StrengthsFinder 2.0

by Tom Rath

Hardcover, 2007

Status

Available

Call number

658.314

Library's rating

Collection

CDKS-read

Description

To help people uncover their talents, Gallup introduced the first version of its online assessment, StrengthsFinder, in the 2001 management book Now, Discover Your Strengths. The book has spent more than five years on bestseller lists and ignited a global conversation, while StrengthsFinder has helped millions discover their top five talents. In StrengthsFinder 2.0, Gallup unveils the new and improved version of its popular assessment and much more. Loaded with hundreds of strategies for applying your strengths, this new book and accompanying website will change the way you look at yourself-- and the world around you--forever.

User reviews

LibraryThing member adamallen

I gave this book one star only because I like it's premise - stop spending so much time focusing on your weaknesses and embrace and build your strengths. Personally, I believe this is an important point for both adults and children.

Beyond that point, this book is typical self-help drivel. It has

essentially one chapter that you can read in 30 minutes or less. What you really buy the book for is the sealed code in the back pocket which allows you to take an online test which "determines your strengths". You go through umpteen million multiple choice questions and it spits out your "Top 5 Themes" and an "Action-Planning Guide". I say horseshit.

I hate to sound so negative about it but here are my two issues:

#1 - my five themes, I could have guessed. They just gave them fancy made-up names (Relator, Intellection, Strategic, Input, Learner). WTF?

#2 - Their "Theme Descriptions" do nothing more than regurgitate words from the questions you just took. I mean really, how hard is it to write a description of a "Learner"?

#3 - Their "Ideas for Action" - again, garbage. Two examples straight from my "Intellection Theme":
"Consider beginning or continuing your studies in philosophy, literature, or psychology. You
will always enjoy subjects that stimulate your thinking." and "You are at your best when you have the time to follow an intellectual trail and see where it
leads."

OK, Captain F'n Obvious, if I tested as having an Intellection Theme, don't you think I'm doing these things already?

I was sorely disappointed in this book although when I picked it up, I did get a faint whiff of suck. It's such a good premise too...

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LibraryThing member dizzyg

My boss bought this book for me. We all took the 'test'. It was amazing how accurate the results felt. Did I gain new insight into myself? Not really. Did it sound more accurate then say astrology? Definitely.

LibraryThing member lithoglyphic

Be warned that this is just a gimmick to get you to pay $19.99 for a twenty-minute online quiz, which may tell you things you already know about yourself. You can only get the code by purchasing the book, so library copies are essentially worthless. And you can only use the code once, which means

it can't be shared. This pricing model makes a lot of sense, but I'm offended by the need to make it a physical book, and the authors' choice not to make codes available for purchase online independently... I am sad for the trees that had to die just because the authors wanted a shot at the bestsellers' lists.

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LibraryThing member gtdbizmom

This books is one of the most impact full business books I’ve ever come across. Since I read it my personal business focus has not been the same.

Strengths Finder is a life-changing questionnaire and the answer to "who am I and what should I do" all wrapped into one resource. The book describes

37 strength "themes" that outline in great detail 37 types of strengths.

Natasha’s 4 Favourite Things about the Book:

1. Each book comes with a personalized code that you use to access an online questionnaire. The quiz was thorough and complete and very thought provoking.

2. Each strength theme is amazingly detailed with suggestions for how to best use this particular gifting. I got so much clarity about how to brand myself after reading my top 5 themes.

3. Strength Finder 2.0 is not a personality test – it is a "test" explaining what are your core capabilities.

4. It gives you total emotional freedom because you see in type who you are and just as importantly, who you are not.

If you’ve ever asked yourself the question "what am I great at? What should I be doing with my life?" Then this is the book for you.

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LibraryThing member Cecilturtle

I must admit to having borrowed the book from the library and did not take the test. I'm also glad I didn't spend the 30$. There are pros and cons to buying:
Pros: you are thinking about changing careers; you don't enjoy your current job; you're starting out in your career; in other words, you need

some guidance on what might be a best fit. This book will help you concentrate on what you do best to succeed - and to find people with other strengths to fill the gap for the ones you don't have.
Cons: you know yourself well; have already tried various personality tools; are successful in your career. This tool will not significantly enhance what you already know and will not bring any real insight (which was my case).
A generally well-thought out book with a variety of skills to consider (although some I found repetitive). A sound marketing strategy, but I found expensive for what it offered.

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LibraryThing member DaveShearon

Outstanding. Small but powerful, especially as a support for the online assessment. Works great with high school juniors and up in gaining insights for directions in college. Buy it!

LibraryThing member debherter

Does a fair job of achieving its goal: to use an inventory of your strengths to reveal how you can use them best. Slightly different from the other self-help, self-inventory books and tests out there. Provides a key to allow you to access their online skills inventory.

LibraryThing member 89vine

If you purchase this book, it's mainly for the code in the back of the book, which you can use to take an online test from the author. It's definitely worth the money, if you care about finding your strengths.

I'd go so far as to say it's life changing.

LibraryThing member dannywahlquist

I enjoyed this book, but it really only contained 30 new pages & Ideas for Actions on the 34 themes. The test is worth the price of the book, though. In my results, Themes 3-5 changed in my top 5 themes from 1.0 to 2.0, but it did confirm the top 2.
“You cannot be anything you want to be -- but

you can be a lot more of who you already are. “

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LibraryThing member savageknight

It's a workbook for understanding and working with your own strengths. For those really interested, it's a fine introduction but once completed, you'll only have your top 5 strengths to work with. Again, that is a start and does allow some insights into "how" you work and live but for a deeper and

better understanding of the rest of your talents, it will cost you a lot more. Partnered with a strengths program at work -if you're lucky enough to have one- this is great.

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LibraryThing member drausche

a group or us at work took the "test" and "read" the book ... it was very interesting to see our various strengths and how we work together ... either well or why we have conflicts ... we also had a "coach" come in & talk with us and give us additional insight ... we plan to continue using this

idea of working with our strengths vs. trying to work on our weaknesses.
I have already given the book as gifts to my daughter (who LOVED it!) and to my guy. And I just bought 7 additional copies to give as Christmas gifts.

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LibraryThing member vle045

This book was dead on in pegging my strengths. The only problem is that our office didn't do anything to utilize the results after they had us take the test.As for me... Top 5 Strengths: Belief, Empathy, Responsibility, Woo, Communication

LibraryThing member sandrafelker

I have taken the Meyers Briggs test many times and feel that this evaluation provided more insight into my specific drivers and values than the MB test ever did. I plan on preparing a strategy to capitalize on my strengths and will probably give this book as a gift to quite a few people this

holiday!

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LibraryThing member seasaw432

Great book. Using it at my job with my peers.

LibraryThing member Daniel.Estes

Far too often someone seeking a little self-analysis will pick up books like StrengthsFinder 2.0 and expect it to reveal all sorts of concrete truths and multi-step action plans, effectively wanting life's hard decisions mapped out like an instruction manual. "Just tell me what to do!" —this is a

sentiment I frequently hear, and while I empathize with the frustration, it misses the point.

StrengthsFinder, and other similar self-assessments, are merely primers. Use them to connect previously unexplored parts of your life experience. Use them to discover new future possibilities. Passively reinventing oneself is an oxymoron. To expect more is to sell yourself short.

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LibraryThing member StefanieGeeks

A co-worker described this fabulous assessment as "a really good fortune cookie". It was a great morale booster for me and got me excited about the possibilities in my career future. Truely inspiring and great fun to shout out your strengths.

LibraryThing member RMSmithJr

This is a business centric book. As such, the strengths/talents within are focused on the business world. There are strengths beyond the business world, artistic creativity comes to mind, along with athletic prowess.

I agreed with four of my five assessed strengths. The one disasgreement resulted

from me answering the questions the way I thought they should be answered, not with my best for myself answers.

Through reading each strength, I identified seven or eight lesser strengths. This effort shows application of my deliberative and intellection strengths.

Buy the book, take the assessment, read the book. Learn more about yourselfs with the caveat that each assessment is only one part of your whole.

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LibraryThing member BrittneyRossie

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.

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LibraryThing member Gold_Gato

You cannot be anything you want to be - but you can be a whole lot more of who you already are.

People love to find out who they are and what they're best at doing. For the world of business, it can be very helpful to have a fix on your strengths, rather than your weakness. The basic theory that has

been taught in corporations since the mid 1990s has been a fixation on strengthening an employee's weakness...which simply makes no sense. After all, we are who we are. It's like marrying someone and then demanding they become someone else. Well, that's what organizations do.

The benefit of knowing your own strengths is to know how you can handle stress, workload, and getting up in the morning. This book is also instrumental in discovering your team's strengths, which leads to putting together a diverse team. There is a sealed code at the end of the book which allows you to take the test online to determine your category.

Now, the reason I give the rating of three stars is because it starts to be a bit too much. After you take the test, you get five strengths to review. Let's be honest, I'm lucky if I have two, let alone five, strengths in me. It would have been more productive to focus on one main strength. But then I am who I am. Or something like that.

Book Season = Year Round (your strength might change with the season)

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LibraryThing member pam.enser

I have to say I found the test to be very accurate and interesting!

LibraryThing member tikilights

(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.

LibraryThing member Bbowden

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.

LibraryThing member sunshine608

Assigned to my students.

LibraryThing member Chris.Bulin

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

LibraryThing member gmicksmith

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

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