Today's Edition
Sharjah (Aletihad) Globally acclaimed author and public speaker Thomas Erikson gave his fans an intriguing understanding of human behaviour and what sets one apart from the other during an engaging Q&A session at the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF).
The ongoing 42nd edition of SIBF at the Expo Centre witnessed more book launches, thought-provoking sessions and skill workshops on Sunday evening. In a freewheeling chat with radio host Big Haas, the Swede behind bestsellers “Surrounded by Idiots” and “Surrounded by Psychopaths”, expanded on his famous four key personality types – categorised into colours red, blue, green and yellow.
Explaining how reds stand for those ambitious, boisterous, and commanding while blues are quiet, analytical, and precise and yellows social, creative, and optimistic with the greens calm, reliable, and considerate, he drew the audience into a journey of self-discovery.
“Work harder on yourself than you do with anything else. If you find yourself in a constant struggle with other people, start with yourself. I flew into the UAE last night but I had to tell my travel agency where I would be flying from. You need those two dots on the map to complete the communication – be it an air travel, or connecting with someone,” said Erikson.
When asked whether he still makes mistakes, he said: “I’m not going to put myself on some high horse and say I never mess up anymore. I do it fewer times per year than usual, but we all mess up from time to time. No one is perfect,” said the 58-year-old who has travelled the world coaching and lecturing some of the world’s top executives.
“We are all the idiots in someone’s story, right? And sometimes it is me. And I need to be realistic about this.”
Calling social media “an excellent tool to use in certain contexts”, he warned the audience to not be overwhelmed by it.
His session concluded on an inspiring note, with an emphasis on the potential for personal growth and transformation through understanding and working with one’s own personality type.
At the ballroom, actress Kajol Devgan was present to launch the autobiography of Indian businessman and popular jeweller Joy Alukkas.
The book “Spreading Joy: How Joy Alukkas became the world’s favourite jeweller” traces the company’s origins with scarce capital and humble beginnings in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the 1980s and provides insights into an industry that was fragmented and unorganised.
The jewellery group has 160 showrooms in 11 countries. Among the plethora of skills workshops held every day, there was one on creative design which was conducted by Stanford University. Another by a Czech company dealt into sustainable practices through simple activities such as growing sprouts.
Creative director Ludmila Favardin said: “Through this workshop we wanted to teach the kids more about nature, about how to care about living things and they do so by growing their own sprouts; little plants right from the seeds.” Each participant was provided small boxes with seeds and a “growing kit” for them to take home with them “something tangible, memorable and sustainable”.
For the knowledge seekers on the commercial side, Ankur Warikoo, a prominent figure in the start-up ecosystem, spoke about entrepreneurship and personal growth. He shared insights from his book, “Hustle, believe, receive: an entrepreneur’s journey”.
