The Advantage Of Being Grey

Kevin Kingsland, the creator of the "Vision To Action" model of business psychology, once said that the best businessman are grey. As an expert in business and inter-personal psychology, he meant that they exhibited a grey personality.

How can this be? Do they have no personality?

In the negative sense, it means they display no single personality type in an emphatic manner. And so, are not easily recognisable by people who are more dominate in just one aspect of their personality. (See colour blindness) In the positive sense, this means they have a balanced personality which they are in control of, and they are not easily provoked into one type-specific mode of behaviour.

For Survival

The British SAS is world-famous as an elite troop. They have not achieved their reputation by accident. Their "entrance exams" are notoriously demanding, with a high failure rate. But the selection process is not about raw brawn and muscle (although that is a key part). It is also a careful examination of the personality of the applicants. The selection techniques emphasis the benefits of being a grey person. Such people blend into teams more easily, and are less provocative, and less easily provoked, in stressful or life-threatening situations. Especially in the latter.

At Home

I keep telling my children. These mature-looking silver streaks in my hair don’t come cheap you know, it’s taken a lot of years for the great hairdresser in the sky to get the just-right colour mix that’s just-me. One day you might be earning enough to get the same. Whether I really am mature remains to be seen. ;-)