Why Does DiSC Have A Small "i"?

One DiSC related question I get on a regular basis is; "Why is there a small "i" DiSC? Personality behavioral profiles, tests, assessments, surveys, etc... based on the DISC model have many different names and are published by many different companies. These four quadrant D.I.S.C. based products go by such names as the DiSC Classic disc profile, personal profile system, Everything DiSC, disc test, disc assessment, disc personality profile, disc report, and DISC survey and variations of these to mention only a few. DISC has been referred to as a test, profile, assessment, survey, report, inventory, behavioral assessment, personality test, an universal language and much, much more. As you can see at times it is spelled DISC, D.I.S.C., disc and probably the most common way "DiSC". It is this last version of the profile that has caused many questions and much debate over the years around why there is a small i used. Is it that influence is less significant or less important, than the Dominance of a "D", or the Steadiness or Stability of an "S" or the Consciousness, Cautiousness or Compliance of a "C"? Well, the truth of the matter is no, that is not the case. There is no deep dark research based reason for the small "i". And no certification, advanced training or secret handshake is required to be a keeper of the secret or the "i".

Here is the story as I was told it, of how the DISC got its "i". 
Once upon a time, a long, long time ago (back in the '60's) before Inscape Publishing (the largest publisher of DISC based products and the only publisher of the DiSC profile) became Inscape Publishing, even before it was Carlson Learning Company; back when it was a company called Performax a funny thing happened. One day this small organization had placed an order for their original printing of the DISC Personal Profile System and when they got their assessment booklets back from the printer there was a typo. A small little typo. A typo the size of an "i". Yes, that is right, the printer did not capitalize the "I" in DISC. Now, since Inscape - Carlson Learning Company - Performax was capable of utilizing the best of behavioral styles, I am not speaking of the D, I, S, nor C, but rather the behavioral style of flexible/adaptive, they decided to keep the profiles and later trademark "DiSC" and make it their own . So that is how some versions of DISC got their small i. Now when you see the small i version of the DISC profile you know it either was published by Inscape Publishing, one of its ancestors, or it is in violation copyright and trademark laws.

So how can this be? How can so many different assessments and tools for personality and behavior types from multiple companies and publishers all claim to be the DISC? Well, William Marston, the originator of the DISC model never copyrighted or trademarked  the acronym of his four primary personality behavioral types or temperament model, oops.

Bases on our research all the various models of DISC are based on Marstons 1928 work. Some have added to it, some have borrowed from it. So give Marston his credit and some actually by-pass Marston and give Jung credit for the DISC model (It is true based on our research that Marston was influence by Jung, as he was my many others in his field).

And so that is how the DiSC got its "i". However, since I have first hear this story I have also heard from a highly placed source that the small "i" was internally placed in the spelling of DiSC as a slight by one developer of the initial DISC assessment to another developer or researcher. The mystery goes on, but has nothing to do with the "I" or "i" style.

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