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(but not necessarily easy to manage them)

As discussed in our previous articles, “Sales Hiring Mistakes” and “Sales: What Makes a Great Salesperson (for You)?“, businesses that can sell well tend to do well – so it is not surprising that there is a lot of interest in making the sales process more predictable. Yet try as they might, salespeople and sales managers are often puzzled as to why some deals seem to go like clockwork while others feel like endless uphill struggles. They blame the market, they blame the people, they look to the 80/20 rule and see that 20% of the people bring in 80% of the profit, but can’t determine how to reliably duplicate the effective ones.

Communication is often the cause at the root of sales successes and failures. The fact is it is generally easier to sell to someone who shares the same communication preferences, that has a similar behavioral style, as you do. Comfortable communication is an important factor in establishing the trust and credibility needed to create a sale. By default we all tend to approach sales communication from the old golden rule “treat others as you would like to be treated,” however that old expression overlooks the idea that “others” may not want to be treated, in behavior or communication, in the way that makes you yourself feel the most comfortable.

DISC opens the door for us to understand that the behaviors or communication modes that feel natural to one person may cause stress to another. With this insight we can amend the golden rule to say “treat others as they wish to be treated” and use this idea to build a better foundation for sales success. Teaching salespeople to recognize their own behavioral styles and those of the clients they interact with gives them the opportunity to adapt to a mode of communication better suited to the client’s need. As the salesperson’s skill in recognizing and adapting to the styles of others increases so will their ability to build trust and credibility in relationships that were previously difficult and puzzling. Although the salesperson’s natural behavioral style will remain their same they will learn when and how to adapt for better results.

Recognizing that people have different natural behavioral styles also helps us understand a mistake that is unfortunately quite commonly made by businesses: they take their best performing salesperson and promote him or her to sales manager. Consider that the track record of the person in question indicates that the behaviors demanded to be a top sales performer are well-aligned with their natural behavioral style. Does a sales manager perform the same behaviors? What would indicate that the roles are interchangeable? As an analogy would a pro football team promote someone to quarterback because they were a great receiver? Not likely – the skills, the reflexes, the behaviors wouldn’t fit.

Let’s examine a scenario from a DISC perspective to further illustrate the point. At Company X the top performing sales people tend to be people skilled at keeping people happy and emotionally vested while driving for quick decisions and buy-in that keep the process moving forward rather than slipping into stasis. Meanwhile the successful sales manager at Company X must assert authority and accountability to the team, following a strictly defined process to assure fairness in hiring, firing, and compensation systems while also tracking the endlessly detailed expense reimbursement process. In the language of DISC that successful sales person is exhibiting high I (Influence) and high D (Dominance) behaviors while the sales manager’s role requires a low I and a high C (Compliance) – essentially opposite attributes. An individual might be able to adjust temporarily to fit the requirements, but quickly the stress and energy drain of maintaining that adjustment so strongly away from the individual’s natural behavioral preferences will cause the situation to either erode or explode. Reverting to natural behaviors the ex-salesperson now manager in question starts to try to make the salespeople she is responsible for as happy as she liked to make the customers she used to interact with, she grows restless handling the details and uncomfortable enforcing the policy and procedures because her C isn’t naturally high. Simply put, the former star receiver ends up being a lousy quarterback through no fault of her own.

At Data Dome we specialize in using the science of DISC behavioral analysis to unlock the keys to better performance, improved team dynamics and creating the best fits for your organization to thrive. Contact us to find out more about training and tools that can improve sales performance while helping you understand the success criteria for different roles in your organization.

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Keeping your top performers, those key employees that really help keep your organization moving, is an item that is always near the top of any executive’s priority list. Yet the workplace is always subject to change and sometimes yesterday’s motivated MVP can become today’s flight risk.

Shifting circumstances in the work environment can force changes in the default DISC behaviors of your people. This can lead the employee to experience one or more of these four states:

1) Frustration – the individual feels thwarted by the change, unable to act in a preferred manner or feeling that the opportunity to be successful has been sabotaged.

2) Elevated energy expenditure – the shift in the work environment has pushed the individual to adapt away from her natural DISC behavioral style to a new profile of behavior, this requires energy to sustain and can be draining if required for an extended duration.

3) Stress – change brings uncertainty, disruption of the status quo, this can provoke a stressed emotional state that can be expressed in multiple ways such as anger, fear, agitation, impatience, withdrawal, etc.

4) Boredom – change can shift an individual into a state of weariness and restlessness due to lack of interest.

Of the four, the last one, boredom, is the one to watch. It may sound relatively innocuous – certainly stress gets more attention than boredom due to the linkage of stress and health issues – however, it is boredom that is in fact the least tolerable state of the four. It can be a greater indicator that an employee is about to quit or otherwise change their situation than the other three change reactions mentioned above.

Consider for a moment, how well do you personally tolerate boredom? How would you react if confronted on a daily basis with lengthy periods of tedium? Most dynamic leaders squirm at the mere thought of enduring a boring meeting, let alone an extended work session. Many leaders, although not all, have a high score in the D column of a DISC profile indicating a behavioral bias towards action. They feel boredom is a harbinger of wasted time, inefficiency and a lack of productivity and they will do anything to personally avoid it. When boredom seems inescapable the individual will take action to shift the situation, that action is all too often announced with the phrase “I quit!”

Every day talented individuals quit tasks, projects, teams, and, yes, even their jobs because of boredom. The turnover and loss of knowledge and experience is incredibly costly for organizations and much of it could be avoided with timely intervention. But how do you know when someone is bored? It is easy for you to know when you, yourself, are bored, but it isn’t always easy to outwardly observe when someone else is bored. This is an area where DISC profiles can be a valuable tool not just during the hiring process, but in the ongoing development and retention of your staff. Using DISC assessments as part of a routine employee development process allows DISC styles to be tracked over time. When anomalous shifts in behavior profiles occur they will be recognized and may provide the critical insight needed to rescue an employee who is sliding down the funnel of boredom toward the door marked exit.

In the DISC vocabulary S stands for steadiness – If in our tracking we see a strong increase in an individual’s score in the S column it is often an indicator of entrenched boredom. They may shift from a low S dynamic style to a non-demonstrative high S style indicating that the individual may not have enough to do, or may require more variety of tasks. The individual may have grown in skills and is no longer sufficiently challenged by the current activity or they may have been moved into a role that runs contrary to their behavioral profile. For example take the DISC style of a high D person who is used to driving activity in pioneering ways and putting them in a role where they have large amounts of tedious “busy work” and no options to change things or delegate the activity – we’ll see the unchanging grind lead to boredom that is expressed as an elevation in the S column. It is in this state when they feel boredom is inescapable within the situation that they start directing energy toward getting out of the situation.

Without regularly administering DISC behavioral assessments, the bored amongst your key personnel can remain a hidden, yet “at risk”, population in the work force. I’ve compared my observations from teaching in management and leadership development classes, with those of other faculty in management programs; we concur that boredom is a prime motivation for a large number of the participants enrolled in such courses. We estimate that 45 – 60% of those paying for additional education around their current working situation are doing so because they are bored in their current position and are intending to use the educational opportunity to change their current situation. Doing whatever it takes to make a change.

In summary, to keep your top performers keep them interested. To keep them interested recognize when they’re bored. DISC assessments, if used properly, can provide the objective data to help you identify when your best employee is about to yawn their way out the door.

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Art Schoeck was recently asked the following question via our Ask the Expert form:

** What do you mean by the Me-Me Conflict? Could you flesh that out a little? **

Art’s answer:

There are certain DISC behavioral styles that pose a “Me-Me” conflict, meaning there exists internal incompatibilities between behaviors. The Me-Me conflicts occur when an individual displays behaviors that are at odds with each other, that interfere with intended outcomes or reframe the behavioral dynamics due to the combination of conflicting behaviors.

To illustrate this idea let’s examine some scenarios:

An individual who wants to like people (DISC profile = high I) and looks at others with warmth and emotion, yet has high standards with which she judges things, data, and… people (DISC style = core C). So she wants to be liked and wants to like others, but she holds others to high standards, which may relegate her associates to those with high standards for instance she may date only those who pass her strict checklist of criteria. Here we see the Me-Me conflict in the competition of the core C behavior with the drive of the high I behavior. However, as in the dating example mentioned, the result might not be one behavior preventing the other, but both behaviors combining, hence the C-driven checklist criteria applied to the I-driven dating.

An individual may have a sense or urgency to get immediate results (DISC style = core D) while at the same time desire perfection (DISC profile = high C), which takes time to achieve. They constantly have internal conflict of rushing to complete, which can increase the likelihood of infractions or errors, vs slowing the pace down adequately to perform in an error-free compliant manner. The high D wants results and action now, which is in conflict with the high C behavior of making sure things are done in adherence to the standard of perfection.

One more example, although there are many more Me-Me conflict variations, can be seen with people who look at things, data, and products in an emotional way, yet look at people logically and analytically. The may buy things based on their emotions, yet look at others with skepticism and a “prove it to me” attitude. Changing situational dynamics can reframe the conflict.

Sometimes people are confused by the mention of Me-Me conflicts in part due to the explanation that accompanies the DISC Success Insights Wheel in some reports. The wheel will sometimes have the word “Cross” on it along with arrows pointing to spots on the wheel (see this post for a deeper look at the Success Insights Wheel) this can indicate the potential presence of a Me-Me conflict, because we are seeing three of the four DISC factors above the line with the individual’s core (or most prominent) DISC factor and the factor that is directly across from it on the wheel constituting two of those three factors that are above the line. The confusion can come from the use of the word “opposite” which in the Success Insights Wheel’s explanation is meant to refer to the style which is on the opposite side of the wheel, however this is not actually an opposite of the DISC style: D and S are across from each other on the wheel, as are I and C, but these are not opposite behaviors. The opposite behavior of a high D is not a high S, it is a low D. Likewise the opposite of a high I is a low I, etc. There can be some similarities between a low D and a high S but the behavioral basis is different.

What’s your question?

Data Dome’s resident expert is our founder, Art Schoeck. A member of TTI’s prestigious International Faculty, Art often receives questions through our Ask the Expert form. We try to answer questions here on this blog that are representative of common questions regarding DISC and other assessment tools.

Do you have a question about DISC? If so please submit it via the Ask the Expert form. Although it may not be possible to answer every question individually, we use the “Ask the Expert” category of this blog to answer the DISC-related questions most important to our readers.

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We at Data Dome would like you to join us in welcoming the newest addition to our training team: Lisa A. Bouchard.

Lisa, a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst, has over 15 years of expertise in applying the insights of DISC to the issues and practical realities of the business world. She has a unique ability to establish rapport at all levels of the organization, from the board room to the shop floor. This skill has made her a change agent for clients in the consumer goods, banking, health care, manufacturing, financial services, pharmaceutical and telecommunications industries.

“I’m delighted to have Lisa join the Data Dome family as a member of the faculty for our Advanced Experiential DISC Certification class.” said Art Schoeck, Founder and CEO of Data Dome. “Lisa has a knack for connecting with people. She is a dynamic trainer who can inspire people to reach levels of understanding beyond their own expectations.”

In addition to her consulting experience, Lisa spent 13 years in sales management. She knows the importance of getting results and that’s why she emphasizes in her training sessions that DISC isn’t just theory. She teaches how to use DISC profiles to decipher and improve the situations real businesses, and real people, face every day.

To find out more about Lisa please visit her bio on our About the Team page.

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DISC profiles help us understand ourselves and each other. In our continuing World According to DISC series we like to examine the lighter side of life through the lens of DISC core styles. As we bring 2010 to a close and begin to look ahead to 2011, it is a time when many will think about themes, goals and resolutions for the coming year…

Donny the high D is bold and ambitious, he’s not thinking about resolutions because he’s already got several projects in motion. He does have a goal though: to not just make the president’s club again this year, but to beat last year’s sales champion, by at least 10% thereby regaining the number 1 slot.

Irene has high I DISC profile. She loves to talk about the new year with everyone she meets. In fact, Irene just loves to talk. She has been talking with all her friends, asking what their plans are and comparing their resolutions for the coming year. When Jane paused her jog to say hello, Irene told her that she’s going to rejoin the gym and go every day. When Doris gave her a nice bottle of wine she shared her resolution to take a class in wine-tasting. When she ran into Bob in the frozen food aisle she told him how 2011 was going to be the year she stopped eating out so much and cooked more at home. She told Henry at the bank that she’ll be cutting coupons… Marcel at Starbucks that in 2011 she’s going to learn to make espresso at home…

Sylvia the high S was just starting to get comfortable with writing 2010 and now she’s looking at the new 2011 calendar she got from her college alumni association. She’s been hanging them beside her refrigerator every year since she graduated. Her father used to make 3 resolutions every year, 1 for work, 1 for himself and 1 for the family. She has continued that tradition every year since he passed away. This year at work she plans to start coming in earlier in the hopes that her boss will notice and give her a raise. For herself, she’ll finally finish that sweater she’s been knitting for years. For her family, she’ll continue to volunteer at the church to make sure her kids aren’t sneaking out of Sunday school.

Christopher’s DISC profile reveals he is a high C – he is very mindful of rules and procedures. He only ever has one resolution, to monitor the 13 virtues as defined by Benjamin Franklin: Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Chastity, and Humility. He has been spending a good portion of the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day planning his calendar for the coming year to make sure proper time has been allotted for work, family, hobbies, personal development, exercise, and once a month he has set aside 20 minutes for spontaneity.

Remember, in real life people exhibit a blend of behavioral styles, not just one single dominant trait. Examining their DISC graphs and profile reports will reveal how much that blend of behaviors can adapt from a home (or natural) state to a work (or adapted) state.

No matter what your DISC behavioral profile we at Data Dome wish you a happy and prosperous 2011.

Happy New Year!

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While most of our posts here are focused on DISC profiles, DISC alone doesn’t give a complete picture. DISC tells us HOW a person will behave, but values and motivators are essential to understanding WHY they behave they way they do.

In the spirit of our World According to DISC series, let’s take a look at the spectrum of motivators and how they might influence holiday gift giving choices:

The high Theoretical values truth and knowledge, don’t be surprised if their kids find a junior science lab under the tree this year. Got a high Theoretical on your shopping list this year? Delight her with a statuette of Thoth, the Ibis-headed Egyptian god of knowledge or maybe the complete Oxford English Dictionary.

High Utilitarian/Economic people value money and time, things that are useful and practical. Be certain that they will be shopping for the best possible deal and the most efficient use of time. The high Utilitarian grandmother is giving all her grandchildren savings bonds this year getting the bulk of her holiday shopping done in one step. Are you shopping for a high Utilitarian? Consider getting him a membership to Costco or maybe just a nice thermos to carry coffee since he would never waste money at a place like Starbucks.

If you’re a high Aesthetic you are focused on form and harmony, beauty and inner vision. You might not know what you’ll be getting, but you can be sure that the gift from the high Aesthetic will be the most beautifully wrapped one in the bunch. If you’re looking for a great idea for a high Aesthetic consider a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or sign her up for a class in Feng Shui.

I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn that the high Social values people. Altruism, empathy and generosity are important to them. It wouldn’t be out of character for a high Social to make a charitable donation in your name. Want to make a high Social happy this season? Lend him a hand when he volunteers at the local soup kitchen’s holiday meal.

High Individualistic/Political types value power and often view others as a means to an end. The high Individualistic/Political might give his boss a new set of golf clubs and a lot of hints about being available for his next power foursome. Want to make a high Individualistic/Political happy? Give her a copy of Machiavelli’s “The Prince”.

Last, but not least we come to the high Traditional/Regulatory who values unity, order and structure. They are likely to be very fixed in their beliefs. Your high Traditional cousin will be going to midnight mass and after will fill his kids’ Christmas stockings with chocolates and candy canes just like he had when he was a kid. If you’re shopping for a high Traditional consider getting her a keepsake ornament for her tree, or, if appropriate for her religion, a finely printed and beautifully bound bible.

As we often do when discussing DISC profiles, we are here in these examples simplifying the motivational profiles to isolate on a single value category. In reality multiple values will be a factor and the lack of motivator in a specific category can also be highly indicative of a person’s priorities.

We hope this post gave you a little insight into the spectrum of values and motivators and maybe an idea or two as you finish up your holiday shopping.

Wishing you and yours a safe and happy holiday season!

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‘Tis the gift giving season so we here at Data Dome want to help you find the perfect gift for all the different DISC profiles on your list. Not everyone has disc profiles as extreme as these, but thinking about DISC styles may help you choose a better behaviorally-fitting gift.

A high D DISC profile is likely to respond well to a gift that helps further a goal, but not if it adds complication to the process: Last year, Danny the High D was looking to start exercising more so his wife thought a new bicycle would be the perfect gift. It would have been if it had come pre-assembled, but Danny wanted to exercise not decipher an assembly manual. He’s now running 3 miles a day, but the bike is still in the box.

A high I DISC profile likes to be around people, interacting, talking and having fun. Good choices are gifts that either prompt a social gathering or elevate the high I’s social status, but follow through and attention to detail may not be strong with the high I. Last year, Irma the high I found out that several of her friends got together once a week for a knitting circle so she dropped a lot of hints about knitting to her husband. He dutifully got her a starter kit of knitting needles, a knitting video, several balls of beautiful wool and a book of knitting patterns. She was delighted and excited to join her friends at her first knitting circle, until she found out how hard it was as a beginner to knit and talk at the same time. She continues to enjoy meeting her knitting circle, but as of this writing she has yet to complete her first scarf.

Persons with a high S DISC profile aren’t very demonstrative and may seem hard to shop for because they haven’t outwardly expressed what they would like. Sam is a high S and last holiday season his wife noticed that the lining was shot on his winter coat. She thought it would be nice to get him a new coat that was more in-style than his old one, but she knew he wasn’t into fashion and that he tended to resist change so instead she got the old coat relined. When he opened the box he was confused for a second to see his old coat in a new gift box, but when he saw the new lining he smiled and quietly slipped the coat on over his pajamas.

The high C DISC profile can be intimidating to shop for because the high C can be meticulous and critical about quality and appropriateness of a gift. Last year, Clara, a high C, was dismayed when her friends in the office gave her an expensive planner from Franklin-Covey – they thought it would be a big hit because she is so organized, but she felt insulted that they thought she needed someone else’s system to stay on top of things. This year they did better, giving her a subscription to Consumer Reports so she can always have the data to make the most informed purchase decisions.

Here are a few more just-in-fun gift ideas -

The gift they want:

• High D – NASCAR fantasy camp driving lesson, air horn, watch with built-in stopwatch
• High I – Tickets to the Oprah show, karaoke machine, a huge holiday party
• High S – Grandpa’s pocket watch, a family holiday dinner, savings bond
• High C – Gaggia Classic Espresso Machine, statistical graphing calculator, US Chess Federation standard chess set

The gift they need, but don’t want:

• High D – meditation retreat, biofeedback machine, chamomile tea
• High I – time management system, accountability coach, Social Media blocking software
• High S – home organizer session, procrastination-busters class, Toastmasters membership
• High C – empathy training, improv class, mud-wrestling tournament entry

As always with the World According to DISC series, we like to keep it light while sharing some instructive, yet one-dimensional attributes of DISC behavior. In reality people are multi-dimensional and are influenced by a range of motivators and attitudes in addition to having a mix of behavioral styles.

Whatever your DISC style we at Data Dome wish you and yours a very happy holiday season!

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Our intrepid office reporter cornered a few colleagues with classically high DISC profiles and asked, “Wow, we sure are busy these days aren’t we?”

The person with a high D DISC profile said: “You said it! I’ve got some big goals to reach before the end of the year, now give me a hand and sort these files for me.”

The high I said: “I know! Can you believe it? I mean everyone I talk to says they are swamped. You’re swamped, I’m swamped, we’re all swamped! So what do you have on your plate? Hey Jerry, hey Margaret, come here we’re discussing how busy everyone is these days…”

The high S said: “Um, I guess so, can I go back to work now?”

The high C said: “Who authorized this interview? We’re working on a very tight schedule here. Have you seen the project plan? We can’t have unapproved interruptions like this. We have procedures for a reason you know.”

“Are you taking any time off before the end of the year?”

The high D: “Ski vacation in Aspen – this year I’m going to conquer the expert slopes.”

The high I DISC profile said: “We’re going on a cruise – I just love meeting all the people and getting to know them all week.”

The high S: “Visiting my parents for a week like I did last year.”

The high C: “I’m taking the Series 7 Financial Certification exam.”

“How do you unwind?”

Our DISC profiles responded:

The high D: “Coaching my kid’s basketball team.”

The high I: “Meeting friends for coffee.”

The high S: “Reading a book in my favorite chair at home.”

The high C: “Organizing my receipts. ”

“What do you like best about your job?”

The high D: “Always another mountain to climb.”

The high I: “I work with some fascinating people.”

The high S: “I’m very loyal to my boss, I’ve worked for her for twenty years.”

The high C: “Refining our processes for higher quality.”

“Is there a question you would like to ask me?”

The high D: “Are we almost done here? I’ve got calls to make.”

The high I: “How did you become the office reporter? Do you meet a lot of people? Everyone must think you’re fascinating. I wonder if people would find me fascinating if I had your job? By the way, you are great at this! How long have you been reporting? Do you love it?…”

The high S: “I’ve never been interviewed before.”

The high C: “What makes you think you have the authority to come in here and disrupt my schedule?”

We like to use these World According to DISC examples to give you a flavor of how people with strong one-sided DISC profiles might act in familiar situations. However, it is important to remember that unlike the characters our reporter encountered here, real people aren’t one-dimensional and it is rare for someone to max-out in just one DISC category without also being strong in at least one other. It is the knowledge of a person’s total blend of motivators, behaviors and attitude that really makes the difference in understanding how they will work with others.

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Thanksgiving is just around the corner and that means it is time for another episode of our continuing series – the World According to DISC. DISC profiles are an invaluable tool to help understand an individual’s behavior at work and at home, when relaxed and when stressed. Let’s meet one family and see how their behavioral styles influence their holiday celebration.

Don is a high D who works in sales. It’s been a slow year and the imminent arrival of Thanksgiving is a big reminder that most of the year is gone and time is running short if he is going to make his numbers for the year. He’s frustrated that so many people will be off of work, because every day between now and the end of the year counts so much toward hitting his targets. The one saving grace in his opinion is football. He’ll have a hard time keeping his seat at the dinner table because he’s focused on getting in a big dose of big screen football time. Since he can’t make any sales call on Thanksgiving Day anyway he’ll be diverting all his attention to cheering on his favorite teams.

Irene, Don’s wife, is a high I. She loves Thanksgiving mostly because it means the holiday party season has arrived and she loves to go to parties. She’s actually doing her best to try to turn the family Thanksgiving celebration into a party – she has invited just about every neighbor on her block to drop by and share dessert with them after the big turkey dinner. In fact, she’s starting to worry that she won’t have enough desserts and she’s rushing to the store to do a last minute shopping with her daughter, Sally in tow. Although Sally’s not enjoying the hectic scene at the supermarket, Irene is in her element – she’s run into several friend’s and is now happily chattering away with the cashier.

Daughter Sally is a high S and although she seems calm on the outside, she’s cringing on the inside at the turmoil in the supermarket. She didn’t really want to go, but her mom was in such a sudden panic about not having enough for dessert that she didn’t want to make a fuss. She’s looking forward to seeing her uncle and cousins who come to their house for Thanksgiving dinner every year. The lead-up and preparation is always a bit too hectic for her and her sister, Connie, is always snapping directions at her. Sally feels more comfortable after the big dinner when everything slows down. The football fans crowd into the den to cheer their favorite teams while Sally visits quietly with her cousins as they take their time clearing the table and putting away the leftovers.

Connie, is Sally’s older sister and has a high C disc profile. She has been snapping and fussing all day trying to put things in proper order for the big feast. She can’t understand why Sally takes so long to set the table when the process should be clear. She would do it herself, but she’s too busy because a few years ago she took over the cooking duties from her mother. Irene is a friendly person, but she can’t follow a recipe and Connie is now in charge of the Thanksgiving menu. She’s also planning on asking Don if she can carve the turkey this year – she thinks he makes a mess of it and she has been studying the proper procedure online for how to get the most meat off the bone in a neat and efficient manner. She’s set up a work area on the dining room sideboard with a platter and all the carving tools. She’s timed the turkey to be ready at 5pm exactly and she’s going to throw a fit if the bird is dry because Irene and Sally are late getting back from the supermarket.

Despite Connie’s worry, Irene and Sally manage to get back in plenty of time with a sackful of holiday cookies and an apple pie for the dessert crowd. Connie thinks that a homemade pie would be more appropriate, but agrees there wouldn’t be enough time to make one. She’s delighted that her dad has agreed to let her carve the turkey, and Don is delighted to have one less distraction from the day’s football watching. Sally finishes setting the table with the help of her cousins. As they quietly put out the fine linen napkins they save for special occasions and her mother’s good china, Sally takes comfort in the familiar objects and relishes the calm moment before the chaos of a crowded table. Irene forgets all her anxiety about being unprepared as she happily gets caught up on all the family gossip with her brother, who arrived while they were at the store.

Looks like it’s going to be a pleasant Thanksgiving after all. We at Data Dome hope you enjoy the lighthearted looks at prototypical DISC behavioral profiles that we feature in the World According to DISC series, and we wish you and your family a very happy holiday season!

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Well folks, it is almost Halloween – that means it is is World According to DISC time again. Time to carve your pumpkins and pick out your costume for the Diabolical DISC Masquerade Party (costumes required, of course). Devils and princesses, movie monsters and pop-stars, comic book characters and astronauts will be in your neighborhood Trick or Treating. What will this year’s most popular costumes be? Perhaps a look at one family through the lens of DISC behavioral profiles can give us a hint:

Young Dennis is a high D according to his DISC profile. He’s set a big goal for his candy gathering escapades: twice as much candy as last year. To meet his goals he has enlisted his dad to take him to the next subdivision up the road where more of the residents have kids and therefore more houses giving out treats. He’s also delegated carrying a spare sack to his younger sister, Samantha, just in case he fills up his first candy bag. Dennis’s costume choice: Darth Vader.

Irene, Dennis’s mom, took a DISC assessment at work – she is a high I and she’s excited because she is going to go to a huge costume party the night before Halloween where tons of her friends will be. She is in the costume shop now having trouble deciding what to wear. She’s chatted with every employee in the store and most of the other customers asking their opinions of what they like best and which costume would most people love to see her in. She knows she doesn’t want a big heavy mask because she wants to easily see everyone who’ll be at the party and she’s afraid that if she wore one nobody would recognize her. In the end she settles for an attention getting Marie Antoinette outfit with a little handheld mask on a stick.

If Samantha the younger sibling were to take an assessment her DISC behavioral profile would show she is a high S. She’s nervous about going with Dennis and her dad to the other neighborhood because she’s comfortable sticking to the neighbors they’ve always visited for treats in the past, but in the end she agreed to stick with Dennis’s plan because they go Trick or Treating together every year. She sometimes wants to be the one to push the doorbell, but Dennis always does that and she doesn’t like to make a fuss about. Samantha was going to dress up as Lisa Simpson like she did last year, but the costume didn’t fit anymore so this year she’s going as Snow White.

Charlie is Dennis and Samantha’s dad. His DISC style indicates he is a high C and not a big fan of Halloween. He gets grouchy thinking about all the unruly kids running across his well-manicured lawn and the inevitable toilet paper that will be lobbed across his carefully trimmed hedges. He has set a rigid timetable up for taking the kids Trick or Treating and he will inspect every piece of candy to make sure nothing has been tampered with. He’s dreading going to the party Friday with his wife, partly because the babysitter always ignores his instructions regarding what time the kids are supposed to be in bed and what TV shows they are allowed to watch. Since Irene is going as Marie Antoinette he thought it would be only right to go as Louis the Sixteenth, but none of the costumes at the shop were authentic enough for his tastes so he is going instead as Cardinal Richelieu.

Well, before we wrap up this lighthearted look at DISC behavior during one of our favorite holidays, here’s a few more quick takes on DISC meets Halloween:

The Wolfman – Low I, Low C
Dracula – High D, Low I, High S
Dr. Frankenstein – High D, High C
The Creature (Frankenstein’s Monster) – Low D, Low I, High S, Low C
Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde – High C, Low D / Low C, High D
Batman – High D, Low I, Low S, High C
Princess Leia – High D
Little Red Riding Hood – Low D, High I

And remember no DISC Halloween celebration is complete until somebody dresses up as Dr. William Moulton Marston’s other invention – Wonder Woman.

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