StrengthsFinder 2.0 (2007 original; edició 2007)

Well, am I really finished with this book? Can't say so.

For 99 Riyals you get a small book (expensive?), but the real thing you'll get is an access code to an online strength finder tool which will, in 30 minutes, inform you of your top 5 strengths. This is followed by what the author says is a PERSONALIZED report catered to your own self. This report tells you about your 5 strengths in detail and then provides ten actionable items (for each one) to help you capitalize on that strength and improve it.

The idea is that focusing on improving your strengths is more beneficial than worrying about your weaknesses.

This book is more of a reference book which lists the 30 strengths (4 pages each) along with the action plan for each one. This is the reason why I haven't gone through it all (no need), but I've taken time to read the intros for each strength.

I have yet to read my personalized report, but I've gone through the 4 pages for each of my 5 strengths in the book and I feel like the assessment did a really good job in finding those strengths (well maybe except one).

4 stars so far. Maybe I'll read the report and give it a 5. Looks like it deserves it. ( )

My brother loves this system and I can definitely see the appeal. However I think Rath could make more arguments in favor of this system than he does. ( )

This book was super informative. I was gifted this book at a job interview I went on recently and It really helped me learn about myself as well as the people around me. It gave a whole different positive mindset and really elaborated upon tons of different skills.

I would recommend it to anyone college and up! ( )

This glossary of personality traits builds a language to sell yourself and understand others. It's part of a motivational theory gaining traction in the corporate world: Instead of critiquing workers' faults, build on their natural talents -- and take some of the pain out of the annual employee review.

Fair warning: This book's a Trojan horse for a 20-minute online psychological test. The speed's one way it taps into your gut instincts. The book is a companion piece that interprets the Gallup Organization workplace test. Its taxonomy of traits suggests how how to harness your own strengths or deal with co-workers.

It works surprisingly well. I'm a communications strategist, but my core strengths lie beyond presentation or planning: I’m a good listener and adviser, I can organize information and see connections in data, I'm a quick study of new technology or unfamiliar terrain, I coach team members based on their individual skills, and I keep at an issue till I see results. There's a label for each of these soft skills, and a checklist of ways to capitalize on them.

I'm usually reading fiction and nonfiction simultaneously, and this book make a curious complement to Alice Munro's "Dear Life." Her characters are all at least a bit clueless. They leave things to chance or don't quite grasp their situation. Events tests their self-awareness. A pop quiz might have done them some good.

As other reviews have said: great premise, lousy execution. The idea is that our strengths are based on temperament, which does not really change much even with tremendous work, so we should focus on developing our true strengths. (This is, in my opinion, absolutely true.) And the test you take is supposed to tell you what those strengths are. This is where it gets very shaky. The 34 strengths were developed by reviewing apparently immense data from Gallup surveys from successful people, but they really could have used a lot more editing. I found there was a lot of overlap in mine and nothing really to distinguish one particular strength from another similar strength. Also, the book contains the descriptions of all the strengths, but the test code you get with the book will only give you your top five strengths, not your rating in all 34 - to get that you have to buy the super expensive version, apparently. I did find some utility in the development plan suggestions, but mostly they were things I already knew. (The utility is enough to get this 2 stars instead of 1.) On the whole, there are much better temperament sorters that will give you much better insight into your strengths and weaknesses. Such as this one: [b:Please Understand Me II: Temperament, Character, Intelligence|104190|Please Understand Me II Temperament, Character, Intelligence|David Keirsey|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348283521s/104190.jpg|100461] ( )