“4 Idiots! – Which Idiot Are You?”– Prof.M.S.Rao

Probably, Indians must have seen the film “3 Idiots!” and enjoyed thoroughly. The film was all about the ills of current Indian educational system. The three idiots made audience laugh and educate audience to pursue their passions rather than being dictated by parental or peer pressure. In a nutshell, the three idiots provided food for thought through edutainment.


Now I want my readers to know that there are ‘4 Idiots’ in this world. However, this is different from ‘3Idiots!’ as it deals with four personality types coined by Dr. Tony Alessandra in his 1996 bestseller “The Platinum Rule.”

Let us know what those four personality types are: They are Directors, Thinkers, Socializers and Relators.

Directors:

Directors are daring and dashing, ruthless and reckless, aggressive and adamant and are filled with energy and enthusiasm. They love changes and challenges. They go by gut feelings and intuition. They don’t appreciate the weaknesses of others and they don’t like to be questioned. They are very brief and precise and are highly task oriented and love to hit bulls’ eye. They are fast workers and strive for excellence. The leaders who belong to this style are: Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Chengis Khan, Ashoka, Stalin, Hitler etc., Suitable career for these people is administration, armed forces and security personnel.

Thinkers:

Thinkers have eye for detail. They follow rules and regulations thoroughly. They remain cool and composed every time. They pose too many questions. They are slow workers and strive for perfection. To name a few examples are Socrates, Plato, Aristotle etc., These people can excel as poets and philosophers. Suitable careers for these people are research and analysis, consultancy, accountancy, bureaucratic organizations.

Socializers:

Socializers are fun loving people and love in move in groups. They love to be always at the center of attraction and love excitement. They are prestige conscious. They want to get noticed and recognized. Richard Branson, Vijay Mallya and Sobha De to name a few, fall in this style. Suitable careers for these people are film and entertainment industry and others.

Relators:

Relators are born to serve the people and value relations. They are good at emotional intelligence and teamwork. They sympathize and empathize with others and these people can get along well with all personality types. They are good listeners and emotional. They don’t like change and prefer to stick to routine activities. They are amicable and adjustable. Jesus Christ, Buddha, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela are few personalities who belong to this style. Suitable career for these people are politics, marketing, supply chain management etc.,

Which Idiot Are You?

There is nothing like right or wrong personality style. Every style is unique and every individual has four personality styles but predominantly there is one style from where an individual operates. If you know your predominant style, it will help you to get along well with others especially with your superiors, peers and subordinates at the workplace. It improves your soft skills and helps you to be successful personally, professionally and socially. In addition, you can choose right career based on your style.

Having read four personalities styles with characteristics, career compatibility and illustrations, you may now conclude which idiot you are.