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Old 09-19-2008, 07:08 PM   #1
whitecrow
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Default Best $20 I've Spent: Strengths Finder

A recently-made friend turned me on to a book called Strengths Finder 2.0. The author is Tom Rath, and it is on the Wall Street Journal Best-Seller list. It is being marketed as a business management and motivational tool, but it is much more than that. It's a life tool of the highest magnitude, and I really recommend it to everyone, seriously!

Here how it works...the book costs $20. It consists of a series of discussions of 34 "strengths" that have been identified in people. Inside the book is a sealed envelope with a code number inside. You can't get to the code without buying the book, and only one person can use the code. I think it is one of the best uses of $20, ever.

Once you have the book and the code, you go to the website https://www.strengthsfinder.com/ and create a free account. (You can check this all out there, too). After entering your code, you then complete a survey of 172 comparisons, choosing which you prefer or which more fully describes you. These are timed...you get 20 seconds per. When you're done, you receive an individualized report that identifies your top five strengths, with the understanding that everyone is a different mix of all 34.

I know this sounds like putting people in boxes, and maybe it would be if management was using it that way. It's actually very holistic and insightful. I rarely recommend things like this. There are excellent tools out there. This is sort of a tool for becoming your own life-coach.

A young co-worker has taken the Strengths Finder survey. When I mentioned that I was about to, she said, "Oh, great! We can compare strengths!" At the time I thought that was a slightly odd thing to say. Now I understand perfectly what she meant.

For those of you who are already familiar with the survey, my top five strengths, in order, are:

Intellection
Input
Connectedness
Learner
Ideation
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Old 09-23-2008, 11:20 PM   #2
whitecrow
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Default Re: Best $20 I've Spent: UPDATE


One of the groups I have been meeting with is dedicated to sustainability and empowerment. Some of our projects involve helping to set up small businesses that require little startup investments such as edible landscaping and soapmaking, and retrofitting houses for self-sufficiency. Of about a dozen people, we cover an age range from 18 to 60. One of the intriguing aspects of this ad hoc group is that we all agreed to complete the Strengths Finder survey and share the results. Plotting the information on a graph, we now have a "Strengths Tree" that not only tells us where our strongest abilities lie as a group, but also our shortcomings - the kind of folks we'd like to attract.

We've discovered our little group is incredibly rich in Intellection and Ideation, along with Adaptability, Empathy, Positivity, and WOO (Winning Others Over). There are only a few areas in which we are not represented at all. The Strengths Finder book and website offer both specific suggestions for developing our strengths, but also action plans for building a life based on them. We're now developing a game which involves utilizing action steps to develop our abilities, both as a group and individually.

There are many ways of networking and forming bonds with people. While I strongly feel that Strengths Finder is a valuable tool, I wouldn't rely on it 100% . Putting people in boxes limits them in the end instead of empowering them, and we are all full of surprises. As regards the SF material, we're all a blend of all 34 of the identifies strengths to some degree. Using the tool as a team, we are accomplishing many of the things that take place within business organizations: brainstorming, setting up chains of logic and energy, and discovering how we can best benefit each other as well as ourselves.
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Old 09-29-2008, 10:02 PM   #3
Jeff Delano
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Default Re: Best $20 I've Spent: UPDATE

I intend on getting this book, now I just need to get $20 to spare
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Old 09-30-2008, 12:26 AM   #4
whitecrow
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Default Re: Best $20 I've Spent: UPDATE

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff Delano View Post
I intend on getting this book, now I just need to get $20 to spare
Understood! If I could I would buy everyone I know a copy. BTW Jeff I'm really glad you got the chance to come hiking with us this morning!
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Old 10-03-2008, 12:55 AM   #5
Fredkc
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Default Re: Best $20 I've Spent: Strengths Finder

Hey WhiteCrow.... just bought it today. should be here by the weekend.

Thanx for the tip.

Fred
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Old 10-03-2008, 06:39 AM   #6
whitecrow
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Default Re: Best $20 I've Spent: Strengths Finder

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fredkc View Post
Hey WhiteCrow.... just bought it today. should be here by the weekend.

Thanx for the tip.

Fred

Let me know what it says your strengths are...we'll compare.
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