Product Description

Based on a Gallup study of over two million people who have excelled in their careers, this text uses a programme to help readers discover their distinct talents and strengths. The product of 25 years research, the "StrengthFinder" programme introduces 34 talent or themes and reveals how they can best translate into personal and career success. After going through the programme, and discovering which of the 34 themes dominates their profile, readers can make practical applications for change: within their own lives, as a manager and within an organization. The book shows readers what environments they flourish best in and helps them to make changes around them, how managers can better cultivate their employee's talents, and how organizations inhibit the talents of their people and need to change.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #242848 in Books
• Published on: 2002-05-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Marcus Buckingham and Donald O Clifton's Now, Discover Your Strengths proposes a unique approach to managing personnel: focus on enhancing people's strengths rather than eliminating their weaknesses. Effectively managing personnel--as well as one's own behaviour--is an extraordinarily complex task that, not surprisingly, has been the subject of countless books touting what each claims is the true path to success. Following up on the coauthors' popular previous book, First, Break All the Rules, it fully describes 34 positive personality themes the two have formulated (such as Achiever, Developer, Learner, and Maximiser) and explains how to build a "strengths-based organisation" by capitalising on the fact that such traits are already present among those within it.

Most original and potentially most revealing, however, is a Web-based interactive component that allows readers to complete a questionnaire developed by the Gallup Organisation and instantly discover their own top five inborn talents. This device provides a personalised window into the authors' management philosophy which, coupled with subsequent advice, places their suggestions into the kind of practical context that's missing from most similar tomes. "You can't lead a strengths revolution if you don't know how to find, name and develop your own," write Buckingham and Clifton. Their book encourages such introspection while providing knowledgeable guidance for applying its lessons. --Howard Rothman

About the Author
Marcus Buckingham, senior vice president of The Gallup Organization and leader of its 15 year study, is the coauthor of the bestselling book FIRST, BREAK ALL THE RULES. He is a renowned speaker and regular guest on American television. He lives in New York but was born in England and is a graduate of Cambridge University. Donald Clifton is the Chairman Emeritus of The Gallup Organization and the current chair of the Gallup International Research and Education Center. He is the chief designer of the StrengthsFinder Profile and lives in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Customer Reviews

Transformation in the Workplace!
"Now, Discover Your Strengths" is a breath of fresh air. I can relate, as authors Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton describe in their book, to people who tend to focus on their weaknesses instead of identifying their talents and building them into strengths. Before reading this book, I used to focus on everything that I thought needed improvement instead of seeing that there were natural areas in my workplace that I excelled in. I am a loan servicer at an investment bank, and I have discovered that I am currently performing in a job that capitalizes on my strengths and my talents. My knack for organization and discipline has earned me the role of training new hires in my department. Without recognizing this talent, I may have turned down the opportunity when my supervisor suggested that I take on this responsibility. I really enjoy my work.

I've also found satisfaction with my workplace from reading books by authors Ariel & Shya Kane. Before reading their book,Working on Yourself Doesn't Work: The 3 Simple Ideas That Will Instantaneously Transform Your Life, I would complain about my job, thinking that it was just a job that paid the bills, always dreading 9:00AM on Mondays and day dreaming about 5:00PM on Fridays. My existence at my workplace was so unsatisfying that I was miserable. After reading their books, including How to Create a Magical Relationship: The 3 Simple Ideas that Will Instantaneously Transform Your Love Life: The 3 Simple Ideas That Will Instantaneously Transform Your Love Life and Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment, I have discovered that if I fully engage in the moment with my life, the mundane tasks in life become magical. Magical - as in fun, easy, and satisfying. Not only have I found that I have unique strengths by reading "Now, Discover Your Strengths", I have found a life of ease in my workplace, by reading the award winning books by Ariel & Shya Kane.

A point well taken, but...
The idea of the book is to help you find your talents, build your strengths, which will in turn, improve your performance.

Building your strengths is indeed somthing that is often overlooked, as most of the time we seek to improve our weaknesses- that's a point well taken- and a good reason to buy the book. However two more things also need to be mentioned. First, why can't we work on building both our strengths AND our weaknesses? In other words, why do we have to necessarily pick just one? I feel that many weaknesses can be improved upon.

Secondly, discovering your talents and doing what you're good at may not necessarily improve your performance. Why? Because there are lots of things we're good at, but still hate to do nonetheless. For instance, I'm really good at cleaning houses and debating, but I don't like to really do either one. People really perform well when its something that they know how to do AND when there's something meaningful/important in it for them. Anyway, just some food for thought. Readers may also be interested in The Sixty-Second Motivator.

It does what it says on the label!
I rate management and leadership books/tapes by the kind of impact that they have had on my life. This one has had a 5 star impact.

'Now, Discover Your Strengths' does what it says on the label. It helps to clarify the strengths that we possess (your could call them gifts, talents, natural abilities), and encourages you to focus on them and use them to benefit others. As we focus on our strengths we gain greater personal fulfilment and have a greater positive impact on the world around us....

The book and tape have helped to clarify my strengths, and helped me to sell myself at an interview during a recent career change. The book gave me a framework or language to be able to 'sell myself'. I've got the job, and my employers have not been disappointed.

I've bought several copies for friends and they too rate the book/tape highly.