Stephen Shapiro

Take Our “Why Does This Person Drive Me Crazy?” QUIZ

Stephen Shapiro — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 18:44:18 +0000

That person who drives you nuts? They’re the ace up your sleeve.

We like to be with people who are similar to us. So we hire people who fit the mold.

But here’s the problem: When everyone fits the mold, your organization grows mold. You get stale thinking. Safe ideas. No breakthroughs.

The perspectives you avoid — the colleagues who make you cringe, the ideas that sound crazy — are the missing cards you need most. And ignoring them is costing you.

Take the quiz below to find out why someone is driving you crazy, and why you need them on your team.

Based on the book You’re Not Playing with a Full Deck: Why the Coworkers Who Drive You Crazy Are Your Unfair Advantage by Stephen Shapiro.

Why Does This Person Drive You Crazy? — Personality Poker

Personality Poker

Why does this person drive you crazy?

You'll pick five cards that describe you, then five that describe the person driving you crazy. We'll reveal exactly why tension exists — and why it might be your unfair advantage.

Round 1 of 2

Pick 5 cards that describe you

Choose the words that feel most true.

Pick 5 cards

Round 2 of 2

Now pick 5 cards for them

The person driving you crazy right now.

Pick 5 cards

You

Them

Why the tension

But here's what you're missing

Your next step

Turn this tension into your team's edge.

This quiz gives you a glimpse. The book gives you the full playbook — how to stop managing around difference and start winning because of it.

Get the book →

Want a deeper read on your own cognitive style? Take the full Personality Poker assessment →

Copied. Paste it anywhere.

The post Take Our “Why Does This Person Drive Me Crazy?” QUIZ appeared first on Stephen Shapiro.

What I Learned from Creating 100+ Cover Concepts

Stephen Shapiro — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 14:41:02 +0000

Six months ago, I started designing the cover for my 8th book, and my first self-published one.

In the past, my publisher handled the cover and I simply approved it. This time, every decision was mine.

The book is called You’re Not Playing with a Full Deck. It’s a business book on innovation, collaboration, and culture, built around my Personality Poker card game. The cover had to do two things at once: signal serious business, and still feel playful.

In total, we explored over 100 variations.

At first, I created my own concepts using the Personality Poker cards, and even changed the title a few times. The feedback was, politely, underwhelming. They were fun, but did not scream, “Hey, this is a business book.”

Next, I ran a quick experiment and hired a low-cost designer I’d worked with before. For $25, it felt worth seeing what they’d do with minimal guidance. They created the left-most image. I liked the fonts, but the puzzle piece metaphor felt wrong for this book. I tried building from their idea, but the variations still didn’t capture the spirit. Too dark, and not playful enough.

So I hired a well-respected, and expensive, cover designer. He delivered five strong concepts.

Then I did what most authors do: I asked colleagues and clients which one they liked best.

Testing designs with the market is usually a good idea. But unfortunately, no one agreed.

People were passionate, but in opposite directions. Some loved the left-most concept for its simplicity and readability; others found it boring. Some loved the right-most concept because it was clever, while others said it looked messy and unprofessional.

Not knowing which way to turn, I hired an independent book cover reviewer. He delivered a nine-page audit, analyzing each concept and recommending a direction. It helped me get clearer on fonts and color palette.

But it still didn’t solve the core issue. None of the imagery felt right.

Then the breakthrough showed up at 3 a.m.

One night, I woke up with an idea: an ace up the sleeve.

I loved it instantly because the phrase already carries the meaning I want, a hidden advantage that helps you win.

From there, I explored dozens of ace up the sleeve variations, including rapid prototyping with AI. Once I had a concept that felt right, I handed it to the designer to turn into something real and polished.

Along the way, we refined a lot. Lighter background, fewer confusing elements, switching to four aces, replacing the callout with a poker chip, making the hand a bit messier, and adjusting the purple so it pops.

You’ll also notice that both the title and subtitle evolved with the cover. In the end, the subtitle became, Why the Coworkers Who Drive You Crazy Are Your Unfair Advantage. I’m using the phrase ace up your sleeve on the back cover to tie it all together.

The cover on the right is the final one.

Here are the lessons I’m taking with me.

Work with true professionals. My self-designed cover would have been a failure, and the bargain version would have topped out at fine.
Don’t rely on the crowd to decide. Most people choose based on personal taste, not what actually makes someone pick up and buy a book.
If you’re stuck, bring in an independent expert. Even with a great designer, you still have to choose.
Keep going past good. The ace up the sleeve idea changed everything.
Use AI as a rapid prototyping tool. It helped me explore directions fast, then hand the best one to a human designer.
Be flexible. Sometimes the cover drives the subtitle, sometimes the subtitle drives the cover.
If you’re working on a cover right now, what’s been the hardest part for you?

I hope my experience will be of some help to others.

Thank you to everyone who gave their input during the process!

The post What I Learned from Creating 100+ Cover Concepts appeared first on Stephen Shapiro.

Animated Book Cover

Stephen Shapiro — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 14:35:04 +0000

Something cool from my book cover designer…an animated cover!

The post Animated Book Cover appeared first on Stephen Shapiro.

Opposites Don’t Attract – And This is a Problem

Stephen Shapiro — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 14:33:02 +0000

Contrary to conventional wisdom, opposites do not attract. They detract. They repel.

But what if the person who is least like you is the person you need most?

I learned this the hard way.

I once led a project with a $30M budget, and it failed miserably because my co-leader and the team were too much like me.

Later, my budget was cut to $6M, and I was given a co-leader who was my opposite. We created magic.

Not at first. In the beginning, there was conflict.

But once we started to appreciate what each of us brought to the table, everything changed.

We succeeded, not in spite of our differences, but because of them.

Too often, we surround ourselves with people who think like we do.

That may feel comfortable, but it rarely leads to breakthrough thinking.

***

The image was generated by NotebookLM from the manuscript for You’re Not Playing with a Full Deck.

The post Opposites Don’t Attract – And This is a Problem appeared first on Stephen Shapiro.

The Five Levels of Personality

Stephen Shapiro — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 14:31:18 +0000

Everyone talks about the personality of a person, the individual.

But almost everything in an organization has a personality.

Teams have personalities. They shape how work gets done, what gets done well, and what gets missed.

Meetings have personalities. They reflect what the meeting is designed to do. Many companies have too many of one kind of meeting, and they structure them in ways that limit their value.

Organizations have personalities. That is culture. It is what gets valued, recognized, and rewarded, and what gets overlooked that may be costing more than anyone realizes.

When your organization is not playing with a full deck, in its teams, meetings, and culture, long-term success suffers.

Get it right, and you have a winning hand.

***

The image was generated by NotebookLM from the manuscript for You’re Not Playing with a Full Deck, available April 21.

The post The Five Levels of Personality appeared first on Stephen Shapiro.

Find the One Who Drives You Crazy

Stephen Shapiro — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 14:29:07 +0000

My most successful project was co-led by someone who drove me crazy.

He was my opposite. He was detail-oriented and focused on deliverables, whereas I was driven by novelty and coolness.

When I look back, I can see that we didn’t succeed in spite of our differences. We succeeded because of them.

When we figured out how to work together and value each other’s contributions, magic happened.

***

From “You’re Not Playing with a Full Deck: Why the Coworkers Who Drive You Crazy Are Your Unfair Advantage.” Available April 21, 2026.

The post Find the One Who Drives You Crazy appeared first on Stephen Shapiro.

Full Deck Proofs

Stephen Shapiro — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 14:27:27 +0000

With the book launch one month away, it was exciting to receive the first proofs of the paperback version. It looks significantly more impressive in its physical form!

The post Full Deck Proofs appeared first on Stephen Shapiro.

Play to Your Strong Suit

Stephen Shapiro — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 14:25:57 +0000

You can’t be great at everything. If you try, you’ll be great at nothing.

You want to “play to your strong suit.” These are the traits that give you energy and reflect your superpower.

And the cards you don’t have?

Those aren’t weaknesses to fix. They’re opportunities for collaboration.

***
From “You’re Not Playing with a Full Deck: Why the Coworkers Who Drive You Crazy Are Your Unfair Advantage.” Available April 21, 2026.

The post Play to Your Strong Suit appeared first on Stephen Shapiro.

Full Deck Speech Synopsis from Global Innovation Management Institute (GIMI)

Stephen Shapiro — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 14:24:22 +0000

I recently delivered a session for members of the Global Innovation Management Institute.

After I was done, the Institute pulled together a valuable five-page resource based on my presentation. They did a fantastic job of highlighting some of my key messages, including why:

innovation fails when teams think alike
diversity alone does not work; the right conditions are needed
meetings and culture also have personalities
many organizations are cults, and why this limits business growth
it is not about individual personalities, but about the systems that support them
who are you not is more important than who you are

Click here to download the PDF.

The post Full Deck Speech Synopsis from Global Innovation Management Institute (GIMI) appeared first on Stephen Shapiro.

Book Cover – And Subtitle Reveal

Stephen Shapiro — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:51:47 +0000

On April 21, 2026, my 8th book, You’re Not Playing with a Full Deck, will be published.

After months of effort and hundreds of iterations of the cover, I am thrilled to share the final cover and new subtitle for the book.

One night, I woke up and realized that being an “ace up the sleeve” is a great metaphor.

Although I am using the ace up the sleeve expression on the back cover’s text, I felt the subtitle needed something that better described the outcome. The benefit.

So the book’s new subtitle is Why the Coworkers Who Drive You Crazy Are Your Unfair Advantage.

In one of my next posts, I will talk about the process I went through to get to the final cover. It’s been a long journey.

Thank you to everyone who helped me!

The post Book Cover – And Subtitle Reveal appeared first on Stephen Shapiro.