Tom Rath

Far too often someone seeking a career or life change will pick up books like StrengthsFinder 2.0 and expect it to reveal all sorts of concrete truths, effectively wanting life's hard decisions mapped out like an instruction manual. "Just tell me what to do!" —this is the sentiment I frequently hear, and while I empathize with the frustration, it misses the point.

StrengthsFinder, and other similar self-assessments, are merely primers. Use them to connect previously unexplored parts of your show more life experience, and then use that information to discover new future possibilities. Don't expect a fortune teller, or worse, some paint-by-numbers roadmap to your next job, career, whatever. Your life is too unique to allow some test results to dictate the outcomes. To paraphrase a quote I'm fond of, "Write your own script. Don't let others write it for you." show less

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 show more 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. show less

I've got mixed feelings about personality tests, in that I love categories and systematization, and I believe the whole process is psuedoscientific bullshit of the highest order, one step removed from searching for portents in sheep entrails. Are you seriously telling me that a survey of white Americans made during WW2 contains the 16 archetypical personalities?

Can't find my good Myers-Briggs meme showing all the types as the kind of malicious person they are, so have a meme of MBTI show more Wojaks

Strengths Finders is a little more developed than the MBTI, based on the Strengths Psychology approach of Don Clifton. There are 34 qualities which a person can have, and based on answer a 200 question survey of the form "Would you rather X or Y", the test figures out how to order your strengths. Not surprisingly, I scored a bunch of intellectual and analytical traits, but I also scored very high on relationships, like because I answered that I'd rather be with a small group of friends rather in any other social situation. This may have skewed the results.

The reason why this is three stars is that for your $40 you get a short book with a brief description of each strength and how they approach different workplace situations, and a one use code to take the Gallup Strength Finder test. I "borrowed" this book from my mom, who got it as part of an executive search for a non-profit, and it was moderately interesting, but is it worth your $40? An ordinary person doesn't need this, a good manager already knows it, and a bad manager is going to ignore it. show less

Tom Rath of Gallup Poll sheds light on a very interesting topic. In his opinion (and I have to say, I wholeheartedly agree), we, as a nation, often focus on creating mediocrity instead of accentuating our strengths. From basic education to career (or work) choices he tells us we waste too much of our time trying to improve our weaknesses rather than identifying our natural strengths and building on enhancing our natural attributes.

Most agree that the key to this book is the sealed envelope show more at the back of the book. Once opened, it reveals a code allowing one user access to an online assessment. The test takes about 15 minutes. The questions are simple, but they are timed so you need to give your first, most honest response. Once this is complete a 10-15 page report will be emailed to the user that contains a clear and concise summary of your talents. Some things may be surprising, others may be validating, but it is all useful. Each talent summary includes a list of appropriate career fields to consider. Taking a good look at the overall picture can be a good start on a road map for making choices in education, training, and career paths.

I enjoyed reading the book as well, even though this is not required to take the assessment. I found it filled with very useful information. It would be fantastic if the decision makers in charge of education would read this book. I believe it could help open our eyes to revolutionizing the failing systems we currently have in place. show less