Surrounded By Idiots

Help readers relate the book’s lessons to their own life experiences.

1. Which personality color or color blend felt most accurate for you? Did that self-assessment feel affirming, uncomfortable, or surprising?

2. Reflect on a moment when you consciously shifted your communication style for someone else. Did you recognize their "color" at the time, and how did adapting your approach affect the outcome?

3. Think about a recent situation during which you felt stressed or misaligned with others. Did the stressors Erikson describes for your type show up in that experience?

4. Erikson’s anger metaphors suggest that people express anger differently depending on personality. How do you typically express frustration or anger? Does your expression match your personality color(s)?

5. Consider your own developmental story. Do you see your personality as something more shaped by your upbringing, genetics, or your environment? Has this book shifted how you think about that?

Encourage readers to think about the book’s role in current social, cultural, or professional conversations.

1. Erikson connects his color system to historical frameworks like the four humors. In a world increasingly focused on data-driven models, why do you think personality theories like this still resonate with so many people?

2. Workplace cultures often reward certain personality traits over others. In what ways have you seen your workplace value one "color" over another—and what impact has that had on morale or team dynamics?

3. Some have criticized Erikson’s model as unscientific. In a practical sense, do you think a tool needs scientific rigor to be useful? What place do these kinds of tools have in the modern world?