Almost everyone has heard of the “Golden Rule” - “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you!” - the Biblical admonition which seems reasonable enough; or is it?
To paraphrase George Bernard Shaw and his thinking on the matter - “Hang on; the others may have different tastes!” GBS recognised immediately the fatal flaw in the Golden Rule - people are different!
“Do unto others as they would have done to them” - now there’s a thought, a thought that has been developed.
Imagine if you could read people to such a degree that you could adjust your behaviour so that it matched the preferences of the person you were interacting with. Not being subversive or manipulative, or even compromising on “who you are”, but simply behaving in a fashion that was more comfortable to the other.
Everyone has this ability already to a greater or lesser degree, but just think if you could develop this gift further. Consider the impact it might have on your inter-personal relationships in your family, work or social life. What would it be like if people were more engaged, felt more comfortable, and overall were more receptive to you?
How about if others took this approach with you as well, recognising your preferences, and behaving accordingly? How would that likely make you feel towards that person?
This sort of affinity is often referred to as “chemistry”.
Chemistry between people who are alike generally comes naturally. Often in new encounters, people put some effort in to create chemistry to be accepted. Most people can think of situations where this has been true for them, but the truth about humans and our behaviour is that we are atavistic - we usually revert to type. The rub is that it’s not always easy for people to appreciate other “types”.
This brings me on to what happened for Christine and I. As one might assume from our line of work, we are always interested in products, techniques, or insights that help us develop, or to help those who seek our assistance with their own development. When we were investigating a new behavioural assessment tool called “The Platinum Rule” that had been gathering credence in the USA, we had one of those “aha!” moments that gave us some very useful insights into our own interaction.
Actually, it may be wrong to describe this event as a singular “aha”, but rather a series of “ahas” and a growing appreciation for each others differences, and the benefits these differences afford us working as a team. The immediate and subsequent effects have been both positive and dramatic.
Suffice to say “The Platinum Rule” has since become a featured addition to much of the development work we engage in. I have become somewhat evangelical about it’s value to individuals and organisations, such was the power of my personal experience. So, just what is “The Platinum Rule”?
Well, as I mentioned earlier it is a behavioural assessment tool in the same vein as Myers-Briggs, et al., but far simpler and more useful. These sorts of assessments have become very conspicuous in business over the years to aid recruitment and staff development, and it is my belief that “The Platinum Rule” will, over the coming months, set the standard for behavioural assessment in the workplace. Why?
As I stated, it is simpler and more useful. The assessment itself is conducted on-line and features only eighteen questions taking a mere five minutes. Startlingly, those responses will produce a forty page report on the individual, accurately outlining the subject’s preferred behavioural style. This report is valuable to an employer as it can predict an individual’s behaviour given a certain set of circumstances, or in interactions with other behavioural types. This information is clearly useful in the recruitment process, and for evaluating individuals for career or job role development. But it doesn’t end there. What makes “The Platinum Rule” even more useful is the scope it offers as a personal development tool.
In the first instance, the report holds up a mirror to the individual showing them their behavioural style and the styles they adopt when dealing with people within their circle. Useful in itself for self discovery, but the report takes the detail on the assessed several stages further in that it; helps them develop flexibility around their style, opens the door to them recognising the styles of others, highlights areas where their style might create tensions with other styles, helps the individual develop strategies to enhance their impact generally, and specifically with those of different types, and finally, uses plain and positive language throughout the process.
In a word, it’s amazing!
So how excited are we to have a near exclusive on this product in the UK? In a word, very!
So now you know all that, you’ll be delighted to know that we are allowing decision makers within organisations to trial this product. If that’s you, please contact us on 0845 2706520!
I look forward to hearing your thoughts!!
Michael & Christine at the launch of The Platinum Rule …
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