Unfortunately, most of us have little sense of our talents and strengths, much less the ability to build our lives around them. Instead, guided by our parents, by our teachers, by our managers, and by psychology's fascination with pathology, we become experts in our weaknesses and spend our lives trying to repair these flaws, while our strengths lie dormant and neglected.
Marcus Buckingham, coauthor of the national bestseller First, Break All the Rules, and Donald O. Clifton, Chair of the Gallup International Research & Education Center, have created a revolutionary program to help readers identify their talents, build them into strengths, and enjoy consistent, near-perfect performance. At the heart of the book is the Internet-based StrengthsFinder® Profile, the product of a 25-year, multimillion-dollar effort to identify the most prevalent human strengths. The program introduces 34 dominant "themes" with thousands of possible combinations, and reveals how they can best be translated into personal and career success. In developing this program, Gallup has conducted psychological profiles with more than two million individuals to help readers learn how to focus and perfect these themes.
So how does it work? This book contains a unique identification number that allows you access to the StrengthsFinder Profile on the Internet. This Web-based interview analyzes your instinctive reactions and immediately presents you with your five most powerful signature themes. Once you know which of the 34 themes -- such as Achiever, Activator, Empathy, Futuristic, or Strategic -- you lead with, the book will show you how to leverage them for powerful results at three levels: for
your own development, for your success as a manager, and for the success of your organization.
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.
Author Biography
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.