ginafish71's review against another edition
4.0
Having enjoyed taking the MBTI, figuring out the color of my parachute and so on, I was glad to read this book for work.
I liked that the book explored the various positive areas that help people understand their natural talents better. I choose to do quite a bit of research outside of the book and with the gallup community to learn more about balconies and basements. I recommend everyone to look into the balconies and basements to better understand how others perceive them. Not that you can change your personality easily, but have more empathy for those who don't 'get' you or those you don't understand.
I liked that the book explored the various positive areas that help people understand their natural talents better. I choose to do quite a bit of research outside of the book and with the gallup community to learn more about balconies and basements. I recommend everyone to look into the balconies and basements to better understand how others perceive them. Not that you can change your personality easily, but have more empathy for those who don't 'get' you or those you don't understand.
notesonbookmarks's review against another edition
3.0
I just HAD to finally get into Strengths Finder after finishing Reading People by Anne Bogel. I love that this research-based draws on interviews with 100000+ people and focuses on promoting the talents we already possess instead of trying to shore up weaknesses. Let someone who is good at that thing do what is hard for you! you have other gifts, and SF is about finding what those gifts are and using them to your advantage and the advantage of those around you.
PS. not that strengths are extroverted or introverted in themselves, but my Strengths together basically scream extrovert.
PS. not that strengths are extroverted or introverted in themselves, but my Strengths together basically scream extrovert.
arixen's review against another edition
3.0
I had to read this for work. It wasn't new information. I could have told you I liked reading books. I like books on wars/conflict/conflict resolution/theories/philosophies... and I don't want to work as a team on projects. Quick easy read.
angelofthe0dd's review against another edition
3.0
When I started reading this book, I was really intrigued by the idea of people leveraging their core strengths to build success in their lives, as opposed to keeping their noses to grind stones in subject areas where they have to struggle to get up to speed. I think the general idea is, "If you have a talent for drawing, then you should focus your energy on drawing. You'll get ahead a lot faster than if you put your efforts into trying to learn something completely out of your talent range." The author uses the example of "Rudy" (from the film of the same name) to illustrate his point. Rudy put a lot of time and effort into chasing a dream that *might not* have been the best use of his time and efforts.
I can honestly say I know where the author is coming from, but I've also seen people make something their passion, and succeed, when failure is simply not an option.
Many years ago, I worked on a construction site for my dad. There was this one new guy who started at the beginning of a new restaurant build. He said he had a degree in Accounting and he got tired of sitting behind a desk all day and crunching spreadsheet numbers. He wanted to jump into construction work. He did have some brick and block-laying skills, so my dad hired him as a brick mason. His work was "ok" at best - in both speed and technical ability. All the other masons were going much faster and rarely made a mistake. To his credit, the ex-accountant stuck it out all summer long in spite of the constant criticism and rib-digging from the other guys. The author of this book would use him as an example of someone who was wasting their time and talents in an area they had no business being in, even if that person felt their heart was leading them. I would be inclined to agree with that. Maybe Accounting wasn't his thing, but neither was construction work.
On the other hand, thousands of young men and women enter US basic military training each year. You learn very quickly to find a passion in whatever you're told to do. Failure is simply not an option. I think people of my grandparents' generation called it "grit" - summoning all your inner strength to get through whatever challenge(s) stand before you.
To me, the main weakness of the "Strengths Finder" system is that it assumes you have the luxury of researching your inner talents and then cherry picking the perfect career match. A lot of folks go to jobs each day that they hate, but the job is better than being homeless or going hungry. There's something to be said for having the mental constitution to meet any challenge, and make something your passion only because you want with all your heart to succeed.
I can honestly say I know where the author is coming from, but I've also seen people make something their passion, and succeed, when failure is simply not an option.
Many years ago, I worked on a construction site for my dad. There was this one new guy who started at the beginning of a new restaurant build. He said he had a degree in Accounting and he got tired of sitting behind a desk all day and crunching spreadsheet numbers. He wanted to jump into construction work. He did have some brick and block-laying skills, so my dad hired him as a brick mason. His work was "ok" at best - in both speed and technical ability. All the other masons were going much faster and rarely made a mistake. To his credit, the ex-accountant stuck it out all summer long in spite of the constant criticism and rib-digging from the other guys. The author of this book would use him as an example of someone who was wasting their time and talents in an area they had no business being in, even if that person felt their heart was leading them. I would be inclined to agree with that. Maybe Accounting wasn't his thing, but neither was construction work.
On the other hand, thousands of young men and women enter US basic military training each year. You learn very quickly to find a passion in whatever you're told to do. Failure is simply not an option. I think people of my grandparents' generation called it "grit" - summoning all your inner strength to get through whatever challenge(s) stand before you.
To me, the main weakness of the "Strengths Finder" system is that it assumes you have the luxury of researching your inner talents and then cherry picking the perfect career match. A lot of folks go to jobs each day that they hate, but the job is better than being homeless or going hungry. There's something to be said for having the mental constitution to meet any challenge, and make something your passion only because you want with all your heart to succeed.
irishtraveller's review against another edition
5.0
The main reason to purchase this book is to review the test results you'll receive when you take the questionnaire with your code online. I actually found the results to be incredibly accurate and insightful. I would highly recommend this to everyone from college students to executives.
rachelb36's review against another edition
1.0
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.
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.
bloodandketchup's review against another edition
1.0
Having read the original Strengthsquest written by Donald O Clifton, I found this version to be sorely lacking in information. As others have mentioned, it feels like a pitch to direct you to the website. That said, I also hated the last book I read by Tom Rath.