Excerpt

1introduction

I SAT, STRANDED, in a muggy Asian airport. It had been a long, overscheduled

trip seeking new private banking clients. In the midst of a pile of

debris left behind by the late-night floor sweepers, I noticed a dog-eared

book. I picked it up and, from that moment, my view of the world was

changed forever.

 

“If a man does not keep pace with others, perhaps it is because he hears a

different drummer,” it began with the frequently quoted Henry David

Thoreau. The book, a since-discontinued presentation of the theories of Swiss

psychologist Carl Jung, outlined new insights into the way people take in information

and make decisions. The contents confirmed what I had long sensed

intuitively, having observed people with fascination since I was a child. The

information hinted of a new framework to use with clients and associates.

 

Settling back in my Hong Kong office the next morning, I decided to

categorize each of my customers according to their Jungian behavioral profiles.

I used four colors to create a simple system that could be used by the

support staff during my frequent absences. Each file included brief instructions

for handling personal interactions. “When a Gold comes in, make

sure all statements are up-to-date and organized in date-sequential order.

If a Blue makes an appointment, call our investment guys in New York and

get three new ideas.” There were four color groups of clients; each had its

own service strategy.

 

Over the next few months our new business increased by 60 percent, primarily

on word-of-mouth. My company benefited, but I did as well. I began

to enjoy my clients more, my stress level went down, and, in time, my relationships

outside of the office would improve as well.

 

For some ten years, I applied the same techniques to a growing and

diverse client base: high-net-worth individuals in South America, white-robed

sheiks in Abu Dhabi, shipping magnates in Athens, aristocratic

landowners in Spain. No matter who or what, the color coding dotted their

files and it worked—for men, women, young, old, and worldwide ethnicities,

the results were universal.

 

Institutions reorganize and solid careers dematerialize overnight. With

my firm in the throes of a major transition, I took some time off to go up to

Maine and rethink my life direction. On the porch of my small seaside inn

sat a man reading a book written by Isabel Myers, who had been deeply

influenced by none other than Carl Jung. She had developed a new application

for Jung’s work called the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). It was

the life direction I was looking for.

 

As I discovered a worldwide network of MBTI books, seminars, tapes,

and people, a new and strong sense of internal direction unfolded.

Suddenly, the right people and events began to materialize. Jung would have

dubbed it “synchronicity.”

 

Drawing on my corporate experience, I began pioneering unique ways of

applying these ideas to workplace applications, such as team building, leadership

development, and sales. And 35,000 attendees to my seminars later,

my life is now completely focused on my coding system, which has evolved

into a model called Color Q (www.ColorQPersonalities.com).

 

Evaluating people was key to survival during my unusual childhood; I

was born a countess in Hungary. When my family fled the communists, we

landed in the court of King Farouk of Egypt, where I played with his daughters

in his 550-room palace. Later, we fled the horrifying bloodshed of

Colonel Gamal  Abdel Nasser’s revolution.

 

I’ve turned what I learned then into a system that helps all of us define

our unique strengths, pursue the best career, and reduce conflicts in key

areas of our lives.

 

What Color Q Is Not

 

Color Q is not a labeling system denying the individuality of every person.

It does not measure the impact of education, intelligence, mental health,

special talents, economic status, motivation, drive, and environmental influences

on the core personality type. There are billions of unique people on

our planet and only four color groups. If you wonder what that leaves, I say

the deepest and most important part of you—the part that always knows

what it really wants and won’t be happy until it gets respect!

 

The framework is not gender specific. It works equally well for males and

females. Both men and women are found in each personality style, though

in some groups the percentages differ.

 

What Color Q Is

 

Color Q is about categorizing people—ourselves and others. It is based on

the extensive research of “personality type” experts who, for the past seven

decades, have laid the intellectual groundwork that serves as the basis of

this book. There are many systems for understanding others. This is the

one that I have found probes most deeply into the core of human behavior.

It confirms that each personality style is natural, equal, observable, and

predictable, and that each can be equally effective at work. Once mastered,

the system provides practical ways to maximize our natural talents, as well

as those of others.

 

Truly exceptional people always do so much more than is required. The

only way to do that without severe burnout is from passion born of confidence.

You are the right person doing the right thing in the right place,

and enjoying it! Sound impossible? Not at all, for those who are true to

themselves in spite of naysayers, parental expectations, and societal pressures.

Use this book to reveal your road to being exceptional.

 

Color Q is also a tool for understanding the sometimes-incomprehensible

behaviors of colleagues, bosses, clients (and even friends, dates, mates, and

children!). Since so much of success depends on “emotional intelligence,”

you’ll find your increased ability to “read people” perhaps the most valuable

outcome of reading this book. Enjoy your new journey!