What Makes You Tick: How Successful People do it – and What You can Learn from Them

by: Michael J. Berland and Douglas E. Schoen

Published by: Harper Business

Reviewed by Muhammed Hassanali

This book draws a distinction between success and winning. Success is something internal and personal while winning is the accomplishments one can check off. While one may be confused for another, they are indeed different. The introduction advises that we not change our personalities to achieve success, but need to recognize, strengthen and mobilize our natural abilities to achieve success. While this is touted as a fresh approach, it is not that different from what one finds in the literature today.

Next the book outlines key characteristics of four different personality types and labels them Natural-Born Leaders, Independent Seekers, Visionaries, and Do Gooders. The list classifies personality traits under three broad headings: inner personality, motivational traits, and external traits. Unfortunately there is significant overlap among the categories that a reader would be able to identify with possibly all the personality types outlined. The risk here is that if a reader were to categorize oneself in one of the categories provided, the task may not be as simple as it would initially appear to be.

After that, there are five sections, each devoted to a particular personality trait (outlined in the introduction) with each chapter as a biography of that personality type. Indeed, the introduction listed four personality types, while the sections indicate that there are five! These biographies are sometimes short, sometimes long, and generally lack a defined structure.

The conclusion provides general guidelines to help readers determine in which of the above categories they fit best. It is here that one learns that the biographies are actually interviews conducted (it seems) via questionnaires. It would have been useful if the questions on the questionnaire were given, or the rational underpinning the research methodology were further elaborated.

In the end, this reviewer feels that the book does not adequately answer the question it so prominently asks. It does lay out preferences (and readers may debate their validity), but it does not attempt to outline what truly makes one tick.

For those readers who enjoy reading biographies especially autobiographies, this would be a great book. For those looking to learn about the workings of ones personality, other publications would probably be more useful.

Armchair Interviews agrees.