A review by angelofthe0dd
Strengthsfinder 2.0 by Tom Rath
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.