Product Description

Based on a Gallup study of over two million people who have excelled in their careers, NOW, DISCOVER YOUR STRENGTHS uses a revolutionary programme to help readers discover their distinct talents and strengths. The product of a twenty-five year, multi-million pound effort to identify the most prevalent human talents, the StrengthsFinder programme introduces thirty-four talents or 'themes' and reveals how they can best be translated into personal and career success. Each copy of the book contains a unique password that gives the reader access to the StrengthsFinder Profile, a Web-based interview that analyses people's instinctive reactions and immediately presents them with their five most dominant strengths. Once readers know which of the thirty-four talent themes dominates their personality, they can make practical applications at three levels: as an individual, as a manager and within an organisation. Readers learn what kind of environments will allow them to flourish; how managers can better cultivate their employers' talents; and how almost all organisations inhibit the talents of their people and need to change.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1214 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-20
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 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

Synopsis
Based on a Gallup study of over two million people who have excelled in their careers, NOW, DISCOVER YOUR STRENGTHS uses a revolutionary programme to help readers discover their distinct talents and strengths. The product of a twenty-five year, multi-million pound effort to identify the most prevalent human talents, the StrengthsFinder programme introduces thirty-four talents or 'themes' and reveals how they can best be translated into personal and career success. Each copy of the book contains a unique password that gives the reader access to the StrengthsFinder Profile, a Web-based interview that analyses people's instinctive reactions and immediately presents them with their five most dominant strengths. Once readers know which of the thirty-four talent themes dominates their personality, they can make practical applications at three levels: as an individual, as a manager and within an organisation. Readers learn what kind of environments will allow them to flourish; how managers can better cultivate their employers' talents; and how almost all organisations inhibit the talents of their people and need to change.

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

Revealing, easy read and a good on-line assessment
This is a quick read and his other books are too. Which is a compliment.

Easy to relate to and apply.

I have used the on-line assessments for both myself and employees, and for me I have found them pretty accurate! Today I am buying yet ano book ~ the on-line assessment is foc when you buy the book ~ and I'll be using the assessment next week when looking at a prospective hire.

I have combined some of the concepts in this book when interviewing (I run a recruitment business) with others previously established and found it can support a good match & vice versa help identify ones which are not.

It would be good if an easy read on emotional intelligence in the context of the workplace were available ~ I havent found one yet. If authors see this, please understand small text sizes in books are really hard work ~ this book (Now, Discover your strengths) isnt I'm just making the point.

The Good is the enemy of the best.
Main idea: Most organizations hold on tenaciously to two fallacies (1) That anyone in the organization can be trained to do any task, and (2) That the greatest room for potential growth for any individual is in his area of greatest weakness. This book turns these on their head by stating (and proving) the opposite is true: (1) That training across the organization ultimately needs to focus on specialty areas of diverse contribution, and (2) That the greatest room for potential growth for any individual is in his area of greatest strength. In other words, let's let Tiger Woods play golf and Pavorotti sing. This should resonate with Paul's advice on spiritual gifts....

Intriguing
This book challenges traditional thinking - advising that it is better to concentrate on building on strengths than addressing weaknesses - great idea, logically promoted. This book will be the foundation for huge change in my team. A must read from an Englishman!