Book of the Week: StrengthsFinder 2.0

This week’s book of the week is Tom Rath’s StrengthsFinder 2.0.  This book was given to me as a gift.  Within each book is a code that allows the reader to take an online survey which determines the 5 top strengths of the reader.  You then can read more concerning your personal strengths.

The premise of the book is found in the opening pages: “You cannot be anything you want to be – but you can be a lot more of who you already are” (9).

After taking the online survey, I was able to print off more pages concerning the complexity of my strengths and learn how to use them better.  Here is a description of what the survey says are my strengths:

Top 5 Strengths:

1.  STRATEGIC: “The Strategic theme enables you to sort through the clutter and find the best route.  It is not a skill that can be taught.  It is a distinct way of thinking, a special perspective on the world at large.  This perspective allows you to see patterns where others simply see complexity” (165).

2.  FOCUS: “And so each year, each month, and even each week you set goals.  These goals then serve as a compass, helping you determine priorities and make the necessary corrections to get back on course.  Your Focus is powerful because it forces you to filter…your Focus forces you to be efficient.  Naturally, the flip side of this is that it causes you to become impatient with delays, obstacles, and even tangents, no matter how intriguing they appear to be” (101).

3.  LEARNER: “You are energized by the steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence.  The thrill of the first few facts, the early efforts to recite or practice what you have learned, the growing confidence of a skill mastered – this is the process that entices you” (133).

4.  SELF-ASSURANCE: “When you look at the world, you know that your perspective is unique and distinct.  And because no one sees exactly what you see, you know that no one can make your decisions for you.  No one can tell you what to think.  They can guide.  They can suggest.  But you alone have the authority to form conclusions, make decisions, and act.  This authority, this final accountability for the living of your life, does not intimidate you.  On the contrary, it feels natural to you” (157).

5.  FUTURISTIC: “You are the kind of person who loves to peer over the horizon…You are a dreamer who sees visions of what could be and who cherishes those visions.  When the present proves too frustrating and the people around you too pragmatic, you conjure up your visions of the future and they energize you” (105).

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