The People Code: It's All About Your Innate Motive

by Taylor Hartman

Motive matters! "Give me five minutes and I can predict your life success. I can help you understand why you do what you do by identifying your Core Motive." —Dr. Taylor HartmanIn his life-changing book, Dr. Taylor Hartman introduces you to the People Code and why people do what they do. The concept of Motive is a fresh method for analyzing your own innate personality as well as that of those around you. You then have the ability to utilize that knowledge to improve workplace and personal relationships. As an author, psychologist, and leadership coach, Dr. Hartman offers a remarkably astute system for segmenting everyone into specific Motive-types denoted by a Red (power wielders), Blue (do-gooders), White (peacekeepers), and Yellow (fun lovers). He then explains how to ensure that all possible alliances between them function at optimum effectiveness. If you struggle with self-acceptance and have questions about why you and others act the way you do, Dr. Hartman and The People Code can help you maximize your life success by improving your day-to-day relationships.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Psychology, Leadership, Personal Development, Personal Growth, Science

452 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 3, 2007

Reviews

[Hillary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book came highly recommended to me, but I have to say I was underwhelmed. The basic premise is that everyone's personality can be defined by a unique combination of 4 innate motivations. Hartman also argues that you are born with your personality, and while you may be able to make small changes throughout your life, your core personality and motivations do not and can not change. This premise, in my opinion, is a gross oversimplification of people.

Yes, it was interesting to read about the basic personality types (or colors, as he classifies them), and I could relate to some of my color's characteristics, but I can't help but resist the idea that my whole identity was determined at birth and I'm powerless to affect it.

It was not a bad read, and it was interesting to identify color types among people I know. However, it is of course not 100% accurate for anyone, and I was left just a bit underwhelmed.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reminds me of one of those sketchy late-night infomercials where an orange fake-tanned spokesman with an equally fake smile attempts to oversell a product that promises to be very useful but where one cannot help but shake the feeling that it is not quite as useful as claimed.  This book was given to me by some friends that I was spending time with recently to forward on to someone else as a gift of appreciation from one of the family's many children, and I was given permission to read the book before passing it along, since my habits at devouring books (including books on personality) is well known [1].  At any rate, I found that this book was broadly similar to other personality tests, especially the animal personality test popularized by Dr. Gary Smalley, and that it was not quite as original and ground-breaking as the author was trying to pass itself off as.  As in many cases, this is a book that it would have been easier to approve of had the author been less sweeping in his claims.  But he wasn't, so it isn't.

The book itself is about 300 pages long or so and is divided into four parts.  After a foreword, preface, and interaction that try to hype up the author and his material, the first part deals with personality theory (I) and looks at the fundamentals of personality (1), the modestly titled Hartman Personality Profile (2), the supposed magic of motive that this profile is supposed to uncover (3), and personality in perspective (4).  The second part of the book looks at the color types of everyone else (II) by cycling its way through power-hungry reds (5), do-gooder blues (6), peacekeeping whites (7), fun-loving yellows (8), secondary colors (9), and what makes us hot or not in dating based on one's color profile (10).  The third part of the book tries to connect the reader with everyone else (III) starting with red (11), blue (12), white and yellow (13), and more complicated relationship building (14).  The fourth and final part of the book looks at applications (IV) including business (15), education (16), and a discussion of character regardless of color type (17), after which the book concludes with some very salesy questions and answers as well as an afterward and index.  

There are at least a few ways that this book provides some information but not as much insight as the author seems to think.  For one, the author appears overly interested in engaging in negative attacks on the MBTI, which has some details that this book does not include.  In addition, the author does not do a good job at acknowledging his debt to Dr. Smalley, whose four animal types are almost if not entirely identical to the author's conception of power-wielding (red lions), busy do-gooders (blue beavers), gentle peace-lovers (white golden retrievers), and fun-loving people (yellow otters) having to learn how to get along.  At some points as well, the author seems to be promoting immoral and ungodlly behavior, seeming to constantly advice people to divorce others if they are in love with someone else, acting as if the abandonment of one's covenant oaths of marriage is a brave decision made with integrity.  The author clearly doesn't speak with a great deal of moral character in such areas and it is also unseemly when he tries to promote his future books as well as his consulting business as ways of increasing his own bottom line by using this book as a marketing effort as well as an attempt to promote a supposedly original and groundbreaking personality test.  This book, as a result, has the feel of someone trying to sell too much, when one would trust the author more if he was more honest and less pushy about it.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2013...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2010...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2010...

[Jon Brewer · Rating 2 out of 5]

You have to remember, this is just one theory on motivation and personality. It has many similarities to other psychological theories, just uses colors to describe the personality types. I can see a lot of truth in it, but I can also see some of the truth in Freud but it doesn't mean it's all true. Perhaps I need to read it more carefully, but the applications he suggested didn't seem to motivate me to change.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an accurate and insightful read. After taking the test we discovered our whole family consisted of only two colors. As I read through the chapters so much became clear about our personalities, motives, and relationships.

[Lyndsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook

[Madi Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely interesting and insightful - I think everyone should have to read this. It is a wonderful guide to improving yourself and your relationships with other people (especially with those who are a little more difficult to understand). Highly recommend!

[Kimber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so much fun. My very "red" husband read it and was criticizing it, saying that it can't possibly pinpoint every individual. He then read Hartman's words about red personality types who would be skeptical of the book and he realized that "red" pinpoints his personality to perfection. We both learned so much about our personality types, our relationship with each other, our relationships with others, and about what we can do to improve our lives. What a great book. I would highly recommend it to everyone. It is a delight to study and it makes you want to hand the test to everyone you know so you can find out what color they are and why they do the things they do. I like the idea of making this book required reading for everyone who interacts with humanity.

[Carissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was disturbing on many levels. 1) It was essentially an advertisement for Taylor Hartman products. 2) The personalities are not original and the way Hartman applies his angle is not scientific and has many holes in logic. 3) Hartman makes many rash statements that are not good to follow or believe and in some cases could be detrimental.

[Faith · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting read for school.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

The central idea in The People Code is that every person is unique but we all have similar core motives. These motives help us to understand who we are and why we act the way we do. This motives also help us to connect with others and their unique traits. Our motives also help determine our positive and negative attributes. By understanding these attributes we can learn how to be effective in our life pursuits and we can also learn how to effectively collaborate with others.
The word core was used frequently in The People Code. This is because the author frequently states that our personalities are our core and can’t be changed. Although they can be added upon. This can be done by building and working on good habits and attributes from other colors. When a person accepts there core personality they can live in harmony with their natural tendencies and become much more effective in life.
I really enjoyed learning more about the people around me and how to use my unique personality to bring out the best in people. I am a blue personality, and am therefore more emotional involved when making a decision. Recently I was working with a good friend of mine who happens to have a red personality (less emotional involved). Because I understood my friends personality I knew how to collaborate in an effective way and get the most out of our project. I truly would recommend this book to my friends.

[Kenley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The People Code by Taylor Hartman is an interesting non-fiction book that I read for my Student Success class. The book introduces and dives into the idea that every person has a core color that they are born with, and that will stick with them through their whole lives. This color is what make people who they are and what determines some of the key characteristics of a person. While Hartman claims that everyone has one core color, they can adopt characteristics of other colors, and they will have a secondary color, that makes up their personality. I typically do not like to read non-fiction books, and considering that this book was outside of my normal comfort zone, I enjoyed it. It was interesting to see how I matched up with my color, and how, while reading the book, I was able to see characteristics of other people I know. I liked getting to know more about personalities, and characteristics of people. The way the author wrote the book, helped me to understand it more. I liked how he didn't just give you the information, but how while he gave the information, he also included relevant stories. I would recommend that everyone should read this book, and if not, that they should at least find out their color, and some information about it, as it was useful, and interesting to learn more about myself through my color.

[Giancarlo Ramirez · Rating 4 out of 5]

In The People Code, Dr. Taylor Hartman simplifies personality types into four colors—Red, Blue, White, and Yellow—each capturing a different core motivation and set of strengths. This color system is meant to help us understand why people behave the way they do, offering some solid tools to build self-awareness and improve our relationships.

I found Hartman’s approach surprisingly relatable in the way it breaks down behavior patterns. Reds are driven by leadership and ambition, while Blues are all about loyalty and empathy—traits we can spot pretty easily in people we know. On the flip side, I did feel like the color categories sometimes oversimplify people’s personalities. Not everyone fits neatly into just one box, and the system can feel a little too rigid at times. Still, the book is full of real-life examples and clear advice that make these insights easy to apply. I’d recommend The People Code to anyone interested in psychology, self-improvement, or just understanding the people around them a little better—though it’s best taken with a grain of salt since people are always more layered than any color code.

[Elvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread review- This is the same book as The Color Code by Taylor Hartman
In the Color Code, Dr. Taylor Hartman compiled all his research into one book that encompasses all of his findings on human personalities. The Color Code groups all the personalities into four main core motives. Red for the core motive of power, Blue for the core motive of intimacy, White for the core motive of peace, and Yellow for the core motive of fun-loving. On my reread, I found out that people are born with a pre-determined core color- one that was a part of them the moment they took breath for the first time. Unlike the concept of nature vs. nurture, a person’s core personality isn’t affected by their environment nor is it inherited; rather, it is unique to that individual and will guide their life decisions and actions forever. Apart from attitude influenced from culture and environment, which is layered on over time, the core motive is unaffected by these things. Thus it is always possible to identify any individual under a core motive or mix of the core motives. That is what I learned from my second read. I gave this book a five out of five stars and would definitely recommend it to everyone to read.

[Ammon Schiffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The People Code by Taylor Hartman is a guide to understanding the basis of other people's personalities. Hartman begins the book by stating that every person is born with a core personality, and that core personality stays with them for the rest of their life. He then states that there are four different core personalities seen in society. Each of those personalities has different strengths and weaknesses, and The People Code explains how those strengths and weaknesses clash when people interact with each other. At the end, Hartman explains which colors generally get along well with each other in a relationship, and gives advice on how the reader can get along with personalities that aren’t the same as theirs. I really enjoyed reading The People Code, and found the information and guidance in it very useful. While reading, I found myself making connections with the book in my daily life, and started implementing some of the ideas from the book before I even finished reading. I feel like by implementing the strategy of developing other traits strengths to counteract my weaknesses, I will be able to work with other personalities better, which will in turn make me a more likable person. This will help me be a more successful student, because I will be able to work with others to get things done. The People Code is a 5 out of 5, and I would recommend it to anyone who feels like they want to get along better with others.

[Yesli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for my student success class and can say that I loved it. I am not much of a reader when it comes to this genre. I often find myself bored but reading this book did not feel like a task. The book explains Hartman's theory that we all fall under four colors: red, blue, yellow, and white. We can all be put into one of these categories that each of which has one key motive. Red's motive is power, blue's is intimacy, yellow's is fun, and white's is peace. As well as having a core color you can have a secondary color that you lead into but don't associate with the core motive. I found it surprising how incredibly accurate it was. Each color has it's own flaws and good traits and mine were all very accurate. I was a white with a blue secondary color and found it fun to read about each color and its traits.I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know a little bit more about themselves.

[Alton · Rating 3 out of 5]

In The People Code, by Taylor Hartman, he explains how people's personalities are defined by colors. He observes that our colors, which represent our motives will not change throughout your life and it will drive you to make your choices. He says how your personality revolves around your core color. You also can have secondary colors that can change your personality. While the concept of the book was interesting, the way he wrote about the colors was confusing as he kept repeating stuff. He kept describing traits, and kept repeating it over, and over again. Other than that, I think the book has some valuable ideas and information on what people's personalities are like, and I would give it 3.5 stars out of 5. If you want to learn more about the color code, I would recommend reading this. The cross-connection was useful because I recognized how he used his wording to convey ideas.

[Dana Mendez · Rating 4 out of 5]

The People Code by Taylor Hartman is a book that goes in-depth about the different colors that represent each person's core motive and what their core motives mean to them. For Student Success, we read this book to learn about our core motive and our driving color, aka our secondary color that fills in those missing spots or small spots that don't feel like it's us. That we can improve who we are we can take in positive aspects of the different colors so that we can become the better version of ourselves. With Student Success, we learn what we can do to improve ourselves by being a student or just to improve our overall character. I really got to know more about who I am with this book, what makes me, it being my core motive or my secondary color. With this book, you can learn a lot about yourself what color represents you, What the colors mean, and how to not be the negative version of your color.

[Joaquin Casas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The People Code: It's All About Your Innate Motive, by Taylor Hartman, was a book I was assigned to read in my Student Success class, and I was NOT looking forward to reading it, given that books like these aren't my style at all but once I started reading it and did what it asked me to, I got to know myself so much better. The more I read it the more I realized why I am the way I am, and not just me, but the people around me, all my friends, families, teachers, and everyone I knew. Learning about my color, core motive and strengths and weakness, was such a wake up call, I sat there reading it and going "this is so me", every line I read. I really liked this book, and it was a fun and quick read and I would definitely recommend to everyone, so they know their colors and their strengths and weaknesses.

[G Allred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Red, blue, white, and yellow, the colors that can put everything you question into view. This book is a guide to us, and what drives us all, whether it is power, intimacy, peace, or fun. As a cross curricular read, this book provides insight on to how I can do my best in all classes, and thus all subjects. As a yellow, this book was very insightful on to what I can do better as a person. It is a frustrating read, for many reason, many, many reasons. The book can be too accurate on many of my faults and problems. However, it doesn't mean that everyone fits in these boxes, thankfully one can belong into multiple boxes.

[Diego · Rating 5 out of 5]

During the "The People Code" one can grasp a generality of their preference towards situations. Whether it be everyday tasks or just achieving a greater understanding of a preference for learning. As a reader, I've gained knowledge of my color, which was blue and white. This helped me delve into many aspects of my life to gain a better perspective of how I became the way I am. Without prior importance, I believe this book helps enable a certain fire of understanding characteristics that reside in everyone. For student success, I've been able to gain a better understanding of my learning style as well as adapt my studying habits to something more preferable to my time. I have a grand fondness for "The People Code" as it truly helped enable a great fire of perspective residing in my own life. I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars for being so thought out and relayed to the people.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does not contain a plot; rather, it is a guide to the four different types of key personalities in a person. Although, despite not having a plot, it does what it is meant to perfectly. The book goes deep into depth about each personality type or color as the book refers to them. However, my complaint is that the book goes too much in-depth and then summarizes them later. After comparing the book and then the summary, the summary summarizes them perfectly, so I feel like I wasted my time. However, I do like how the book goes into great depth about every color, so then it ensures a complete understanding of all of them. So rating the book, I would give it a ten out of ten, even though it is very lengthy, you should still read it cover to cover, as it is life-changing.

[Gracie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must start by stating that you should not read this book unless you want to view everyone in your life differently. This book separates people into four different categories of personalities: Reds, Blues, Whites, and Yellows. Each of these colors represents a core belief that they are born with. Reds value power, Blues value intimacy, Whites value peace, and Yellows value fun. I read this book as a part of my Student Success class and I loved it. I love learning about psychology and this book gave me the perfect opportunity to learn about human interaction and connections. I recommend that everyone read this book because it teaches you how to deal with other people. It helps with connections of all kinds and makes you a healthy and better person to be around. This book encouraged me to think more about others and to connect with them in the way that works best for all of us.

[Roomy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The People Code is a suburb book for those who are looking for motivation or want to understand themselves and others better. The book also succeeds in explaining the topics with a variety of diagrams and exercises making it an excellent read for students wanting to succeed or adults pondering what motivates them. However, the book can become monotonous especially when certain parts are directed towards a specific audience. This came into effect mostly when reading about the traits of other colors. This is a small hindrance when compared to the possible benefits gained from reading this book. A quick overview of the book is that every person has one core color out of four which represents their driving motivation and it cannot be changed. You can have secondary colors but you can only ever have one primary color. The book then gives a way to identify your color, how to recognize the advantages and disadvantages of each color, and how to take certain aspects from other colors to further build yourself. Overall the book is an excellent read and it is recommended to those who don’t know what urges them forward or people who wish to know more about others and themselves.

[Amy Ruelas Sanchez]

The People Code: It's All About Your Innate Motive by Taylor Hartman is a book about a person's core motive, what drives them. He narrows it down to four colors and their core motives, red - power, white - peace, blue - intimacy, and yellow - fun. I find myself enjoying books like these along with self-help books. I find it interesting to see what I do and don't relate to. What I found from reading this book is that I am a white, and my core motive is peace. I find that to be very true. Most of the things said about whites, I found to be true about myself, I am a pushover but I am also a great listener, and other things like that. This book is a quick, relatable read. I would recommend it to anyone, all it is is learning more about yourself, your strengths, and your weaknesses.

[Porter McCuistion · Rating 4 out of 5]

The People Code by Taylor Hartman explains a theory that describes how and why people act. According to the book, everybody is born with one of four innate motives--leadership and power, emotions, peacemaking, or fun--with each one coinciding with a color--red, blue, white, or yellow, respectively. The book describes what each of those looks like and how to use that to your advantage in your relationships. I found the book really insightful because it was largely true about myself. It explained many of my past decisions and why I act the way I do. Now I find myself trying to figure out what color other people are so I can better understand their actions and how I can work with them. One of my favorite parts was when it looked at the relationship between each color in depth. There was so much useful information that I can use in my relationship with family, friends, and coworkers. This book is for people who are curious about personalities and understanding other people.

[Erick Harp · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it might feel very simplistic, Hartman argues there are only 4 primary motivations for people and that each of us has our own primary motivator. Understanding my own color and of those close to me has allowed me to modify my own behavior to enhance and improve my relationships with those I love and those around me.

[Ngatiwai Mausia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read The People Code in school, and I think it’s the only book I’ve ever been made to read and finished. Everything about it is interesting and as a yellow I loved learning about my strengths (and weaknesses). I could relate reading to a lot of different things in my life whether it be how I act or how others do. This has helped collaborative efforts work easier and understanding the way people think and catering to their strengths and weaknesses has worked. It’s also fun to notice signs of a color in another person and think about how their previous decisions align with both their primary and secondary color. Using What I learned in school so far has been proven to be quite useful and caused me to be a more successful student.

[Maddie Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good info just not my favorite topic but I learned a lot !!

[Amy Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was required to read a cross-curricular book for my English class and I stumbled upon "The People Code", interestingly enough this was a book that ties into my student success class so I gave it a go. I found this book to be very alluring; I find it so interesting how behavior science works. Dr. Taylor Hartman goes into detail about four different colors that we all have as our core motives.

This book has helped me see people in a different light and gave me a better understanding as to who they are as a person. Not only is this book useful to help you understand the people around you but it goes into detail about yourself. When I read the instructions of the survey and it said to answer the questions according to how I was as a child instead of how I would answer in this moment, I found that very intriguing because most surveys don't do that; Hartman explains the reason for that is that everything we do know reflects back to who we were as a child. After reading all about my color (yellow), it hit me how accurate this book is. I recommend this book to anybody who is interested in psychology or simply interested in ones self.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Peoples Code by Dr. Taylor Hartman is a personality type identifier book that sets people into two of four color types: White peacemakers, Blue intimacy, Yellow fun, and Red power. The book is very informative in the way it describes each personality color which makes the book interesting to dissect and engaging. The way the book is set up makes the book feel that it intimately knows each of its readers unlike other personality quizzes or other tests. I had originally read the book during a class, to help students better understand how they think, what motivates them, and how to apply the insights into making them a better student, worker, and overall person. The book makes you think about your and others’ actions and why you think and do the way you do. It is also fun to guess and understand what color your friends are. I recommend others to read the book because it brings insights to oneself and is one of the most interesting and gravitating books I have read.