PeopleSmart in Business eBook - The Platinum Rule

Want others to notice — Compliment them on their
their accuracy thoroughness
Avoid confl ict — Tactfully ask for clarifi cation
and assistance you may need
Need to be right — Allow them time to fi nd
the best or “correct” answer
Like to contemplate — Tell them ‘why” and “how”
Four types, just acting themselves
With the natural diff erences among the four behavioral types in
mind, pretend that you want to give four people 15-20 minutes to
make three simple decisions:
1. Where the next meeting will take place
2. When it will happen
3. Th e theme of the meeting
Quite by accident, your group consists of one Steady Relater, one
Cautious Th inker, one Dominant Director, and one Interacting Socializer
who all believe in practicing Th e Golden Rule. Do you think
they’ll get the job done? Perhaps, or perhaps not, depending on how
each responds to one another in handling the simple task. Let’s see
why this may not work out. As they walk into the room, the Dominant
Director typically speaks fi rst. “Here’s my plan. . .”
Th e Interacting Socializer says, “Hey! Who died and left you boss?”
Th e Cautious Th inker says, “You know there seems to be more here
than meets the eye. We might want to consider some other relevant
issues and break into sub-committees to explore them.”
Th e Steady Relater smiles and says, “We may not get this done if we
don’t work as a team like we have before.”
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