Now, Discover Your Strengths

by Marcus Buckingham, Donald O. Clifton

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849 ratings, 3.78 average rating, 168 reviews (more data...)

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2		6%
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published

January 29th 2001 by Free Press

binding

Hardcover, 272 pages

isbn

0743201140 (isbn13: 9780743201148)

description

Effectively managing personnel--as well as one's own behavior--is an extraordinarily complex task that, not surprisingly, has been the subject of coun...more

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08/04/07

Melissa rated it:

Read in August, 2007

My supervisor mentioned this book to me so I started reading it. It also includes a website that you visit to take a strengths finder test which is suppose to help you excel at your job (and for this reason, you should buy the book new so you have the code to use). The idea is rather than focusing on trying to improve your weaknesses, you focus on improving your strengths, resulting in a near perfect performance anytime. I would recommend this book to anyone that wants to learn more about thei...more

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12/31/08

Judith rated it:

Read in December, 2008

Buckingham is into you finding your best self. Instead of concentrating on your faults and trying to repair them he wants you to see your talents.
The problem is to actually find your real talents you have to take a test on line. You do it by getting a code from the back cover of the book and enter it into the correct place in his site. I got the book from the library and was all excited to do the test until I got to the place to put in the code and found someone (of course) already used...more

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12/31/08

Ginger rated it:

Read in March, 2008

My strengths, which at first, 1-2 didn't make sense to me, but gradually I saw how they rule my life in every way. My entire family did this b-c my sister gave us all the books and it made for great holiday discussions and greater understanding and appreciation for our unique strengths. I also bought the books for all my co-workers and we had a discussion date to understand what each of us brings to our workplace and how we could better position ourselves to utilize our strengths. Every perso...more

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12/26/08

Kim rated it:

Read in December, 2008

We had to read this or some such book like it for work. I found it rather hooky. It is funny to me that one of my strengths is "community", but it starts the definition with "You believe that things happen for a reason. You're sure of it". NOT!!! I absolutely disagree 100% with that theory. I believe crap happens because we are no longer in the garden of eden, but that God will help us through difficult times. God does not make difficult times happen to us for a reason. I jus...more

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08/20/08

fbuser1389080319 rated it:

had to read for work
my top 5 strengths are:Empathy - Individualization - Achiever - Responsibility - Discipline

Empathy
You can sense the emotions of those around you. You can feel what they are feeling as though their feelings are your own. Intuitively, you are able to see the world through their eyes and share their perspective. You do not necessarily agree with each person’s perspective. You do not necessarily feel pity for each person’s predicament—this would be s...more had to read for work
my top 5 strengths are:Empathy - Individualization - Achiever - Responsibility - Discipline

Empathy
You can sense the emotions of those around you. You can feel what they are feeling as though their feelings are your own. Intuitively, you are able to see the world through their eyes and share their perspective. You do not necessarily agree with each person’s perspective. You do not necessarily feel pity for each person’s predicament—this would be sympathy, not Empathy. You do not necessarily condone the choices each person makes, but you do understand. This instinctive ability to understand is powerful. You hear the unvoiced questions. You anticipate the need. Where others grapple for words, you seem to find the right words and the right tone. You help people find the right phrases to express their feelings—to themselves as well as to others. You help them give voice to their emotional life. For all these reasons other people are drawn to you.
Individualization
Your Individualization theme leads you to be intrigued by the unique qualities of each person. You are impatient with generalizations or “types” because you don’t want to obscure what is special and distinct about each person. Instead, you focus on the differences between individuals. You instinctively observe each person’s style, each person’s motivation, how each thinks, and how each builds relationships. You hear the one-of-a-kind stories in each person’s life. This theme explains why you pick your friends just the right birthday gift, why you know that one person prefers praise in public and another detests it, and why you tailor your teaching style to accommodate one person’s need to be shown and another’s desire to “figure it out as I go.” Because you are such a keen observer of other people’s strengths, you can draw out the best in each person. This Individualization theme also helps you build productive teams. While some search around for the perfect team “structure” or “process,” you know instinctively that the secret to great teams is casting by individual strengths so that everyone can do a lot of what they do well.
Achiever
Your Achiever theme helps explain your drive. Achiever describes a constant need for achievement. You feel as if every day starts at zero. By the end of the day you must achieve something tangible in order to feel good about yourself. And by “every day” you mean every single day—workdays, weekends, vacations. No matter how much you may feel you deserve a day of rest, if the day passes without some form of achievement, no matter how small, you will feel dissatisfied. You have an internal fire burning inside you. It pushes you to do more, to achieve more. After each accomplishment is reached, the fire dwindles for a moment, but very soon it rekindles itself, forcing you toward the next accomplishment. Your relentless need for achievement might not be logical. It might not even be focused. But it will always be with you. As an Achiever you must learn to live with this whisper of discontent. It does have its benefits. It brings you the energy you need to work long hours without burning out. It is the jolt you can always count on to get you started on new tasks, new challenges. It is the power supply that causes you to set the pace and define the levels of productivity for your work group. It is the theme that keeps you moving.
Responsibility
Your Responsibility theme forces you to take psychological ownership for anything you commit to, and whether large or small, you feel emotionally bound to follow it through to completion. Your good name depends on it. If for some reason you cannot deliver, you automatically start to look for ways to make it up to the other person. Apologies are not enough. Excuses and rationalizations are totally unacceptable. You will not quite be able to live with yourself until you have made restitution. This conscientiousness, this near obsession for doing things right, and your impeccable ethics, combine to create your reputation: utterly dependable. When assigning new responsibilities, people will look to you first because they know it will get done. When people come to you for help—and they soon will—you must be selective. Your willingness to volunteer may sometimes lead you to take on more than you should.
Discipline
Your world needs to be predictable. It needs to be ordered and planned. So you instinctively impose structure on your world. You set up routines. You focus on timelines and deadlines. You break long-term projects into a series of specific short-term plans, and you work through each plan diligently. You are not necessarily neat and clean, but you do need precision. Faced with the inherent messiness of life, you want to feel in control. The routines, the timelines, the structure, all of these help create this feeling of control. Lacking this theme of Discipline, others may sometimes resent your need for order, but there need not be conflict. You must understand that not everyone feels your urge for predictability; they have other ways of getting things done. Likewise, you can help them understand and even appreciate your need for structure. Your dislike of surprises, your impatience with errors, your routines, and your detail orientation don’t need to be misinterpreted as controlling behaviors that box people in. Rather, these behaviors can be understood as your instinctive method for maintaining your progress and your productivity in the face of life’s many distractions.
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08/04/08

Bob Selden rated it:

There were many things I liked about this book and some that I found difficult. Buckingham’s theme of focusing on one’s strengths rather than weaknesses (as so many development programs and activities do) is an excellent one. He also provides a very good strategy for doing this:
1. How to distinguish your natural talents
2. Having a system to identify your dominant talents
3. Having a common language to describe your talents.

Let’s start with the first – “t...more There were many things I liked about this book and some that I found difficult. Buckingham’s theme of focusing on one’s strengths rather than weaknesses (as so many development programs and activities do) is an excellent one. He also provides a very good strategy for doing this:
1. How to distinguish your natural talents
2. Having a system to identify your dominant talents
3. Having a common language to describe your talents.

Let’s start with the first – “talents”. In talents, Buckingham distinguishes between what is innate and what can be acquired through practice. He categorises one’s expertise into talents, knowledge and skills and makes the quite valid point that a person can improve performance in an area through practice and developing knowledge and skills. However, the extent to which overall performance (or expertise) can be enhanced is limited to the degree of innate talent. I liken this innate talent to aptitude.

The system to identify one’s natural talents is based on the StrengthsFinder Profile. This profile is completed on line using a code provided with the purchase of the book. When I tried to log in using my code I was told that I had to register at one of these sites:
• StrengthsQuest
• Vital Friends
• StrengthsExplorer
• Bucket Book
• Gallup Online

As I object to having to do this, it is probably unfair of me to comment on this aspect of the book other than to say that I think the idea of a system such as a questionnaire to identify one’s talents is a good one.

The final aspect a “common language” is fully outlined in the 34 themes of StrengthsFinder. Two points I would make about these. Firstly, from the text I think it would be hard to identify in others these 34 patterns in others. I also found the description of these to be a little light on.

On balance, this book is worthy of note for its emphasis on strengths and in awakening us to the notion of “natural talents” – worthy of a read for this point. Choose yourself whether you want to take the test.
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07/02/08

Erin rated it:

Read in July, 2008

This was recommended by trainers in our Human Resources dept. It was really interesting, and a different take on figuring out where you fit in your career--are you in the right role, and the right organization? I've done many personality tests (and know my Myers Briggs score like the back of my hand...ISFJ if you're interested), but personality testing is based on opposite ends of the spectrum--if you're extroverted, you can't be introverted, if you're good with machines, you can't be good wit...more

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04/15/09

Hoffmaje rated it:

Read in March, 2009

Loved taking the StrengthsFinder inventory--balked at my results a bit at first, but realized upon reflection that it is pretty accurate. Loved the suggestions for a Strengths-based work place--very idealistic though. Boy, could things be different. What if we applied these principles in education, as well--letting kids work toward their strengths and not forcing them to do things that they will never excel at? Wow; what a world this could be!

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09/01/08

Lora rated it:

bookshelves: nonfiction, not-kid-books

Read in December, 2008

I enjoyed this book. I read it with my boss and we had a mini book club with it. There were parts that weren't completely relevant for me at my currently position in life (I'm not a manager and I don't work high up in a large organization). However, I think that over time I will find this book to be very helpful if I ever become a manager. It's a tool that I will keep with me. Personally, I've found it more enlightening than my graduate level management course I'm taking.

A large...more

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12/04/08

JD rated it:

bookshelves: non-fiction

We read this as a team in the Ops Department, and I really like the author's view of how to work together, maximizing our strengths, as well as having a better context to view your interactions with team members. Also thought the results of the test to determine your strengths was very accurate, both for me and others in the group.

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06/26/09

Jeff rated it:

Read in October, 2008

way cool! light reading, but includes an online test code (if you buy it new) that will help you understand yourself by helping you identify your most prominent characteristics/tendencies so you can use them to work and live better. i recommend it! i'm:
1) connectedness
2) intellection
3) input
4) learner
5) strategic

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02/05/09

Erin rated it:

bookshelves: business

Read in January, 2009

The best part about this book was taking the online StrengthsFinder and learning my own strengths. Basic premise of the book is that there is too much focus on trying to improve one's weaknesses. Instead, understand the strengths of each individual and manage to those strengths.

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08/03/07

Bernard rated it:

bookshelves: non-fiction

Read in August, 2007

A revolutionary way to think about yourself. Distinguish between your knowledge and skills (things you can acquire) from natural strengths or "signature themes" (things you are hardwired to do extremely well). This book was extremely eye-opening for me. I came to a much greater understanding of who I am and what I offer as a person - as a spouse, father, employee, manager, etc. This will touch on all aspects of your life, if you think of yourself holistically in terms of your stren...more

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01/31/09

Paul rated it:

bookshelves: business

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in September, 2007

I read this book in conjunction with a personality test that I took at work. The purpose is to identify your top 5 strengths and help you to further develop them. I really liked the exercise and learned some interesting things about myself.

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01/11/09

Chris rated it:

bookshelves: 2006

Read in January, 2006

Not only did this book affirm my strengths, it also jump started my quest to discover other's unique abilities. Buckingham and the team at Gallop have done some great work. Their categories seem to hold, and I appreciate the many examples.

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07/12/08

Kathryn rated it:

This book literally changed my life. Over the years I've taken a number of personality inventories, aptitude tests, etc., and I thought I understood my talents and abilities reasonably well. But when I took the StrengthsFinder test included in this book, I discovered a talent in myself that I had no idea was a talent--in fact, if anything, I had seen it as a weakness.

Coming to understand this talent has allowed me to take steps to develop it both in my career and in my personal life....more

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03/03/09

Raushawna rated it:

Read in October, 2008

I listened to this on a tape and it was good. It was easy to follow and gave you practical things to work on. The strength finder software is a tool to learn more about who you are as a leader.

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10/04/07

Beem rated it:

bookshelves: finish

Read in September, 2007

recommends it for: Everyone who seek for more happiness in life

Wow, this book is cool that it makes me live hopefully again. I always recommend this book to every friend or anyone who feels that they have dead-like living. It makes me understand more about the nature and individual capacity of a human. You're born differently and why you need to walk on the same pattern of life. People are different. You need to find your uniques, accept and make it to be your strengths to lead your life successfully.

This book provide you a worldwide proved test...more

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12/28/07

lilly rated it:

Read in November, 2006

recommends it for: self-improvers

I read this book for a work training thing. I really appreciated the basic takeaway of this book, which is that instead of stressing out about improving on your weaknesses, you should figure out your strengths, put yourself in a position to apply that strength as much as possible, and partner with those who have different strengths to, um, cover your ass on stuff you suck at. This is one of those books you can skim half of really quickly and get the total message. Pay for the book not for the pa...more

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11/07/07

Howard added it (review of other edition)

Very valuable for discovering strengths - talents we have that we gain energy from. It's a subtlety many people overlook in considering what kind of work they should pursue - we've been told to consider "fields", i.e.
Artist
Academic
Brewing
Coffee Shop
etc. etc.
Which is how people find they have been an Architect or Tug Boat Hand for twelve years and are finding the work really unfulfilling. The "Strengths" movement gives you insights into th...more

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"In Martin Seligman's words, 'Psychology is half-baked, literally half-baked. We have baked the part about mental illness. We have baked the part about repair and damage. But the other side is unbaked. The side of strengths, the side of what we are good at, the side…of what makes life worth living.'" More quotes...