From the Sunday Times bestselling author of the international phenomenon Surrounded by Idiots.

Studies suggest two people who have never met before will tell three lies within the first five minutes. Astounding. But why?

Why do we choose to lie even when we know it's wrong? To protect the people we love? To paint ourselves in a better light? To win short-lived praise? Or, are there simply far more obscure reasons behind why we lie?

In Surrounded by Liars, international bestselling author and behavioural expert Thomas Erikson unpacks the psychological reasons behind why we lie, and reveals the impact lying has on our relationships.

With the help of the behavioural model made famous in Surrounded by Idiots, discover how to detect the liars in your life and shatter their deception for good!

Do you ever think you’re the only one making any sense? Or tried to reason with your partner with disastrous results? Do long, rambling answers drive you crazy? Or does your colleague’s abrasive manner get your back up?

You are not alone. After a disastrous meeting with a highly successful entrepreneur, who was genuinely convinced he was ‘surrounded by idiots’, communication expert and bestselling author, Thomas Erikson dedicated himself to understanding how people function and why we often struggle to connect with certain types of people.

Originally published in Swedish in 2014 as Omgiven Av Idioter, Erikon’s Surrounded by Idiots is already an international phenomenon, selling over 1.5 million copies worldwide, of which over 750,000 copies have been sold in Sweden alone. It offers a simple, yet ground-breaking method for assessing the personalities of people we communicate with – in and out of the office – based on four personality types (Red, Blue, Green and Yellow), and provides insights into how we can adjust the way(s) we speak and share information.

Erikson will help you understand yourself better, hone communication and social skills, handle conflict with confidence, improve dynamics with your boss and team, and get the best out of the people you deal with and manage. He also shares simple tricks on body language, improving written communication and advice on when to back away or when to push on, and when to speak up or indeed shut up. Packed with ‘aha!’ and ‘oh no!’ moments, Surrounded by Idiots will help you understand and influence those around you, even people you currently think are beyond all comprehension.

And with a bit of luck you can also be confident that the idiot out there isn’t you!

Charming, charismatic, and delightful or manipulative, self-serving, and cunning? Psychopaths are both and that's exactly what makes them dangerous. Bestselling author of the international phenomenon Surrounded by Idiots, Thomas Erikson reveals how to identify the psychopaths in your life and combat their efforts to control and manipulate.

Using the same simple four-color system of behavior classification that made Surrounded by Idiots so popular, Surrounded by Psychopaths teaches readers how to deal with psychopaths in their lives by becoming aware of their own behavior and their weaknesses. Vivid example stories illustrate ways that psychopaths can take advantage of various behavior types, helping readers identify their own weaknesses and be proactive about protecting themselves. Erikson outlines some of the most common forms of manipulation used by psychopaths--and others--to influence those around them. Since manipulation can often be a feature of ordinary, non-psychopathic relationships, the book also includes practical methods and techniques to help readers confront controlling people and rehabilitate negative relationships into mutually respectful ones.

By understanding your behavior as well as the tendencies and strategies of psychopaths, Surrounded by Psychopaths will teach you to protect yourself from manipulative influence in your workplace, social life, and family.

Some people are exceptionally manipulative. They can convince anyone about anything and lure them with their charm. They enjoy controlling others and will do anything to get what they want.

Sound familiar?

The bad news is that you can’t really escape them. But here comes the good news: you can beat them at their own game. After going through the highs and lows of different personality types (Red, Blue, Green and Yellow) in his international bestseller Surrounded by Idiots, Swedish behavioural expert Thomas Erikson will now show you how your weaknesses and personality traits can be exploited by other people and how you can stop them in their tracks.

By learning more about your personality type and how you work, you’ll be able to see through any psychopath's manipulative behaviours and fend off their attempts to wreak havoc into your life.

Witty, engaging and informative, this book will give you everything you need to handle life’s most skilled manipulators and identify the psychopaths in your life… before it’s too late!

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Surrounded by Idiots.

Are you overshadowed by the narcissists in your life? Are you worn out by their constant demands for attention, their absolute belief they are right (even when clearly they are not), their determination to do what they want (regardless of impact), and their baffling need to control everyone and everything around them?

In this thought-provoking, sanity-saving book, Thomas Erikson helps you understand what makes narcissists tick and, crucially, how to handle them without wearing yourself out in the process. With the help of the behavioural model made famous in Surrounded by Idiots, Erikson provides all the tools you need to manage not just the narcissists around you but everyday narcissism as well - itself becoming more widespread in this age of social media.

Engaging and practical, Surrounded by Narcissists will help you free yourself from narcissistic agendas so you can pursue a happier, more fulfilling and successful life.

A runaway bestseller in Sweden that has sold more than a million copies worldwide, Surrounded by Idiots shares a groundbreaking new method of understanding the people around you that will change how you interact with everyone from your coworkers to your spouse.

Author Thomas Erikson explains that there are four key behavior types that define how we interact with and perceive the people around us. Understanding someone's pattern of behavior is the key to successful communication. Erikson breaks down the four kinds of behavior types--Reds who are dominant and commanding, Yellows who are social and optimistic, Greens who are laid back and friendly, and Blues who are analytical and precise--and explains how to identify and interact with each type of person. Instead of being bogged down with overly technical categorizations, the simple four color system allows you to speedily identify a friend or coworker and adjust how you speak and share with them.

Surrounded by Idiots is full of practical information for interacting with people based on their color, including the strengths and weaknesses of all the profiles, how to give positive and negative feedback to each, and the best way to word an email when writing to someone with a different profile.

Surrounded by idiots at work? Fed up with a bad boss or lazy colleagues? Thomas Erikson, author of the runaway international bestseller Surrounded by Idiots, will help you handle them and get things done, the right way Why is good leadership so rare? Everyone has to manage up to some extent but frankly some bosses are worse than others. If you're being driven crazy by a micro-manager, frequently drown under your boss's unreasonable expectations or struggle with being handed out responsibilities but no authority international behavioural expert Thomas Erikson is here to help. Drawing on the simple four-colour system that made Surrounded by Idiots a global bestseller, Erikson shows how understanding your boss's behavioural tendencies as well as your own will lead to a more harmonious and productive workplace. He also sets out what characterises an exemplary leader type and how you can adapt your behaviour to model it. Because there are two sides to every coin, Erikson also looks at employees themselves and why some colleagues frequently underachieve and what you can do to change this. Written with Erikson's signature humour and warmth, Surrounded by Bad Bosses (and Lazy Employees) will help you deal with the most hopeless managers and employees you can imagine - and keep you entertained along the way.

Part of the bestselling Surrounded by Idiots series!

In Surrounded by Setbacks, internationally bestselling author Thomas Erikson turns his attention to a universal problem: what to do when things go wrong.

Too often it seems like our dreams and ambitions―whether it’s finally getting that corner office, lacing up your running shoes again, or building a flourishing relationship with your partner―are derailed by one roadblock or another. So how do we learn to take setbacks in stride and still achieve our goals?

In Surrounded by Setbacks, Erikson answers that question. Using simple, actionable steps, Erikson helps readers identify the “why” behind their goal, create a concrete plan towards achieving it, and―most importantly―avoid many of the most common pitfalls that derail us when we attempt something new. The simple 4-color behavior system that made Surrounded by Idiots revolutionary now helps readers reflect on how they respond to adversity, giving them the self-awareness to negotiate the inevitable obstacles of life with confidence.

How to handle everything (and everyone) around you when all hell breaks loose, from the international bestselling author of Surrounded by Idiots.

Not everything goes the way we want it to - the world or people around us sometimes just spin out of control. Just consider the Covid pandemic for starters. Or how about that mad neighbour you have living next-door to you? Or when work seems to be going down the toilet when the competition keep outsmarting you? So how do you handle everything life throws your way when you'd really prefer to tell everyone to get stuffed?

Thomas Erikson will help you turn adversity into success with the help of the behavioural model made famous in Surrounded by Idiots. Starting by reminding us that life is as it is, Erikson helps you see that it is in fact useless to try to control everything happening around you. Instead of protesting when life throws you curveballs, focus instead on how to handle them. Just as you keep the weeds away from the garden to provide space and amazing flowers, you need to find an approach to adversity that works for you and will give you the chance to turn everything into success. Surrounded by Setbacks will help you pinpoint the approach that works for you and will entertain and empower you in equal measure.

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Surrounded by Idiots

Are you overshadowed by the narcissists in your life? Are you worn out by their constant demands for attention, their absolute belief they are right (even when clearly they are not), their determination to do what they want (regardless of impact), and their baffling need to control everyone and everything around them?

In this thought-provoking, sanity-saving book, Thomas Erikson helps you understand what makes narcissists tick and, crucially, how to handle them without wearing yourself out in the process. With the help of the behavioural model made famous in Surrounded by Idiots, Erikson provides all the tools you need to manage not just the narcissists around you but everyday narcissism as well - itself becoming more widespread in this age of social media. Engaging and practical, Surrounded by Narcissists will help you free yourself from narcissistic agendas so you can pursue a happier, more fulfilling and successful life.