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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
We are studying this book this year at work and I really enjoyed it.
I feel like the quiz was fairly accurate for me, so it was helpful to read about ways to strengthen those talents.
I feel like the quiz was fairly accurate for me, so it was helpful to read about ways to strengthen those talents.
I agree with the premise of this book 100%. Rath hypothesizes that instead of spending most of our time trying to improve our areas of weakness (as most of us in the U.S. public school systems learn to do), we should instead focus our energies on cultivating our areas of strength. The formula that the author uses is Talent x Investment = Strength. This is the gist of the first 28 pages.
Here comes the rub. At Page 29 you read "Parting Thoughts." This is basically where the book ends and you're pointed to a website where you must register to take a test to help you identify your strengths.
Each book contains a unique access code that can only be used by one person. Do not buy this book if you want to share it and compare what you've learned with a friend. I also thought about donating the book to my public library system since it's a hardcover copy, but I know it would be completely useless to anyone checking it out. Essentially, you're paying $24.95 to take a test, not for a book. The remaining pages of the book are merely descriptions of the 34 themes, only five of which apply to you, based on the results of the online test.
In my case, the test results seem accurate, but not revelatory. I'm not sure the action ideas are truly helpful in telling me what to do with the information about my identified strengths.
It seems like the two goals of StrengthsFinder 2.0 are to (1) collect data and (2) sell research. The author works for Gallup, so I guess I should have seen that coming.
Here comes the rub. At Page 29 you read "Parting Thoughts." This is basically where the book ends and you're pointed to a website where you must register to take a test to help you identify your strengths.
Each book contains a unique access code that can only be used by one person. Do not buy this book if you want to share it and compare what you've learned with a friend. I also thought about donating the book to my public library system since it's a hardcover copy, but I know it would be completely useless to anyone checking it out. Essentially, you're paying $24.95 to take a test, not for a book. The remaining pages of the book are merely descriptions of the 34 themes, only five of which apply to you, based on the results of the online test.
In my case, the test results seem accurate, but not revelatory. I'm not sure the action ideas are truly helpful in telling me what to do with the information about my identified strengths.
It seems like the two goals of StrengthsFinder 2.0 are to (1) collect data and (2) sell research. The author works for Gallup, so I guess I should have seen that coming.
reflective
I found this book to be fascinating, I am not sure how much I follow their methodology but I appreciated
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
informative
slow-paced
informative
medium-paced
I might have found this more useful if I'd done it with a work group instead of on my own. Some of the strengths seemed too similar while the descriptions of others were broad. For example, two of my strengths are:
Maximizer - people who are especially talented in the Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb.
Individualization - intrigued with the unique qualities of each person. They have a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together.
These seem rather similar.
I also got:
Analytical - people who are especially talented in the Analytical theme search for reasons and causes. They have the ability to think about all the factors that might affect a situation.
Deliberative - best described by the serious care they take in making decisions and choices. They anticipate the obstacles.
and finally
Relator - enjoys close relationships with others. They find deep satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a goal.
This not only seems pretty close to the first two but the description goes on to say a Relator is someone who delivers peak performances, has high expectations, is open and honest about who he/she is - which comes of as a sort of laundry list. I am not sure how that relates to enjoying close relationships with others.
There are certainly some useful points and learnings in this book. If your workplace buys it for you, great, but I wouldn't recommend spending your own money on it.
Maximizer - people who are especially talented in the Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb.
Individualization - intrigued with the unique qualities of each person. They have a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together.
These seem rather similar.
I also got:
Analytical - people who are especially talented in the Analytical theme search for reasons and causes. They have the ability to think about all the factors that might affect a situation.
Deliberative - best described by the serious care they take in making decisions and choices. They anticipate the obstacles.
and finally
Relator - enjoys close relationships with others. They find deep satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a goal.
This not only seems pretty close to the first two but the description goes on to say a Relator is someone who delivers peak performances, has high expectations, is open and honest about who he/she is - which comes of as a sort of laundry list. I am not sure how that relates to enjoying close relationships with others.
There are certainly some useful points and learnings in this book. If your workplace buys it for you, great, but I wouldn't recommend spending your own money on it.
I had to read this book and take the strengths finder quiz as part of a program I'm joining this coming spring. We were able to get our top 5 strengths and I have to say after finding out what they were, and reading about them in this book, it describes me perfectly.