How often do you hear someone say, “I’m just working with the hand I was dealt” when referring to their strengths and weaknesses? It’s a pretty common phrase. Well, Steve Shapiro, an innovation expert and author of 24/7 Innovation and The Little Book of Big Innovation Ideas, has taken that idea one step further. Shapiro just released Personality Poker, a custom card deck and book that helps individuals and teams gain better insight into their personality styles.
You may be asking why we need another personality tool. After all, the market seems to be flooded with tools, assessments, books, and instruments all designed to help you hone in on your personality. The answer is simple: Personality Poker demystifies the process, makes it fun, and makes it simple. It also provides the most practical advice on how to translate understanding of your personality into improved performance.
Most assessments are long and drawn out and often require three steps: completing the assessment, processing the assessment, debriefing the results. Those three steps can sometimes occur weeks apart. And, they are done individually. If you want to to understand other people’s strengths, you often need a fourth step, some type of group debrief.
Personality Poker combines those four steps into a a 60 minute activity that will have your people buzzing for weeks. The premise of the game is simple – collect and/or trade cards until you have a “hand” that best represents who you are. Shapiro has spent over a decade honing the cards so that they provide a reliable and valid assessment of people’s personalities. He has cleverly adapted something that we are familiar with, a standard card deck, into an assessment tool. Each attribute of the card provides a different insight into your personality style:
- Color – your thinking style
- Suit – your innovation style, where you work best in the innovation process
- Number – where and how you draw energy
When you finally create your “ideal” hand, you will see a simple yet powerful snapshot of who you are and how you interact with others. You can use that understanding to guide further discussion, assemble teams, or provide coaching to your people. The accompanying Personality Poker book provides in-depth discussion and analysis of the various personality styles revealed through the cards.
I’d highly recommend Personality Poker to anyone who is interested in increasing innovation, improving performance, and developing high performing teams. You can get more information about Personality Poker at http://personalitypokerbook.com/. It’s the last personality assessment that you’ll ever need.
