StrengthsFinder 2.0

I ordered a used copy of the book for a class and had two assignments based on taking the strengths assessment. New copies of the book come with an access code to be used to take a roughly 30-minute strengths assessment. Unfortunately, the access code that came with the book I ordered had already been used, which made the purchase pretty meaningless. The book gives you helpful information about your assessment results, but if you haven't taken the assessment, the book is pretty pointless. I requested and received a refund for the purchase, then ordered it on Kindle. The access code arrived separately via email almost immediately after the Kindle purchase receipt email. The code worked perfectly, I took the assessment, learned some things about myself, wrote two essays on the experience, got full credit on both assignments. Yay! The only reason to buy this book used is if you've already taken the assessment and know your top strengths. I think my strengths assessment results were pretty accurate, although it took me a while to understand that a few of my unique characteristics weren't just quirky, they could actually be considered a strength, if I simply choose to accept that perspective instead of trying to hide those odd quirks. Like any type of assessment or personality quiz, it's not perfect or always completely accurate, but it can be helpful way to learn more about yourself. Recommended (as long as you buy a NEW copy only in order to take the assessment).

The premise of this book is that people are happiest and most productive when their work is well suited to their strengths. Conversely, many people pursue the “path of most resistance.” The book includes a code to access an online assessment which will identify your top five strengths. “Gallup has surveyed more than 10 million people worldwide on the topic of employee engagement… People who do have the opportunity to focus on their strengths every day are six times as likely to be engaged in their jobs and more than three times as likely to report having an excellent quality of life in general.” The researchers also explored the effect of management style. When managers focus on weaknesses, employees are 22% likely to be disengaged, but when managers focus on strengths disengagement drops to 1%. “It appears that the epidemic of active disengagement we see in workplaces every day could be a curable disease… if we can help the people around us develop their strengths.” Interestingly, when employees are ignored, the likelihood of disengagement surges to 40%. The online assessment actually identifies your top five innate talents out of 34 categories. Talents can be developed into strengths by learning skills, gaining knowledge, and practice. The author summarizes this with the formula Strength = Talent x Investment. My top five themes are: 1 Deliberative – “People who are especially talented in the Deliberative theme are best described by the serious care they take in making decisions or choices. They anticipate the obstacles.” 2 Relator – “People who are especially talented in the Relator theme enjoy close relationships with others. They find deep satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a goal.” 3 Responsibility – “People who are especially talented in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.” 4 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.” 5 Strategic – “People who are especially talented in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.” The assessment report also includes Personalized Strengths Insights for each of your top five themes. Note: Do not buy a used copy of this book because the code is only valid for one use. The first 35 pages explain the premise and the research. Part II includes a chapter about each of the 34 themes.

The book is essentially an index of the 34 strengths that you can work to develop over the course of your life. Not only are the strengths well-described, but the book also provides action steps that you can take to develop them. In order to determine which of the 34 strengths are your top five strengths, you take an online test that requires a special access code that comes with every book. Being the personality test addict that I am, I paid my $13.47 plus shipping and handling for the book, tore open the envelope with my super-secret access code and went online to take the test. My top 5 strengths were as follows: * Intellection - Having a need for mental activity, whether it be solving a problem, developing ideas, or philosophical reflection. * Ideation - Being fascinated by ideas and new perspectives. Viewing phenomena from new and different angles. * Futuristic - The ability to have a clear, detailed vision of what the future might hold. * Connectedness - Understanding that we, all of us, are a part of something bigger. Being aware of the subtle forces and patterns which govern all things. * Learner - Having a love of learning. I wasn't particularly surprised by my results, other very good personality tests I had taken had basically informed me of my strengths (and weaknesses) in a similar way. What was different was how the StrengthsFinder book encouraged me to develop my strengths. The book stressed that although these were my natural talents, I had to work to develop them or they would deteriorate. Thinking back to my career as a recruiter, I realized how true that was. In the effort to eliminate my weaknesses, I had neglected many of my natural strengths, almost to the point of making them weaknesses. Because I was too busy making calls and answering emails, I gave myself little time to think things through, thus neglecting my abilities of intellection. Because I was so busy gobbling up other people's ideas about how things should be done, I had spent little time developing my own ideas, thus neglecting my abilities of ideation. Because I didn't allow myself see past my sales figures for the next fiscal quarter, I failed to think about the future-the long term consequences of my actions and inactions. I was so preoccupied by narrow concerns that I failed to tap into my ability to see the connections between things. Finally, because I let myself work 50 to 60 hour weeks and partied all night on the weekends to blow off steam, I spent very little time learning anything new. I realize now that I could have worked to develop my strengths even as a recruiter, but because the job was such a mismatch for me, it made me more aware of the weaknesses I had to improve upon than the strengths I could capitalize upon. Now, because I've decided to work for myself I find myself gravitating toward business opportunities that take advantage of my strengths rather than making me aware of my weaknesses. It's amazing what change in perspective can do.

Me describió totalmente. Te dan una pequeña contraseña para hacer el test, lo puedes hacer en español o en ingles. La reseña también la puedes tener en español o en ingles. Únicamente el libro esta en ingles. Es un libro muy bueno, me ha ayudado a enfocarme más en que quiero hacer y hacia donde quiero ir. Descubrí cosas que no sabía de mi. Se los recomiendo.

Il est toujours difficile pour moi d’accepter d’être si bien décrit par un questionnaire automatique. J’avais déjà passé le test SOSIE lorsque j’avais passé l’entretien RH pour mon premier job, et j’avais été obligé d’avouer que le résultat du test me décrivait assez bien. J’ai parcouru les 29 autres thèmes, et je dois dire qu’aucun ne me décrit aussi bien que les 5 thèmes retenus par le test. De même ici avec ce livre, mes 5 thèmes de force sont pertinents avec la façon dont je me perçois. la femme qui partage ma vie en a pris connaissance et est également d’accord avec l’analyse du rapport. Je n’ai pas encore montré ces 5 thèmes à toutes les personnes qui me connaissent vraiment, mais j’imagine qu’il ne leur semblera pas absurde de voir « Competitor », « Activator » et « Significance » parmi mes talents. Les talents « Learner » et « Input » sont peut-être plus difficiles à évaluer quand on ne vit pas avec la personne. Elle, qui me voit dévorer des livres sans cesse, est plus à-même de juger. Je trouve la démarche intéressante. Chercher à connaître ses forces n’est pas facile sans structure de réflexion : c’est l’objet du livre. J’ai toujours été très ennuyé quand il s’agissait de préparer les questions sur mes qualités et mes défauts. Avec ce livre, j’y vois plus clair et je dispose d’éléments très nombreux pour assurer une réponse claire. Les pistes pour travailler sur nos forces sont une excellente initiative. Bien que j’imagine qu’il sera compliqué de toutes les mettre en œuvre, c’est une manière pour le livre de rentrer dans la pratique et pour le lecteur de ne pas se trouver seul face à ses 5 talents sans savoir comment les mettre en œuvre. Je conseille à tout le monde d’acheter le livre et de faire le test. Comme il n’est pas nécessaire de lire l’ensemble du livre, on arrive très vite au résultat voulu : connaître ses forces. A essayer si vous cherchez des pistes pour vous améliorer. Adrien Delambre [...]

最初に出版された「さあ、才能に目覚めよう」を購入し、セカンドエディションが出ていることに気がつき購入しました。本書を購入することにより、Strengths Finder Version2のオンラインテストを受けることができます。テストを受けるまでの設定は英語ですがテストの質問事項は、日本語で受けられます。より良くなった点は、行動のアドバイスが得られたり、掲示板での意見交換が行えます。2冊購入し、妻との結果を比較したのですが、一致しているものは、一つもありませんでした。お互いを補いあえるということで、この方がよい結果であるといえるように思われます。信憑性のない占いをするよりは、統計データに基づく本書の利用をお勧めします。

Ok, let's be clear. What you're really buying access to is the fantastic online psychometric test. I bought the kindle version of this as it's slightly cheaper. The book itself is fairly short: it contains an intro (about a fifth of the book) which explains the Gallup point of view. This is basically that if we all understood and focussed on our strengths rather than our weaknesses, we would be happier and far, far more productive (after decades of work on this, they have the research to back this up). It's articulated really well, and is really convincing. The rest of the book is a summary of each of the different strengths, including how people with that strength might want to make the most of that strength, and how to work with people like that. But the truth is you don't need to read that for yourself, because when you take the test (relatively short) you get a personalised report on each of your strengths (ok, it's not totally personalised, but it adapted for exactly *how much* you have each strength, and the mixtures you have). And here's where the transformative bit comes in. This personalised report really affected me. When I read some of it, I welled up. I hadn't felt that *got* for ages. And it opened up all sorts of things: I understood why I had left a particular job, which had mostly been a great job, I understood why I was so attracted to the career path I am developing into. And I just know that I will be able to use this going forward. I work as a coach now, and I often recommend this to clients. Mostly they don't do it, because it costs £10 or so, and you can get free psychometric tests about strengths online. But the ones who take it find it transformative, too. It's WAY better than the free ones, and for me the £10 is one of the best £10s I've ever spent. Go on, get it!

The delivery is fast and no defects.