Business Book Club. Surrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erikson

Are you surrounded by idiots? Probably not. But the fact that the question landed is exactly Thomas Erikson's point.

Surrounded by Idiots has sold millions of copies across 40 languages, and it is not hard to see why. Erikson takes the DISC behavioural framework, dresses it in four colours (Red, Yellow, Green, Blue), and argues that most workplace friction is not incompetence. It is two people with different communication styles talking past each other and blaming the other for not listening.

Reds are direct and results driven. Yellows are enthusiastic and ideas first. Greens are steady, loyal, and deeply averse to conflict. Blues are precise, analytical, and quietly appalled by everyone else's sloppiness. Most of us are a blend. All of us will recognise our colleagues in every page.

This session will explore whether Erikson's framework is a genuinely useful tool for leading teams, managing clients, and understanding yourself. We will also ask the harder question: how much of this is psychology, and how much is a well-packaged horoscope? The book has its critics, and they make good points. That is what will make the conversation interesting.

Come with your copy, your views, and a working theory on which colour your most difficult colleague is.

Tickets are £10, with any surplus donated to charity.