An interesting book my boss bought me.
This whole strengths-based approach to self improvement is definitely worth investigating. Nevertheless, there is a bit of a problem with "focusing on your strengths and seeking help / avoiding your weaknesses". This book does not help you find your weaknesses, so how will you know what to seek help for? Maybe the author intends for the reader to have already identified their weaknesses, but I still need more help finding mine.
There is another problem: The book only gives your Top 5 strengths. This is largely insufficient. It ignores that fact that you may be in the top percentile for 100s of intelligences compared to your peers. As such, I would have liked to have known all that information. For example, assume that your Top 10 intelligences are all very close in number but your real passions are strengths 6-10. You will miss out by only having a subset of the information. The approach the book takes ignores that we are competing with other agents (people). After reading, I am left with more questions than answers.

Post script: Ignore all the online materials. They are not extra reading, only digital versions of the book. ( )

1.5 stars

Short version: Don't bother. Instead, go check out the MBTI, which is far more accurate and comprehensive. www.16personalities.com is my favorite website, and the test is free and takes less than 15 minutes to complete!

Longer version: I managed to find this book at a garage sale (with an intact code!) for only $1, so I snatched it up. (The regular price of nearly $30 is ridiculous, and even the online-only version is $15.)

I read the book before taking the test, and recognized a few "strengths" as my own. Then I took the test online, mostly to get the promised report explaining how my top-5 strengths work together.

For those who may not know, test-takers are given only 20 seconds to answer each question, to encourage them to go with their gut instincts and not over-think things. They say it takes about 35 minutes to complete the test. I finished it in 20 minutes, because I was feeling the pressure to answer quickly. (There was no timer, and I didn't want to leave answers blank, since I felt that would lead to a less-accurate result.)

However, my results were so grossly inaccurate that I just can't recommend this test. In addition, the report showing how each strength works together didn't really deliver what the book promised. It just explained each trait individually, repeating all the information in the book and other reports.

Also, while I enjoyed reading the brief profiles of real individuals with any given strength, the book stated that there was a wide range of people and professions represented. I was disappointed to see that many people had repeat opportunities. This especially doesn't make sense when you consider that their combination of strengths is influencing their opinions/experiences, and not just the one strength being described in that chapter.

I love the idea of strengths-based living, but this book just doesn't work. There were a couple of good tidbits here and there, but nothing I haven't seen elsewhere. The MBTI is just better, all-around. I'm so glad I only spent $1 on this. I do not recommend it to anyone. ( )

I read this books as part of a reading group at work. It is a mediocre book with highly valuable information if you are willing to dig through the business speak and find it. As such, reading it in a group worked well. At our meetings, we were able to weed out the valuable information.

The theme of this book is that people do best when they focus on their strengths. This flies in the face of much popular wisdom which says that you should work to improve in your weakest areas. Instead, the authors of this book are of the opinion that focusing on your weaknesses will, at best, bring you up to mediocre. Focusing on those areas where you have natural talent and passion will bring success. They say that successful teams are balanced, but successful individuals invest in developing their unique talents.

Strengths Finder 2.0 has the word "strength" in the title, but it is actually about talent themes. A strength is what you get when you combine a talent theme with certain skills and knowledge. Strengths change over the years but talent themes tend to be fairly stable. The book has a brief introductory section followed by a catalog of talent themes. The catalog describes the talent themes.

To help you determine your talent themes, this book comes with a one time use code (i.e., never buy these books used) which gives you access to an online quiz which determines your strengths. Unlike some personality tests, this one is based off of years worth of research by Gallup. The result of the quiz is your type five talent themes. If you want to know how the other 29 talent themes rank, you have to pay Gallup a whole lot of money. Annoying.

Each talent theme is highly specific and actionable. This list of the short descriptions gives some idea of their specificity, but the descriptions in the book have more information that make it clear that some talent themes fit you well and others are terrible (even though you might want to have it). My top five talent themes are, in order, Input, Intellection, Learner, Harmony, and Responsibility.

Like any program, the real value is proportional to the amount of time you are willing to put into it. The answers the books give you are just a start. I found my talent themes to be valuable starting points in figuring out how I could really apply my strengths to my job. ( )

Well, am I really finished with this book? Can't say so.

For 99 Riyals you get a small book (expensive?), but the real thing you'll get is an access code to an online strength finder tool which will, in 30 minutes, inform you of your top 5 strengths. This is followed by what the author says is a PERSONALIZED report catered to your own self. This report tells you about your 5 strengths in detail and then provides ten actionable items (for each one) to help you capitalize on that strength and improve it.

The idea is that focusing on improving your strengths is more beneficial than worrying about your weaknesses.

This book is more of a reference book which lists the 30 strengths (4 pages each) along with the action plan for each one. This is the reason why I haven't gone through it all (no need), but I've taken time to read the intros for each strength.

I have yet to read my personalized report, but I've gone through the 4 pages for each of my 5 strengths in the book and I feel like the assessment did a really good job in finding those strengths (well maybe except one).

4 stars so far. Maybe I'll read the report and give it a 5. Looks like it deserves it. ( )

My brother loves this system and I can definitely see the appeal. However I think Rath could make more arguments in favor of this system than he does. ( )

This book was super informative. I was gifted this book at a job interview I went on recently and It really helped me learn about myself as well as the people around me. It gave a whole different positive mindset and really elaborated upon tons of different skills.

I would recommend it to anyone college and up! ( )

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 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.

As other reviews have said: great premise, lousy execution. The idea is that our strengths are based on temperament, which does not really change much even with tremendous work, so we should focus on developing our true strengths. (This is, in my opinion, absolutely true.) And the test you take is supposed to tell you what those strengths are. This is where it gets very shaky. The 34 strengths were developed by reviewing apparently immense data from Gallup surveys from successful people, but they really could have used a lot more editing. I found there was a lot of overlap in mine and nothing really to distinguish one particular strength from another similar strength. Also, the book contains the descriptions of all the strengths, but the test code you get with the book will only give you your top five strengths, not your rating in all 34 - to get that you have to buy the super expensive version, apparently. I did find some utility in the development plan suggestions, but mostly they were things I already knew. (The utility is enough to get this 2 stars instead of 1.) On the whole, there are much better temperament sorters that will give you much better insight into your strengths and weaknesses. Such as this one: [b:Please Understand Me II: Temperament, Character, Intelligence|104190|Please Understand Me II Temperament, Character, Intelligence|David Keirsey|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348283521s/104190.jpg|100461] ( )

Assigned to my students.

Strengths Finder is helpful. Specifically, the descriptions of the talents (aka strengths) were insightful, which is why I gave the book 3 stars.

If you purchase the book, in the back there's a code to redeem an online test that corresponds to the book. If you get the book at a library or borrow it from a friend, you'll have to purchase the code ($15) to take the online test.

However, a number of things were frustrating.
1) The online test seemed to focus on selling you things, often more than you wanted to buy. I only spent the $15, which I felt was a little more than it was worth. It consists of 171 questions that must be answered within 20 seconds. Each question paired two statements which may or may not have any relation to one another. And you have to choose which of the two fits you better. I thought the results were helpful but I have my doubts about 2 of the 5 strengths they outlined. And others I've talked to felt the same way. In other words, the testing format is frustrating and could be more accurate.
2) I was annoyed that they only gave information about your top 5. No doubt the 6th or 7th highest strengths would be notable, especially considering they may have gotten the top 5 wrong. But there was no way to gain any further information without, of course, spending more money.
3) Lastly, the follow-up information about those strengths was underwhelming. The book is short. Each strength included a half page, single paragraph description, followed by three quotes by others with the same strength. They then included about 10 action ideas for how you might develop or practice that strength (the best part of each section), and then end was three short suggestions for working with others who had that strength. The online resources were a regurgitation of the book -
really nothing added online. The videos were sad - formatted too big and lagged in loading. Overall, the feedback was disappointing.

The book is written mostly to aid in learning about group dynamics and seemed geared toward the business community - no doubt they've made a ton of money selling it to the corporate world. But it's marketed to individual self-exploration and discovery. And there's little doubt that when we take the test, our results are mostly a projection of how we already see ourselves. If I were to do it again, I'd borrow the book from the library, read the description of all the strengths, and pick out the top 10-ish I felt most described me. Then I would discuss those with friends who knew me well.

As we (in the US) grow in expecting instant gratification and individual expression, they sell it well. But I found more insight and help reading on the Enneagram and the Big 5 personality tests, which you can do for free. Here a great link for a free Enneagram test: https://www.eclecticenergies.com/enneagram/test.php

Blessings! ( )

This book was required reading for a Strengths Finder class I took at work. I was actually surprised after doing the survey how much was revealed about my strengths. My top 5 strengths are: Input (I collect - knowledge and stuff), Intellection (I think about stuff), Learner (I learn from all this stuff I've collected and thought about), Analytical (well, duh, that was a no brainer Ms. Number Balancer/Data Reconciler) and Consistency (wanting everything to be FAIR).

In the class, we of course compared strengths. Learned about how people work together. The end result was that we should look for a job that plays to our strengths, not necessarily waste a lot of time trying to improve our weaknesses.

When I think of new career paths, I play around with reptile pet sitter or hazmat crime scene cleaner. I will probably continue analyzing with the financial realm, though. We'll see. ( )

Recommend for everyone, who really wants to know what you are. This is a great tool for self-assessment. Furthermore, it also recommends what you do to fully bring the best out of your potential. FYI. Facebook is applying this one. See below:

Facebook hires smart people independent of available job openings. After hiring someone it likes, engineer or business operative, Facebook will ID this person's talents with something called the Clifton StrengthsFinder, and then create a job using that information.

Read more: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-03-28/tech/31243173_1_mark-zuckerberg-s... ( )

I'm a Strategic, Learner, Intellection, Input, Responsibility ( )

Develop your strengths. I agree, I'm old enough now that my weaknesses are hard to overcome by shear willpower. I like how this book has a ton of action items. Doing them is really rewarding ( )

I picked up this book because a group at work was discussing their strengths, and I wanted to take the survey to devote some thought to how I might work with them better. Don Clifton, a workplace psychologist, identified these 34 atomized strengths and developed a questionnaire to help individuals find their personal preferred strengths. Among the 34 are themes like Belief, Communication, Significance, Responsibility, Woo, and Context.

First, some important financial advice. If you choose to buy this book, ensure that you are getting an access code to take the online survey from Gallup. You will usually only get this key with a new book. If you buy a used copy, you likely will have to shell out more money to access the survey. The survey is like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test and outputs which of the 34 strengths you most identify with. The value of the exercise lies mainly in the survey, but if you take the survey, you might as well learn the science behind it in order to leverage your new-found self-knowledge.

Like any good work of psychology, the book will teach you more about yourself and about the people around you. By directing your thoughts to the human side of work, it will help you acknowledge your go-to reactions and work with the personalities of your co-workers. Especially when perusing themes that I’m not strong at, I thought of individual co-workers that were strong at that trait. That’s the point of this book – to bring to conscious thought how to make use of yourself and the people around you.

People often complain that psychological works like this are elementary and obvious. But their elegant simplicity are meant to center your disparate thoughts onto topics more important to the flow of life. Yes, this book may be a quick read, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that its proper audience consists only of youth. We all can learn to better harness our personal strengths and the strengths of those around us. ( )

Gave me some interesting things to think about. The book is about focusing on building your strengths into talents, as opposed to the way most self help books focus on how to fix your weaknesses. You're mostly buying the book in order to get an access code to take the online evaluation and get your 5 top strengths. I didn't give it a higher rating because I really wanted it to give me a lot more information about the types. I also wanted more from the online thing -- I wanted to know where I scored on all the types, not just my top 5. I can see why they do that, they want you to focus on those strengths, and there's certainly plenty to do there. But still. I want to know more. :) ( )

The concept of this book is good - talent multiplied by invested time improving that time will eventually equal a personal strength - something you're known for being great at. This book comes with a single-use access code to take the online assessment - so it's practically useless from your library (where I got my copy). ( )

This book is an excellent guide after finishing the Strengths Finder test (free for those who buy the book new). After this book and identifying my strengths, I am working on an action plan to leverage my strengths and maximise them. ( )

so as a book it was just ok; will update maybe after I take the assement ( )

The book itself is disappointing. It's 90% synopses of the different strengths you may posses. The big value in this system is the test. Then look up the tips for your strengths and move on. There are tips for dealing with folks of other strengths, but you'll probably forget the advice before you can use it. I think the book is worth purchasing for the test. I truly believe understanding how to leverage your strengths could be life-changing. But I expected more decoding on what my strengths said about potential fits for career, etc. and there was almost none of this. I believe there is a career-finding guide from Gallup.com. Maybe I should've read that instead. ( )

I found Strengths Finder to be an easy read and a rich asset to my in-depth Myers-Briggs knowledge and training.
My top 5 themes in SF were Learner, Input, Individualization, Intellection, and Analytical.

I found SF helpful in that I was struggling to see the positive aspects of my ISTJ personality. In my line of work, I was struggling to capitalize on my personality. SF complemented what I already knew about myself from MB and gave me practical applications to run with.

I had been so down about being valued as a result of my personality that this book literally gave me hope that there was a niche that I could fill, that organizations need personalities like mine to balance out all the others. It spoke of the qualities that I was already aware that I had in a positive way that I had never heard before.

While the information isn't novel or new, it was helpful as a result of the way it was framed. It gave me practical marital advice as well since my husband had taken the test previously and still had his results. I learned about his tendencies and strengths and how to play to them so that he (and we) will have success.

Additionally, our co-workers have taken this test so application spanned from the personal arena, to the marital arena and then to the work arena. Very cool. I can recommend this book to anyone just wanting to develop personally, relationally or professionally. ( )

Turns out my leadership strengths are: Maximizer, Intellection, Context, Strategic, and Activator. I agree with this assessment. This book is excellent, both in concept and execution. ( )

Read as an easy popular book and could be interesting to examine strengths and how to apply in your professional life.

oh I would have loved to take the test that the book has you take in the website. Only problem was the access code did not work!! I plan on send an email to the website, but very disappointing. It sounds like this "test" could be really cool. ( )

(Needed to read it so I'd know what to write for my therapist profile on the company website.)

Completely agree with the premise that too much focus is put on fixing our weaknesses rather than strengthening our specific talents. ( )