Why Seven Dwarfs
Even if you're not eight years old, you may want to give the Disney classic "Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs" another good read if you want to get ahead at your next corporate round table.
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Dr. Sharon Livingston, founder of Executive Solutions, Inc.
has conducted over 5000 meetings in her twenty
years as a marketing consultant. Although she doesn't
necessarily fancy herself to be Snow White, Dr. Livingston
says: "It's amazing - in every group people seem to fall into one of the seven classic dwarf roles. They even seem to sit in the same positions each time. And once you know who's who, it's a piece of cake to run the meeting!" |
For instance of seven dwarf characteristics:
Doc Dwarf
These are the people who feel intense pressure to
"know it all." They can't provide an idea unless they're
sure it's the right one - and the only one! So you have
to do something to take that pressure off. Ask them "What's
the worst way you could think of to..." or "Let's discuss
10 ways we could accomplish this." Avoid asking them for
THE answer.
Sleepy
This is the person who dreads meetings. This respondent is
either bored to tears with the usual protocol or simply
hasn't had enough sleep. Either way, you need to do
something unusual to get their attention - say something
provocative and be ready with a joke to diffuse the tension
once it's out.
In her facilitator training sessions, "Sharpen The Focus", Dr. Livingston details how to recognize (and deal with) classic seven dwarf characters in business and in life.
Snow White Theory Support Materials
- An online test which determines the dwarf personality of the user or a person they encounter in a group.
- Detailed descriptions of each of seven personalities:
bashful dopey doc grumpy happy sleepy sneezy - 10 summary strengths and weaknesses of each of seven dwarfs in theory
- 10 tips to leverage strengths and weaknesses for each of seven dwarfs in a group