By Bob Phillips - The Delicate Art of Dancing With Porcupines: Learning to Apprecia (1989-06-16) [Paperback]

by Bob Phillips

Excellent Book

Genres: Leadership, Relationships, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published June 1, 1989

Reviews

[Samuel Winchester · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't normally care much for personality tests/books. I think it's easy to use our personality type as an excuse for our faults rather than an guide for how to better develop ourselves. But I think Bob Phillips really does well in this book of emphasizing the strengths and weaknesses of the 4 basic personality types (Driver, Analytical, Amiable, Expressive) in a variety of situations, while leaving room for people to act outside of their "norm" when the situation calls for it. My favorite aspect is how he explains (with examples) how the different personality types will misunderstand/conflict with each other. A great book for personal development and for identifying causes/solutions to interpersonal conflict.

[Rosario · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book! This book helped me understand so much! I thoroughly enjoyed it and would fully recommend it to anyone!

[Waw · Rating 5 out of 5]

thanks

[Chris Burt · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had some very helpful material. It is deep and a slow digesting book.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good. Much simpler and easier than a lot of these "personality" tests. Very straightforward and recognizable. I loved the fact that this guy is a Christian with years and years of Christian counseling experience. He brings God and sin into the equation and doesn't claim that people are blank slates, or "stuck" in some sort of zone. Recognizes the work of the Holy Spirit and the damage caused by sin.

This was a quick and easy read, and well worth it for anyone interested in these studies.

Summary:

You are either an asker or a teller (this creates a horizontal axis)
You are either task or person focused (this creates a vertical axis)

When broken down you find yourself in one of four categories:
Analytical (Asker/Task)
Driver (Teller/Task)
Amiable (Asker/Relationships)
Expressive (Teller/Relationships)

All points of frustration revolve around priorities (vertical problems), or pace (horizontal problems)
Cross social styles have both sets of problems.

Unfortunately, there is far more great information about dealing with each type and working across boundaries that I can't add here.

This might be a book worth considering for a counseling library.

I see myself as an Analytical, my wife is an Amiable. We get along well, but struggle with priority issues. I agree and think this guy is right on track.

This was well worth the few hours it took to read.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book suggests there are two continuum that largely govern relational styles. The first is task oriented <--> relational. The second is telling <--> asking. These break people up into four broad types of people called analytical, driver, amiable, expressive. The book then goes on to explore how it's important to understand the differences between people, what the natural strengths and weakness is for each type, and then how to apply the insights to more effectively love others. I found Myers-Briggs provide more insight into other people, though this book has more practical suggestions than most about how to effectively communicate with people who are of a different type.

[Jansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good short book on personality styles. Looks at it from a different perspective than I was used to, showing similarities in Pace (Ask/Tell) and Purpose (Task/Relationship). I still think I like the Animals better, but I'm warming up to these words (Analytical, Driver, Amiable, Expressive). Maybe the new book he wrote picks up some of the small gaps this one left (mostly in the way his test is done - no ability to better show your secondary than gut instinct, though he does a good job of helping you to intrinsically understand and identify them.

[Amy Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in preparation for a CTF team leader presentation: "Working with difficult personalities." Helpful frame work of asking/telling personalities and task/people oriented and how those four factors play out. Easy to grasp that all are needed and valued but are going to have different orientation towards pace and priority -- thus some of the bumps experienced on team.

[Edy Gies · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fascinating to me. I greatly enjoyed reading about the differed types of people and how they get along. I'm thankful for all types, but of course some are easier to get along with than others.

[Mark Clements · Rating 3 out of 5]

Phillips breaks down personality types in 4 broad categories and gives advice on how to work with each group.