery and/or understanding for others. I recommend it highly for all. I have run into very few people who are not facinated at how well Keirsey describes many of their traits. The previously-mentioned redundancy in many of the chapters is helpful if you just want to skip ahead to the section on your type. The one reservation I have found is his tendency to use technical words that have confused some people who are not used to these types of books. However, this is often not much of a problem for NT Rationals like me. ;) Buy it. I find it very unlikely that you will regret it.
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Summary: This book is amazing!!
Review: This book is truely amazing. it is 100% accurate.
I recommend everyone who is dealing with relationship or family,friends problems or just curious of who is their perfect match PICK UP THIS BOOK ASAP!!!!. it's a wonderful tool for relationships with anyone. Forget Zodiac signs, and star charts all that is bull ... but this book is the real deal.
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Summary: Please understand the workplace!
Review: This sequel deals mainly how the 16 different Myers Brigg psychological types behave and perform at work. It shows natural inclination and aptitudes associated with each type. If the first book (Please Understand Me) made for an excellent shrink in your pocket, this sequel makes for a first class career counselor in your pocket. The tests within each books are excellent and most revealing of your own personality and aptitude. The Myers Brigg foundation underlying these books is excellent. I think it is far more accurate than many other alternative psychological classification systems such as the Enneagram and others.
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