SuccessfulMindset

Business is all about people - like it or not, even in this hi-tech age, it’s all about people.  The better you understand people, the more you’ll be able to relate to them.  And the more you can relate to people, the easier it is to earn their like, trust, and respect, which are the 3 keys to doing business with them.

People will not do business (long-term) with people they do not like, trust, or respect.  And one of the major ways to obtain those three things from someone is to be able to relate well to their personality type.

So you may be asking, “How many types are there, and how do I relate to them?”

Good question.

The answer is there are 4 major personality types, and lukcy for you, you’ve probably already got 1-2 of them mastered!  How, you ask?  Because you’ve already got at least 1 of them pre-programmed in your subconscious and you’ve been living it out all your life!  Now we just have to teach you the other 3 and you’re all set!

Well, it’s almost that easy. Yes, you’ll need to learn what yours and the others are, but then learning to relate to all 4 is the part that takes practice & patience.  But the acquired skill is 100% worth the investment once you’ve learned it and can successfully apply it in everyday situations.

So let’s get started.

The 4 Personality Types

The 4 personality types are: 

• Choleric
• Phlegmatic
• Sanguine
• Melancholy

 Let’s break them down so we have a better feeling for each one.

Choleric: Cholerics are the natural born leaders who aren’t happy unless they’re out in front of the group, leading, directing, and taking charge of the situation.  Cholerics are the ones who will naturally rise up out of a group of people to give it direction if there is a lot of indecision amongst the group.  Cholerics aren’t really interested in a lot of feelings or details, they just want to get moving, even if it’s not the exact right direction.  They want things done now and done their way - which is naturally the best way!  Sometimes Cholerics can seem cocky, arrogant, or mean; but they’re really not intending to - they just want to accomplish the goal or task at hand as quickly and efficiently as possible.  If you want to get a job accomplished quickly, give the task to a Choleric.

Phlegmatic: Phlegmatics are the polar-opposites of Cholerics.  They’re the ones who are happy as long as no one is upset, and are totally satisfied to “go with the flow”.  60% of the population has this as their dominant personality trait.  Phlegmatics don’t like conflict and are typically not overly-motivated to get things accomplished.  Procrastination and “laziness” are things that characterize Phlegmatics…they may not actually be lazy, they just don’t see any reason to upset their current comfort zone to do something they may not think is worth the effort!  Phlegmatics are the people that are awesome to just hang out with because they’re easy-going, low-stress, and usually good listeners.  If you want someone to bring some “mellow” to the team and be great for shootin’ the breeze, the Phlegmatic is your person.

Sanguine: Sanguines are the life of the party, always talking, “shine the spotlight on me” people…that friend of yours that never has trouble making friends and always has an interesting story to tell about how it all happened :)  Sanguines are great at coming up with ideas, but not so great at following through with them…they have “goldfish memory” syndrome!  Sanguines are social butterflies who are friends with everyone, and everyone wants to be friends with them - typically they are the “popular” kids in school or the friend that gets invited to all the parties.  Sanguines make life interesting and entertaining and they’re genuinely fun to be around.  However, in general they aren’t the most accountable people so don’t expect that 10am sharp appointment to get started right on time - or at all in some cases.

Melancholy: Melancholies are the engineers, scientists, accountants, and detail-oriented people of the world.  They are the ones who organize everything, create ‘to-do’ lists (and then add things to the list that weren’t on the list just to check them off if they did them!), spreadsheets, and checklists for life.  Their homes and cars are always clean and in order, and everything has it’s place.  You’ll never find them losing their keys!  Melancholies are great people to have around when details are essential, because they enjoy keeping track of things and dotting all the ‘i’s and crossing all the ‘t’s.  Melancholies are primarily concerned about detail and precision.

Okay, so that covers our basic definitions of the 4 types.  We all know people who fit the above description, and you were probably able to pick yourself out of the above list.  Most people are a combination of one dominant type and a secondary type.  I, for example, am choleric-melancholy….I like to be in charge, doing things my way, with the utmost detail and structure.  My wife, on the other hand, is a sanguine-choleric - she loves being the life of the party and talking with everyone, but she can get down to business when she needs to! (makes life interesting around the house :))

You are more than likely a combination of two of the above traits.  Can you pick them out?

But how do we make this info useful?  That comes in knowing how to apply this knowledge in your relationships with other people.

And we’ll cover that tomorrow…

To your Success,
Steve