Now, Discover Your Strengths :: Education by Design Store

Editorial Review
Unfortunately, most of us have little sense of our talents and strengths, much less the ability to build our lives around them. Instead, guided by our parents, by our teachers, by our managers, and by psychology's fascination with pathology, we become experts in our weaknesses and spend our lives trying to repair these flaws, while our strengths lie dormant and neglected.

Marcus Buckingham, coauthor of the national bestseller First, Break All the Rules, and Donald O. Clifton, Chair of the Gallup International Research & Education Center, have created a revolutionary program to help readers identify their talents, build them into strengths, and enjoy consistent, near-perfect performance. At the heart of the book is the Internet-based StrengthsFinder® Profile, the product of a 25-year, multimillion-dollar effort to identify the most prevalent human strengths. The program introduces 34 dominant "themes" with thousands of possible combinations, and reveals how they can best be translated into personal and career success. In developing this program, Gallup has conducted psychological profiles with more than two million individuals to help readers learn how to focus and perfect these themes.

So how does it work? This book contains a unique identification number that allows you access to the StrengthsFinder Profile on the Internet. This Web-based interview analyzes your instinctive reactions and immediately presents you with your five most powerful signature themes. Once you know which of the 34 themes -- such as Achiever, Activator, Empathy, Futuristic, or Strategic -- you lead with, the book will show you how to leverage them for powerful results at three levels: for your own development, for your success as a manager, and for the success of your organization.

Customer Reviews

Management tool

2008-09-08
Probably the best management and personnel development tool around! Four staff members were each given a copy to read and to follow the instructions for getting an analysis. Each was asked to bring the analysis for their annual job review. They expected the typical "this is good and that is bad" comments but found that when they reviewed their positive traits they were asked "how can you apply that in your job?" Ar real morale and performance builder.

Maybe the book would be good if you could access the strength finder web site

2008-08-30
I think the subject of the book is good, however a big part of dicovering your strengths is taking the on line strength finder quiz. Unfortunatley for me the code provided on the inside of the jacket is either invalid or has been used by someone already.
So as I read this book I will be left to wonder "what are my strengths..."

A Look in the Mirror

2008-08-23
[As a corporate human resources director, I often work on developing the latent talents and skills of various managers. Years ago, I taught a class where I had each participant to look into a hand-held mirror and ask the question, "Would you want to work for this person?"

This book takes this exercise to a completely different level. To discover your own inner strengths (and weakness) ensures that you will become the very best manager possible. As a fan of First, Break All the Rules, I was very satisfied that this follow-up was as timely and useful as the first book. I highly recommend you purchase a copy of this book for yourself and for all of your managers. Michael L. Gooch, SPHR Author of
[ASIN:1897326882 Wingtips with Spurs]]

Pass on this book NOW

2008-08-18
Nice concept that could have been handled with a 10 page paper. Clearly authors had to have some volume to prove value so they drone on and on and on. Very tedious reading. Then at every turn they continue to try to sell other products or services. The major killer is having an online exam to evalute your strengths; however, the code is only good once - so DON'T buy a used book as your code will be invalid. If the exam is a work related exercise, you'll be forced to buy a new book just for the code. Also, DON'T let your spouse read the book. If you do, they'll want to take the exam and suprise suprise, you would need another new book just to take the test.

The good and the bad

2008-08-16
The book is very interesting and very effective. The internet test is very accurate. Nevertheless each strength profile should be discussed more in depth. Let's say you get an idea of who you are but you would like to get more of it. Anyway, the price is worth the stuff you find in the book!

Strengths review

2008-08-13
Unfortunately, most of us have little sense of our talents and strengths, much less the ability to build our lives around them. Instead, guided by our parents, by our teachers, by our managers, and by psychology's fascination with pathology, we become experts in our weaknesses and spend our lives trying to repair these flaws, while our strengths lie dormant and neglected.

With accessible and profound insights on how to turn talents into strengths, and with the immediate on-line feedback of StrengthsFinder at its core, Now, Discover Your Strengths is one of the most groundbreaking and useful business books ever written.

Don't Buy Used 2008-08-12
The information in the book is very helpful but do not buy the book used if you want to take full advantage of what it has to offer. A majority of the book is centered around the results of their online strength finder accessed with a code in the book jacket that can only be used once.

Strengths Finder test not useful 2008-07-15
I have read the book and taken the test. While the concept is sound (focus and develop your strengths, do only damage control on your weaknesses), the test does not reveal anything that could be applicable to my work. Many of the 180 questions are just simply asking you where your strengths are and then telling you the same thing in the result. The applicability of the result is very low. 3 out of 5 of my strenght mean that I like to think, the 4th means that I feel everything is connected (how is that a strenght?) and the 5th is that I like to collect things (ideas, stuff). I don't feel this book and especially the test is worth the money nor the time. On the other hand I would be genuinely interested in hearing from someone who found the test useful in his/her life.

buy new only!! 2008-06-22
This is a wonderful book, but you have to buy it new! There's a code on the inside for the strengths quiz, and you cannot reuse the code. I had to buy StrengthsFinder 2.0--the new version--in order to get the quiz without repurchansing the same exact book twice.

It would have been nice to know this....

All Managers Should read this book 2008-06-16
This book goes along with StrengthFinders by Rath. I enjoyed this book. I agree focusing on an employees strengths are key. In the book, Elephants Can't Change but Leopards can!!! it talks about the Now, Discover your Strengths book and how it can be implemented by Management.