The Leader Number Two

People of the Past

These are people whose test results show the dominant Brown (Anal) vector. In life, they often gravitate toward brown, maroon, and other dark colors — not only in their clothing and makeup but also in the design of their homes, workspaces, or vehicles.

For these individuals, "yesterday" holds special significance. They cherish their past and everything that reminds them of it: old, well-made items, ancient photographs, and more. They spend a lot of time reminiscing about bygone days, and in their perception, the past often seems more joyful than the present or future. These are the people who sometimes sigh and say, "The water used to be wetter," "The dogs barked louder," or "The sun shone brighter."

People with the Brown vector approach the future with great caution, trying to find any signs of the past that they can rely on. Typically, they are not very talkative, always neatly dressed, and often impress others with their honesty, integrity, and, sometimes, frustrating slowness.

When engaging in business with such a person, if you can adapt to their way of thinking, you’ll gain a loyal client, partner, or perhaps even a dedicated employee whose reliability you can always count on.

The End Justifies the Means

Perhaps the most striking difference between Brown people and Red ones is their desire to see every task through to completion. For instance, when a Brown person starts writing a letter or a document, they won’t abandon the task until the final period is in place. Under no circumstances should you interrupt them. Even if your Red vector is in overdrive and you’ve come up with a slew of new ideas in the past hour, do not disturb your Brown colleague mid-task. Doing so will provoke a storm of negative emotions and, crucially, lower their productivity for quite some time.

This applies to larger projects as well. If you are working under a Brown manager, you can be sure that the task at hand will be completed and brought to its logical conclusion. However, while this trait is very useful on the surface, it isn’t always beneficial. In situations where continuing a process no longer yields the expected results, a Brown person will still insist on finishing what they started. They will come up with new justifications not to stop halfway and will be deeply dissatisfied if forced to take a different path.

Another important difference from Red people is their difficulty in starting any task. This is likely the main reason why Browns rarely ascend to top leadership positions. They take too long to gather themselves, prepare, and carefully weigh every detail. Making choices, especially from several possible options, is always challenging for them.

Brown buyers, for example, meticulously go through all options, even if they are choosing something as simple as a book rather than a car or a bedroom set. This behavior is entirely independent of their financial situation. A Brown customer might spend a long time consulting with a salesperson, leave empty-handed to continue discussions with their family, and then return to the store, still standing at the counter for some time. Impatient salespeople may be reluctant to invest energy in one customer, thinking that the person won’t buy anything anyway, assuming, “They’re just wasting their time and ours.” But we know that Brown people always finish what they start, so after a lengthy deliberation, they will eventually settle on something specific and ask for an invoice. While this kind of customer may be easily overlooked in low-stakes transactions like selling bananas, in more serious business dealings, understanding these traits can significantly impact the outcome. It is essential to engage a Brown client in the purchasing process, and though this may take more time and effort, it often pays off in the end.

Additionally, Brown people typically enjoy listening to the advice of those around them. While they may not follow recommendations exactly, outside advice is often the push they unconsciously need to begin acting.

The Road to Perfection

Perfectionism is another characteristic trait of the Brown vector. Simply put, it is the pursuit of perfection (and completion) in everything a person does. For a perfectionist, there are no small details in any task; they are willing to invest significant time and effort into "refining" aspects that have little impact on the final result. To be honest, we often lack this quality in the people around us, especially when dealing with various service providers. If you hear a mechanic say, "It doesn't affect the speed!", it’s likely that their Brown vector isn’t well-developed.

In a company run by a Brown boss, everything must be perfect: the office environment, the organization of paperwork, customer service — there cannot be the slightest mistake anywhere. In their quest to please customers, such a boss sometimes creates very tense conditions for their subordinates. While this situation is quite acceptable for Brown and Orange employees, a free-spirited Red person won't endure this kind of "stress" for long. For this and many other reasons, a Brown boss rarely has Red subordinates. Even representatives of other vectors can find such meticulousness tedious. Most clients will never even notice the details that a Brown boss and their team of exhausted subordinates have labored over for an extended period.

Being a perfectionist in everything, a Brown person takes spelling and grammatical errors in text very seriously. Often naturally "absolutely literate," Brown people expect the same from those around them, especially from business partners. Although some illiteracy is widespread in the business world today and is sometimes said to be a "sign of higher education," Brown people place excessive importance on this factor. They might refuse a contract if they find a couple of errors or typos. A typical thought process for a Brown entrepreneur might be: "If a partner can’t take the time to check the spelling before sending a letter, how can we expect them to fulfill their obligations responsibly?"

Indeed, responsibility is one of the most important traits of the brown vector, as is honesty. Brown people can be considered the most responsible and honest among all eight vectors. They are the ones who always keep their promises and fulfill the tasks they’ve taken on, even at the expense of their own free time. You can always rely on these individuals in tough times, as they are the most dependable friends in everyday life. However, their "pathological" honesty can sometimes have a negative impact: it’s hard for them to lie even for the sake of the company's prosperity, although they cannot be accused of disloyalty.

Closely related to honesty is another characteristic of Brown people — fairness. Perhaps this is why there are so many representatives of this vector among legal professionals in various countries. If you have a Brown boss, you can feel secure, as in this organization, salaries will always be paid on time and fairly. Additionally, in various contentious or conflict situations, you can expect a thorough consideration of the problem from a fair leader. However, if you are found to be in the wrong, harsh punishment is inevitable.

To Torture and to Pity

If the most unpleasant trait of a Red leader is their inattentiveness to subordinates, the defining characteristic of a Brown leader is what can be termed "psychological sadism."

When a Brown boss is dissatisfied with their employees' work or is simply in a bad mood, they may start to "torture" someone. This can manifest in various ways; generally, a Brown boss systematically "annoys" a chosen "victim" with unconstructive complaints, vague criticism, or simply by exerting their authority. The only thing a Brown boss unconsciously seeks in this situation is submission, acknowledgment of mistakes (even nonexistent ones), or simply passive agreement on all issues. Once the target of the attack is broken, the Brown leader's best qualities emerge: they become kind and gentle, ready to recall all the merits, praise the unfortunate person, and even generously reward them.

We won’t delve into the psychoanalytical basis of this behavior, but Brown people do sometimes derive unconscious pleasure from such "torture" of those around them. This process consists of two roughly equal phases: after thoroughly enjoying the victim's suffering, the Brown person transitions into a phase of compassion.

How should one behave in this situation when under the pressure of a Brown boss? The most impractical option is to endure and resist them with all your strength. This style of behavior is often characteristic of other Brown subordinates who start a survival war with the boss — who will outlast whom. Usually, this method leads to no good outcome: the exhausted boss, who has long been ready to transition to the second phase, never receives the necessary "signal," resulting in a loss for everyone. Another less effective option is to burst into tears right away, trying to evoke pity from the Brown boss as quickly as possible. This method is often used by women with the particularly strong Green vector. However, due to the rushed first phase, the phase of pity is also insufficiently expressed, and the sufferer does not receive the desired warmth from the boss. The optimal approach is to endure a little, then "break," meaning to agree (if only for appearance's sake) with the pressing leader. After this, once their mood improves, you can smoothly transition to a constructive conversation and address pressing issues — the favorable atmosphere for this has already been established.

Why "The Leader Number Two"?

As you read these lines, you may have noticed that Brown persons don't possess many leadership qualities. Indeed, such people are not well-suited for the role of "commander-in-chief." Their ideal position is that of a deputy manager or the head of a small department. Positioned between the Red leader and the rest of the team, the Brown deputy becomes a necessary buffer for other links in the chain, bringing harmony to the entire team's work.

When a Brown person finds themselves at the top of the hierarchy, they do not derive much pleasure from it, as they lack the thirst for power that characterizes Red leaders. Similarly, a Red individual who ends up subordinate to a Brown person feels uncomfortable. Therefore, the proper arrangement of vectors within an organization not only increases productivity significantly but also reduces the number of internal corporate conflicts substantially.

From the organizations where I have worked (conducting training sessions, resolving conflicts, building teams), only 20% had roles distributed psychologically correctly, taking into account the vector combinations present in individuals. In the remaining cases, Brown and Orange managers attempted to manage "unmanageable" Red subordinates, while the dynamics involving other vectors were often overlooked entirely.

Appearance

Brown individuals typically have a solid build, sometimes with slightly wide hips. They pay great attention to their appearance; while they may not always dress very harmoniously, they are always neat. Their shoes are impeccably polished, and their shirts and trousers are perfectly pressed. Brown men are willing to tie their ties anew every day (Reds generally dislike ties, but if they must wear one, they certainly won't be tying it more than once a year).
Their hairstyles are also always meticulously groomed; women often have their hair tightly styled in some form at the back of their heads. While the classic "buns" are long gone, a tight hair bun still reliably identifies Brown women.
Their faces are not very expressive, and their facial expressions are limited. They gesture little.
Brown people may sometimes sit with one leg tucked under their body and are known for occasionally rocking in their chairs.
Among their characteristic gestures, rubbing one hand against the other can be clearly attributed to the Brown vector.
Their speech is slow and quiet. They like to include minute details in their storytelling, which can sometimes (especially for Reds) come across as a bit tedious.

Communication Rules:

If your conversation is about the past, there should be no issues. However, when discussing the future, try to make it as non-threatening as possible. Find any signs of the past or analogies to what has been done before. Brown individuals have a saying: "Everything new is well-forgotten old." If you can present your project, product, or service in this light, you are bound to succeed.
Never say phrases like "this is an absolutely new project" or "no one has ever done this before" to such people. Even if you are promoting a completely new car or television, try to highlight other benefits besides its novelty, which you can even choose to downplay.
Try to engage in conversation about their past. Even if your interaction doesn't involve sharing personal stories, there is always a way to ask a question on this topic.
Don't rush! This applies to your speech, facial expressions, and body movements. Browns are relatively slow individuals, and they appreciate it when conversations proceed at a similar pace. Secondly, when it comes to decision-making, a Brown person needs time to think things through, sometimes multiple times, before they are ready to make a decision. So, forget about saying, "Let's quickly decide everything."
These individuals love receiving advice and recommendations, as what is recommended means it has been tested by time (the past).
Brown people are characterized by a strong sense of honesty and typically expect the same from others. Don’t forget to insert key phrases in informal conversations like "to be honest" or "honestly speaking." If a Brown person notices that you are being insincere or hiding something, they will shut down and the connection will be irretrievably lost. Do you think this is characteristic of all people? Not at all!
Brown individuals prefer round prices (i.e., prices without nines) and are very cautious about discounts: "If the item is good and has an honest price, where would the discount come from?" The ideal advertisement for Brown people would be: "Honest juice at an honest price," and likewise: "Truth, nothing but the truth."

Discussions about the characteristics of the Brown vector always ignite interest in our training sessions. Many businesspeople involved in sales, especially of high-value items (real estate, cars, etc.), recall instances from their experiences when a nearly "ready" client suddenly backed out of a purchase. These episodes often linger in memory because the individual cannot find a logical explanation for it. In our course, it becomes clear: at the most crucial moment, the Brown client was simply scared by a casually dropped phrase like "the latest."

One acquaintance, a real estate agent, spent a long time selecting the most modern apartment for a wealthy client, but the buyer rejected all offers, providing various illogical reasons. Understanding the characteristics of the Brown vector during our training, the realtor managed to satisfy the discerning client in just a few days by starting to offer entirely different options.

The fact is that rare is the Brown individual who understands their psychological characteristics (though this applies to all other vectors as well). If you can identify even minor traits indicating that your client or partner possesses "something Brown" in their character, you can offer them a solution that aligns with their unconscious desires.

The Ideal Combination

Now that you are familiar with the main traits of the Red and Brown vectors, let's discuss what a person looks like who has both of these vectors strongly developed (that is, each more than 70%).

A person adapted to both fast and slow work.
A person capable of starting tasks (generating ideas) and bringing them to completion.
A person who can see the big picture (globally) while also paying attention to the smallest details.
A person of the future and the past (in sum, a person of the present!).

This combination is the most productive of all possible combinations of the eight vectors. However, in reality, very few people gifted with these vectors fully realize their potential in life.

Many holders of this remarkable combination, unfamiliar with the theory of vectors, seem to live in two dimensions. They are constantly thrown from side to side, as two "opposite" vectors cannot express themselves brightly at the same time. Accustomed to the fast pace during the "red" periods of their lives, such a person begins to panic when they suddenly notice that the speed of their thoughts and actions has significantly decreased. They cannot realize that, during this time, the Brown vector has replaced the Red one. Instead of using the advantages of this period in their life, such as calmly completing many ongoing tasks, the individual struggles to squeeze out their last strengths just to remain at the peak of "red" productivity. This leads to the saddest consequences: professional burnout, loss of interest in work and life, psychological and physical problems..

If one vector gives way to another at some point, it simply needs to "rest," and then it will return to action and serve you as before. Even our internal organs have certain peaks of activity throughout the day; they do not operate with equal strength from morning until night and into the night. The same goes for the vectors; however, there are no specific hours of their activity (at least, they differ from person to person). Therefore, it is unnecessary to force yourself; instead, try to be attentive to your feelings and make the most of what is "at hand" at the moment.