History of The TRACOM Group

In 1964, Dr. David W. Merrill, an industrial psychologist and university professor, began researching predictors of success in selling and management careers. Through his empirical studies, Merrill found that people tend to display consistent, observable behaviors, and that others consistently agree on words to describe each behavior. This work became the foundation of the Social Style Model™, and the beginning of The TRACOM Group.

The original Social Style(sm) profiling instrument was a list of adjectives developed from an initial pool of more than 2,300 words. Study of these words revealed adjective clusters that measured dimensions of human behavior. Through extensive reliability analyses, a total of 150 adjectives measuring three scales were finalized and labeled Assertiveness, Responsiveness and Versatility. By combining the two dimensions of assertiveness and responsiveness, four patterns of behavior, or Social Styles, were identified: Analytical, Driving, Expressive and Amiable.

Since its creation, millions of satisfied participants have used the Social Style Model and associated courses and instruments to improve workplace performance. TRACOM has furthered enhanced interpersonal and team development training with the introduction of instruments such as the Tri-Dimensional Model Of Team Development™. TRACOM continually updates its product suite based on current research and customer experiences. With a proven record of success, TRACOM continues to be a provider of choice among individuals and organizations looking to improve interpersonal effectiveness and productivity.