This past week was our CEO Academy, with some great hands-on breakout sessions from our executive board!

One of the new breakout sessions was a Culture Workshop featuring our Certified DISC Guru, Jason Rivas, and our Director of HR, Chris Gardner. Jason dove into the DISC profile and broke it down in terms that are easy to digest… cars. Men and women both have different tastes in cars depending on what their profiles suggest. Now keep in mind, this is completely based off the DISC profiles and is used as an example ONLY.

Dominance: This would be someone who knows what he wants, knows how to get it, and is looking for something to make a statement about his power. This is a sports car type of guy, most CEO’s fit this profile.

The car in the example is a Corvette C7. Keep in mind, these examples are used for the sake of this exercise and the “stereotypical” cars that are directly associated with the personalities of the DISC profiles. Alex in fact drives a GMC Sierra 2500; as you’d imagine it’s hard to go hunting and off-roading in a Corvette. Watch the our course in CORE on the D in Disc.

Influence: This is someone who of course is very social and socially accepting. Very outgoing and cares to a certain degree of what people think of him. The example car for this is a Mini Cooper S. Now, I am a high “I” and I can tell you that I do not drive a Mini Cooper S (although I wouldn’t mind it).

I drive a Chevy Malibu, which works for me with all of the running around town and traveling I do, often times with other people or lots of stuff in the car (luggage, etc.). However I would love a car like a Mini Cooper S simply because it would fit my personality more than a 4 door sedan. Watch the our course in CORE on the I in DISC.

Steadiness: These are the guys that are tried and true! They know what works and they stick with it. They are the types to stick to a process that works and don’t like too much change. The example car is a 1957 Chevy Bel Aire, a true classic car.

A car for a guy who knows what he likes. Well, it just so happens that our HR Director, Chris Gardner, drives a 1953 Chevy Panel Van. So I would say that his car fits his profile perfectly! Watch the our course in CORE on the S in DISC.

Compliance: Now a high “C” profile is someone who likes rules, and often takes “safe” risks. Someone who is often very analytical and practical.

The example car for this is a Volvo S40, a very safe, classy, and functional car. However our Senior Graphic Artist, Allison, drives a Scion TC. Something a little more sporty and fun compared to the “safe” Volvo. Watch the our course in CORE on the C in DISC.

These cars are meant to give us an understanding of what different cars mean to different profiles. The choices of cars helps to give us an idea of the stereotypes each DISC has associated with it, and the facts and truths about the profiles too. While each car holds true to the profiles, it is the individual and practical uses of a car that is the determining factor of why we drive what we do.

Much like motivators, we each have different things that motivate us, regardless of how similar our DISC profiles are.

This is just one of the many variables in understanding not only human behavior in the workplace, but how co-workers interact with each other. Please note, I only did the male profiles this time around, the women are a little bit different in terms of cars selected. Purchase your own DISC today by going to this purchase link or check out our services we offer for HR Assistance.