Blue sky, Red Earth

T+D, March, 2003

Karl Albrecht

According to Albecht's Mindex model, people are classified by content and structure of thought into these metaphorical patterns:

Red Earth. The most common pattern, these type of thinkers are "intuitive and people-oriented, and they're inclined towards direct experience." They like tangible results, not theories or explanations.

Blue Earth. People with this orientation are logical, and they value structure and detail. They enjoy organizing things and problem solving.

Red Sky. These thinkers see things on a global scale and are more concerned with the what than the how.

Blue Sky. People with this thought pattern are drawn to academic fields and value abstract ideas, reasoning, and relational thinking.

Understanding where you and the people in your organization fit into this model can improve training, teambuilding, and interaction. Albrecht explains how to detect these patterns in yourself and others, and how to use that knowledge for more effective organizational as well as personal communication.

For complete text, see page 55.

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