Musings of Dom and Shad

Temperament & Keith Richards

Musings of Dom and Shad — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 17:28:03 +0000

The great guitarist for the legendary Rolling Stones has written a biography entitled, “Life,” that has received great reviews from the press. Richards is now 67 and is in the new “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” reprising the role of Captain Jack Sparrow’s father. Can this guy be anything other than a Fire? His written accounts of his use of drugs, alcohol, and wild, wild women appear to cast him easily into the ranks of the Fire temperament who enjoy experimenting with new pleasures with a great sense of humor and in a state of utter enjoyment. While it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the temperament of a celebrity because we typically see their public personae (not necessarily their true self), the case for Richards being a Fire is nearly overwhelming. Enjoy his biography and catch him in the new “Pirates” movie. He seems to be really enjoying the ride!

Temperament & E-Books

Musings of Dom and Shad — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 17:06:15 +0000

Saw an interesting article recently that Amazon reported that it sold more electronic books than it did printed books in the month of April, 2011 to the tune of 105 e-books for every 100 printed books! This did NOT include all the free e-books out there. While “What Makes You Tick and What Ticks You Off” is not available as an e-book, we hope you are recommending it to friends and relatives (e.g., teachers, law enforcement folks, coaches, parents, and co-workers). Our next book (fingers crossed) will definitely have to be available via e-book.

“Outliers” and Temperament

Musings of Dom and Shad — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 20:52:14 +0000

Just finished Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, “Outliers,” and can highly recommend it. While we are born with all four temperaments, Gladwell posits that there are a number of factors that contribute to our personal success, e.g., our birthdate, our hometown, our parents’ values, sheer luck, our culture, etc. One of his many eye-opening conclusions is that our school systems, no matter their current shape, make less of a difference for the success of our students than does what they do during their summer vacations! Richer kids with more opportunities to join clubs, read books, interact with others on organized teams, attend camp, etc., during their summer vacation, enter the next school year with higher scores in reading and math than do poorer kids who do not have such opportunities during their summer. By the way, this somewhat flies in the face of the movie, “Waiting for Superman,” that assigns most U.S. education problems on poor schools and bad teachers. Gladwell also suggests that it takes 10,000 hours of practice/experience in order to become an expert in your field — any field — and gives a number of examples to back this up. Very interesting point of view in light of our inborn temperament preferences and how we are influenced by a number of other factors in our life. Good read.

The Business Authors Show

Musings of Dom and Shad — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 20:33:07 +0000

There is a rebroadcasting of my interview with The Business Authors Show on June 3, 4, and 5. The 18-20 minute interview focused on business applications for temperament so I hope you’ll check it out, if you haven’t listened to it previously. By the way, we also posted the interview on our website (www.whatmakesyoutickandwhatticksyouoff.com).

23,abusine

Temperament & Memorial Day Weekend

Musings of Dom and Shad — Fri, 27 May 2011 15:20:54 +0000

So, what kind of celebration (if any) are you planning this Memorial Day weekend? Many Americans are jumping in their cars, paying $4.00/gal. and heading for the beach or mountains (anyone going to the desert?). Earth vacationers might make the more traditional trek to the spot where they usually go, perhaps as their parents did before them. Chances are they’ll bring a flag along with them or one will be nearby. Air vacationers may have researched a new place to go or maybe utterly content to stay at home and surf the web in the relative tranquility of a long weekend and quiet house. Fire vacationers are probably doing something very active, e.g., camping, fishing, hiking, rock climbing, water skiing, scuba diving, boating, or the like. Water vacationers probably don’t have a preference for the location of their getaway weekend, as long as it brings together friends and loved ones. They’d love to make it a romantic getaway, too! What are you going to do? As we each become more aware of the influence our temperament has on our choices (and those of our family members), we might enjoy exploring the preferences of other temperaments — even our shadow! Try it out. Let us know how you did!! Have a good one!

Website Update

Musings of Dom and Shad — Sat, 21 May 2011 15:35:36 +0000

Jim Harden and I worked together last weekend to update our website to include our most recent, as well as our planned, temperament activities. We also worked on a new video that will be posted in the near future. It is focused on how temperament can be a great learning tool for law enforcement professionals. Stay tuned!

Temperament at the Naval Surface Warfare Center

Musings of Dom and Shad — Sat, 21 May 2011 15:31:21 +0000

Just completed a workshop at NSWC in Dahlgren, VA that included some work on temperament with a focus on the shadow. Each time we do a shadow workshop we get feedback from participants that interfacing with people from their shadow temperament is revealing and helpful. Our two most recent radio interviews also discussed how a better understanding of your shadow temperament can reduce conflict and enhance personal relationships.

Goddard Space Flight Center Leadership Course

Musings of Dom and Shad — Sun, 08 May 2011 16:41:47 +0000

Jim and I enjoyed facilitating an Advanced Basic Elements Temperament workshop at Goddard as part of their Leadership Development in Management Excellence (LDEM) course. We had updated the “shadow” temperament presentation to make it clearer and more practical and both felt it came across much better. As usual, we will continue to tweak at it as we go forward. The participants appeared to find the material useful and we invited them all to join us on our blog, and on our Facebook page to continue the discussion on temperament.

JazzFest 2011 & Temperament

Musings of Dom and Shad — Mon, 02 May 2011 15:38:59 +0000

Perfect 78 degree weather and a nice breeze brought out a mammoth crowd for Sunday’s JazzFest in New Orleans. The last day of the first JazzFest weekend (it starts up again next Thursday – Sunday) was topped off with the likes of Pete Fountain, John Mellancamp, Kenny G, John Legend, and — Tom Jones!! It’s not unusual…for the occasional “old-timer” to play JazzFest (Tony Bennett played 2 years ago) but ole Tom was a rockin’ with an updated temp to many of his familiar songs (e.g., Delilah, Green, Green Grass of Home, Fall in Love, etc.). While my Water wife had every intention of staying for just a few minutes then heading off to see John Mellancamp, she wound her way to the front and joined the hordes of dancers who were groovin’ to ole Tom. She told me later she had chatted with some women who came to hear Tom Jones just “for a laugh” but got hooked into his music and dance steps on stage. For a 72 year-old, ole Tom still has the pipes and had a great backup band too. As an Air, I stood back at the edge of the crowd and tried to figure out ole Tom’s appeal. Pipes, style, dance steps, sweatin’ like a hog — I don’t know. But realize this…there were still women who threw underwear at him!! Incredible! Hope I look as good at 72!

“Bounce Back” Radio Show Interview

Musings of Dom and Shad — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 20:45:37 +0000

Yesterday I was interviewed by “Bounce Back,” an audio magazine that focuses on practical and innovative how-to relationship advice. The host, Dr. Donna Marie Thompson, was a delight and focused her questions on how temperament can enhance personal relationships. She had read our book and asked, for example, about the “Platinum Rule” (i.e., treat people not as you want to be treated but how they want to be treated). We also discussed the matching of partners by temperament and the challenges of having a partner whose dominant temperament is your shadow. The show is scheduled to be broadcast on May 9th.