Strengthsfinder 2.0

Este libro lo compré para la universidad, no tenía ninguna esperanza en él pero es maravilloso lo amé y no pude parar de leerlo. Recomiendo.

I ordered a used copy of the book for a class and had two assignments based on taking the strengths assessment. New copies of the book come with an access code to be used to take a roughly 30-minute strengths assessment. Unfortunately, the access code that came with the book I ordered had already been used, which made the purchase pretty meaningless. The book gives you helpful information about your assessment results, but if you haven't taken the assessment, the book is pretty pointless.I requested and received a refund for the purchase, then ordered it on Kindle. The access code arrived separately via email almost immediately after the Kindle purchase receipt email. The code worked perfectly, I took the assessment, learned some things about myself, wrote two essays on the experience, got full credit on both assignments. Yay!The only reason to buy this book used is if you've already taken the assessment and know your top strengths. I think my strengths assessment results were pretty accurate, although it took me a while to understand that a few of my unique characteristics weren't just quirky, they could actually be considered a strength, if I simply choose to accept that perspective instead of trying to hide those odd quirks. Like any type of assessment or personality quiz, it's not perfect or always completely accurate, but it can be helpful way to learn more about yourself. Recommended (as long as you buy a NEW copy only in order to take the assessment).

This book is quite simplistic and valuable. When I returned to college as an adult this book was a requirement in one of my business classes. It really does nothing but have you go on line and answer a survey that takes very little time and based on your answers comes back to your five greatest strengths. The book is so incredibly accurate that based on one of my strengths it told me I am probably the type of person who collects baseball cards, which I have done for over 40 years. There wasn't a single question about cards in the survey. My wife and I have since bought each of our children one so that they could take the survey before they finished high school in hopes that it might help steer them towards a career that although they might not know it could be something they are actually quite interested in and could do quite well. Much better then having them figure that out in there third year of college when they decide they are majoring in the career field. Highly recommend this book to anyone with high school students, or even themselves. How well it will completely analyze you is absolutely amazing and the book clearly explains each of your strengths to help provide you with an insight to yourself. Well worth the money!!!!

The book doesn't have anything to help you find your top 5 strengths without you taking an online assessment.You need a unique code in the book in order to take the online test. So a used copy won't help you here.If you are going to buy a book, I would recommend buying the paper copy. Once you take the test online, you can download anelectronic copy of the book that you can load into kindle or epub reader.As of this writing the hardcover copy is cheaper than the kindle version.The report you get after the online assessment is which 5 strengths are your top ones ranked. The text in the all the reports is verbatimto what is in the book except for a section of new text which in my opinion does not add much. The web site make it sound likeyou will get so much more in the reports, but you don't.If you can figure out what your 5 strengths are, then just borrow a copy from the library and read the description and actionfor the strengths that apply to you and save your money as the reports are not worth having once you know what your strengths are.That being said, the 34 strengths are overlapping so it may be difficult to pick out the best 5 and rank them without the assessment.The 5 strengths from my assessment are spot on, but ranked in an order I would not have anticipated. I would not bother payingextra money to get the entire 34 strengths in ranked order. You probably can figure out which ones are absolutely not you basedon the description in the book, and the rest you can ignore as the whole premise is to work on your strengths and not your weaknesses.My opinion is that books are to be shared so that knowledge can be shared. Unfortunately, this book is not one of them.Each individual has to pay to gain knowledge. Gallop certainly has the rights to do it, but unfortunately not every member of societycan afford to pay to be assessed. Hence 3 stars.

I enjoyed the book. It's easy to read and I thought the assessment is good. I noticed a lot of the negative reviews highlighted that this was same as some personality tests. It's not a personality test. It's to help you find what you're really strong in. The other negative reviews are that you have to buy the book in order to take the assessment. So yeah, they want to make money and that's how they do it. That said, typically people go into business to make money and so I expect to pay SOMETHING. The book isn't even expensive. I paid $15 for it. That's not a lot of money. There are other tests out there that cost a lot more. I feel like I could hand this to my college aged daughter and she would find some value it in without taking the test. BUT I would like her to take the test though.So here's why it helped me. First, it was the shot in the arm I needed as I'm finishing school, feeling a little burnout in my current position, and am trying to figure out my future. I'm very introspective and pretty much know my strengths. What this is helping me do is clearly understand and articulate my strengths to others. There are aspects of this book that are "stating the obvious" but I look around work and I see associates and leaders who don't have a clue. So, while this might not be a book for everyone, I thought it was worth every penny and will suggest it to others, especially those who can't quite put their finger on their strengths.PS. - if you are so offended about giving your information, then give false information. It's not THAT big a deal!

Before I get into the review, a word of advice to all potential buyers: You must buy this book new. A new book comes with an exclusive one-time access code in the back that unlocks an online survey. Your unique survey results will then calculate what your strengths are, so that you can get the most value out of StrengthsFinder 2.0. Without an original unique code, the book is of no help to you unless you already know your strengths and want to read up on them.Research demonstrates that people tend not to utilize their natural talents, leading to frustration. Even more, most people also tend not the scale their strengths, but instead focus on scrutinizing their weaknesses.StrengthsFinder 2.0 is designed to help you first identify what your innate talents are, so that you can invest in them and produce strength, or consistent near-perfect performance.The key idea behind StrengthsFinder 2.0 is that in order for you to be successful, you must not waste taste time on what you can’t do well, but to invest heavily in what you can do well.This is accomplished by taking a 177-question online assessment. Your “grade” on this test computes your top five themes which you can then read about amongst the 34 themes described in this book. So, StrengthsFinder 2.0 isn’t a book that you read cover to cover but only focus on those themes applicable to you. Each theme describes the type of person that fits in the category, what a person with the theme sounds like in real-life, gives dozens of ideas for action to cultivate the theme, and concludes with tips for others who have that theme.What this book does very well is introduce you to the real you and not the version of you that others have molded for you. With this sincere insight in mind, you will be equipped with the tools needed to leverage what you do best into your job, career, and life in general.You may also find a hidden talent that you never would have explored on your own. What the book doesn’t do well is give out ideas for action that are very general, vague, and in some instances common sense. Especially for a theme that you may already have a sense of (e.g. “Analytical”) the book suggests blatantly obvious ideas (e.g. work in a field in which you analyze).Ultimately, StrengthsFinder 2.0 is a useful book compels you to take a good, hard look at who you really are and will likely be a go-to resource well into the future.

If you like to figure people out or even just want to figure yourself out this is an excellent place to start. 40 years of research went into the making of this useful book. If you are tired of trying to improve your weaknesses this book takes a different approach. It focuses on your top talents instead and explains how to use them in reality. Like I am highly analytical so I'd be good at editing.Basically this book encourages you to invest in what has the most potential to make you a great person in life and work.It takes a few hours to read this book from cover to cover but I found I could skip over some of the talents that just were not important to me. When reading about each talent you can quickly see if it applies to you or not. You really can just take what you need from this book and leave the rest.I found out that my top talents are:Analytical - find patterns and organize ideasIntellection - like to think and readBelief - gives life meaningCommunication - love to writeDiscipline - like routine and organizationBuy a new copy of this book if you are interested in taking the StrengthsFinder assessment as each book has a unique code that can only be used once.However I found the book also stands alone as an educational tool. I would have liked to have taken the test but on the other hand I did learn quite a lot just from reading the book.Thank you to the reviewer who recommended I read this book.~The Rebecca Review

For someone who has never had any professional career counseling, this book may provide some insights. At its low price on Amazon one has little to lose. I have taken many different inventories over the years starting in high school, seminary, grad school, and at my current university as a professor.I developed a career course at my current university and have worked closely with others in our Career Services unit who are professionally trained in providing and interpreting several different instruments. All of the assessments I have taken or used have limitations. It is not only this approach. Yet, for a person taking a moment to think about new directions in life based upon their strengths, reflection based upon results from this tool is certainly worthwhile.There are several questionable issues with this book from an empirical standpoint.First, this is a really large money maker for Gallup. They carefully control the empirical study of this instrument versus other instruments in psychology. Their validation report references a few studies not widely available to researchers and the public in respected journals. Unlike other instruments examining the Big Five personality factors, a survey of all refereed articles in the major psychological journals will reveal few actual empirical studies by researchers outside of their corporation. So, this instrument has not withstood rigorous peer review.Second, allowing items to be used on more than one theme violates assumptions of statistical independence.Third, many low scale reliabilities are reported that would be questioned if subjected to peer review. Part of this may be due to their use of ipsative scales forcing a person between two choices. Other scales have used this type of scaling, but most do not.Fourth, they argue for validity on poorly reported cluster analysis. They do not go into detail about confirmatory factor analyses conducted. Of course, the use of items on more than one theme violated the assumption of statistical independence necessary for a legitimate factor analysis to be conducted.Fifth, most research reporting new instruments clearly discusses relationships to other well-known psychological instruments.Sixth, if they did allow an item to only contribute to one theme, there is no way that there would be over two-dozen unique factors. Several of their themes would likely group into more general factors or clusters.Quite simply, the standards of research behind this book are not the same as their better-recognized practices in their opinion polls. Recent large-scale work with Purdue University on career satisfaction and engagement is of a much higher caliber. Better understanding of the relationships among these themes would likely open a deeper and more lively discussion.

Though written in 2007, this book is timeless. It it useful for managers in developing an effective team or for personal use whether searching for a new career or finding your purpose in a current one. I'm addressing three things mentioned in previous comments, as well as my own insights that I think every potential investor of this book should consider in order to find the quickest path to benefiting from the assessment. This is not a sit and read over coffee chapter by chapter book. This is a resource to begin your personal strength search and return to when in doubt.1) It should be noted that the Kindle version is just as useful as the paper copy. I simply downloaded the Kindle version and Amazon sent me an email with the code to take the assessment. If you have a Kindle I recommend this method since it is quite cheaper, especially if you have a promotion code through Amazon. What could have been $19.99 at the store and $13.99 through the digital version turned out to be roughly $4.00 for the book with assessment code included. The code is not an extra purchase. It is included with the book no matter how you obtain the text. This book must be bought new.2) I found the top 5 strengths to reveal enough about myself, leaving me an expert about myself, and no need to pay an additional $550 to rank the remaining 29 strengths in order. Why? Merely because I think one could overlap these strengths due to their similarities, such as Empathy, Harmony, Connectedness, and Belief; Includer and Positivity are very similar, as well as Intellection, Learner, and Input. The test will hone in on the specific five that are most like you. I also suggest taking other tests for emotional-based personality assessment, such as the famous Myers-Briggs or "16 Personalities" based on Jung's studies. These exhibit a similar overlap categorizing into four primary titles: Diplomat, Analysts, Sentiments, and Explorers. Each of these are then divided into 4 sub categories with another even more detailed description to which you can finally name your personality with four letters, such as INTP or INFJ. The 16 combinations are Introvert or Extrovert, Sensing or Intuition, Thinking or Feeling, Judging or Perceiving.3) After taking the test, it is important to remember that one must put on their cap for study and learning, research each strength with the descriptions, scenarios, and tips provided. Personally, I used this to book to search for a new career. Although I could have paid extra for a Strengths Finder coach, I prefer saving a couple hundred dollars and searching for job descriptions in which my strengths might be utilized. If I move progressively toward an interview, I will ask questions based on specific job tasks and work culture to ensure that I would feel at home. Even after employment, I'll revisit these strengths, adhere to implementing these strengths with much confidence. Yes, this brings in more revenue for the Strength Finder writing and publishing collective; however, above all, the author wants us to be our own coach, I think.

The premise of this book is that people are happiest and most productive when their work is well suited to their strengths. Conversely, many people pursue the “path of most resistance.” The book includes a code to access an online assessment which will identify your top five strengths.“Gallup has surveyed more than 10 million people worldwide on the topic of employee engagement… People who do have the opportunity to focus on their strengths every day are six times as likely to be engaged in their jobs and more than three times as likely to report having an excellent quality of life in general.”The researchers also explored the effect of management style. When managers focus on weaknesses, employees are 22% likely to be disengaged, but when managers focus on strengths disengagement drops to 1%. “It appears that the epidemic of active disengagement we see in workplaces every day could be a curable disease… if we can help the people around us develop their strengths.” Interestingly, when employees are ignored, the likelihood of disengagement surges to 40%.The online assessment actually identifies your top five innate talents out of 34 categories. Talents can be developed into strengths by learning skills, gaining knowledge, and practice. The author summarizes this with the formula Strength = Talent x Investment.My top five themes are:1 Deliberative – “People who are especially talented in the Deliberative theme are best described by the serious care they take in making decisions or choices. They anticipate the obstacles.”2 Relator – “People who are especially talented in the Relator theme enjoy close relationships with others. They find deep satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a goal.”3 Responsibility – “People who are especially talented in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.”4 Analytical – “People who are especially talented in the Analytical theme search for reasons and causes. They have the ability to think about all the factors that might affect a situation.”5 Strategic – “People who are especially talented in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.”The assessment report also includes Personalized Strengths Insights for each of your top five themes. Note: Do not buy a used copy of this book because the code is only valid for one use.The first 35 pages explain the premise and the research. Part II includes a chapter about each of the 34 themes.

All the traits that it attributes to you are skills, not personality. One could argue differently, but in comparison to tests like Enneagram or MB, this is distinctly different... it lists a few attributes you are strong at whereas the other tests I mentioned attempt to describe you holistically and completely as a person.I also really dislike the fact that you can only take the test once. I don't have quantitative data like the reviewer who mentioned taking the test twice without looking at the results and coming up with vastly different results. However, I bought four copies for myself and my co-workers and we did all agree that our particular dispositions at the time heavily influenced our results, and if we were to take it in a different mood it was clear we would come up with different results. If you have a more stable, static personality, then obviously you wouldn't have that problem... but for most of us, once you take the test and see the types of questions that are asked, doesn't take a psychologist to see that quite a few answers would change for most people given their circumstantial mood. And that would change your results.I think what bothers me the most about only being able to take the test once is that they throw out a philosophical reason for preventing you from doing it that only too conveniently matches with a security measure to guard against a fear of people allowing their friends to log into their account to take the test as well. The entire experience comes off as disingenuous. The reasons they list are that 1. Your traits will rarely change over time as core personality is set once you have passed a certain age so there is no need to take the test twice and 2. Once you take the test and read the results, you will be biased in a way that would alter your answers during a second attempt. I could attempt to address these reasons logically, pointing out issues of environmental circumstance, pointing out the value of experimentation and learning that comes from taking any test multiple times, pointing out how fragile and susceptible the questions are to your mood once you actually take the test and see them, but I will just skip all my personal reasoning and let you judge their rationale using your own common sense.With any body of knowledge, power comes from sharing of information and abundance. Gallup takes the other route and guards their tools closely, keeping walls of secrecy and coming from a place of scarcity and fear. What bothers me the most though is that they aren't honest about it... They could be up front and say that they only allow you to take the test once because they don't want people to share the test with friends or reverse engineer it. Instead, they use altruism as their reasoning. It ends up really souring the otherwise positive experience.Anyway, it suffices to say that it is their loss and it's ours.One other thing I dislike is that there is no attempt at trying to describe you fully, the test just highlights a few of your key strengths. That being said, I really enjoyed their philosophy of trying to lift up what is strong and develop THAT, rather than point out what is weak and focus on the negative. I do think that the traits are valuable to find out, and the comparative exercise of sharing results with people who also have taken the test is enlightening.I'm giving 4 stars instead of something lower because of the inherent value of the test itself, even though these other issues are so flawed. That being said, I'll say that sometimes I shop at Walmart, because it simply has what I need, not because I like how they conduct themselves.

Sir Ken Robinson tells a story in his famous TED talk on education about a world-renowned choreographer who as a child saw a specialist to check her for a learning disability. After talking with her mother the specialist told the girl he had to talk to her mother alone. As they left his office he turned on the radio. Outside they watched as the girl began to move and sway with the music. The specialist turned to the girl's mother and told her she wasn't sick, she was a dancer.Too often we try to fix the things that we think are "wrong" with us. Tom Rath in StrengthsFinder 2.0 argues that we would be better served by focusing our attention on what is "right" with us. To that end he offers the Clifton StrengthsFinder program. Using a code found in the book readers are able to go online and answer a quick 30 minute array of questions and instantly get feedback on their top 5 strengths.Anyone who read and used Now, Discover Your Strengths will be familiar with the process as the only real difference between the two books is a more robust online site that offers an action planning guide and a more personalized strength guide to help you in putting your strengths to work.For those familiar with John Maxwell's argument that it's better to take a skill from 7 to 9 and become world-class than work on a skill from 4 to 6 and still be mediocre this argument will sound very familiar.The book has only 31 pages of text while the rest consists of the 34 Themes and ideas for action. Much like a movie sequel that offers the same actors and story as the first, this book has more bells and whistles than the first, but enough to justify a $24.95 price tag is questionable.While I agree that it is imperative that we know our strengths and work to maximize them daily, this book seems more about generating another income stream for the author and the Gallup organization when you realize that Now, Discover Your Strengths covered the same territory over 10 years ago. Much like my review of How Full is Your Bucket?, I would argue that while the information is valuable it has already been covered more effectively in the past. And in the case of this book by the same publisher over a decade ago.One last point that supports my contention: this is one of the few books I've ever seen that advertises the author's other book on the back cover. In this case Tom Rath's book Well Being (published by Gallup Press). If you notice most books the copy on the back cover will either discuss the book itself or have recommendations from other authors or well-known persons.While I recommend what the book is trying to do, if you have used Now, Discover Your Strengths (and millions have) I would suggest you dig around for those results and work off of those and save $25.

This book gives you a description of about 32 different strengths that people have, and at its core is an access code to an online Myers Briggs type assessment you can take to identify your strengths.The book is merely a reference for the strengths that an online assessment helps you identify, along with strengths that others may have and how you might identify these in people to work better in teams together. The strengths identification is worthwhile, but only if you buy the print version (otherwise you don't get a code and can't take the test!)I originally bought the hardcopy of the book a few years ago and took the test, and then my girlfriend and I were recently reading over my assessment. Wanting her to take the test too, I searched the Gallup website in order to purchase another code. Ridiculously, the only way that it seems that one can take the test is by purchasing another (hardcopy) book to get a new code. Not wanting to uselessly own two of the exact same hardcopy book on my shelf, and before I knew, I paid $14 for the Kindle version just to get a new code. I would be happy to pay $14 just for the StrengthsFinder assessment tool for my girlfriend.As said, it turns out that the Kindle version doesn't contain a new code. I'm basically asking Gallup to take my money in any which way that doesn't include buying and shipping me the same useless hardcopy book again.To be fair I'd recommend the hardcopy book and taking the test once, but not buying the Kindle version, or owning the hardcopy twice.It's been around for years and I've seen many people with complaints about not being able to purchase just a code. That's pretty lame.

This is how the book works: You buy a new copy with an unused access code. Take a 30-minute personality test on the books website and the website spits out a report about the top 5 themes that represent your "strengths" or what is basically different facets of your personality. The report is the virtually the same text that comes from the book. The personality test cannot be retaken. The rest of the book may or may not be useful to you as it just a very brief overview of the other 29 themes that may not apply to you.I took the test and agreed with 4 out of 5 of the themes it applied to me. The four that I agreed with resonated with me and the fifth was a little off (thought I felt that throughout the test I may have been a bit dishonest about this trait so I understand why it popped up). This is where the book may come in handy. My boyfriend and I skimmed through each of the themes. When we either recognized the theme in each other or ourselves, we'd examine the section a bit further to see if it was really a true fit with our individual strengths.Some might think that these types of books are similar to horoscopes and can be applied to anybody but the author did a really great job with distinguishing and describing the themes. With the themes that the test applied to me, I read them and felt that it could apply to anybody. However, after going through the rest of the themes and having a loved one review my themes, it's pretty clear that not all the themes apply to everyone. This descriptions are so well-written and well designed that we instantly recognized these traits in ourselves or in other people we know well. If we didn't recognize the theme, it would be like a completely foreign concept so if you don't recognize it, it must not be you.I felt that even though the test wasn't 100%, it was still pretty good. But if you don't agree with the results, reading the book allows you to identify what themes resonate with you or someone very familiar with you. Then you can read the descriptions and action list. If you do end up with a copy without an access code or want to use the book with a loved one, it only takes a bit of self-knowledge and effort to skim through the book and really examine the sections that may pertain to you or your loved one. It is a bit validating to see personality traits defined as strengths. Instead of seeing some aspects of my personality as a deficit, this books frames them as a potential strength and something that you should own and cultivate rather than try to stifle.I did feel that the book was a bit light and superficial. It is a small book and covers 34 different themes so it would be hard to expect that most people would want to in-depth treatise into all 34 themes. Each theme is covered by about 3 - 4 pages which includes anecdotal quotes by people who identify with the theme, a description of the theme and action list of how you can develop these themes into your strengths. In all, it is covers all the bases but don't expect nitty gritty individualized analysis.By reading the entire book rather than only the sections that pertain to you, you recognize themes in other people around you and perhaps interact with them more productively and amicably.It would have been great if it were possible to order the test without having to buy the book or to order additional tests for family members at a discount or at least without having to buy another book. We'd only need one book in a household. Buying another book just for an access code is a waste of trees as the book has now no resell or reading value. It's understandable that products need revenue but I felt that the author/publishers could take efforts to offer the book in an online format with packages for multiple test.Overall, I really liked the book as a learning tool about myself in others. I recommend it but don't expect a comprehensive analysis of your psyche but a cursory guide meant to get you at least pointed in the right directions.

While this is a book review, the first thin you need to know is that the Strengths Finder 2.0 book is actually just a written, in-depth, support document for the test that you take on the StrengthsFinder web site.The core idea to the test and the book is to identify your strengths and work on them instead of spending all kinds of time trying to fix your weaknesses. If you just think about it a little bit, it makes sense that you can spend days and weeks trying to improve in an area where you are not terribly strong while improvement in areas where you are already strong will come to you, fast & furious.The book is broken down into two parts, an introduction that goes over the concepts and science behind finding your strengths, and a huge section that defines all the various strengths identified in the test. Between reading the first and second section, you're supposed to take the test.The book is really interesting to read. The first section brings out a number of interesting facts from different areas of psychological research that seem... accurate. I've read some psychology types of books where so much of the "science" reads like so much feel-good claptrap. This is not one of those. There are discussions about the fact that you still have weaknesses and blind spots that you'll need to take into account, even as you work on your strengths.I do find this all very useful. I appreciate the insights into what makes me more motivated. It works. Unfortunately, I haven't also incorporated a regular review of these goals into my workload and I think to fully realize the results that needs to happen. Also, a psychological test I went through with my previous employer emphasized that knowing yourself is important, but that knowing others and figuring out how best to communicate with them (note, not adjusting yourself, just your message, you can do this and stick to your strengths) is the best way to improve your working relationships. Because of that, I feel like I only have half the tools I need. Yeah, I can make guesses at what other people might be (and sometimes it's obvious), but not knowing, it is possible to still mess up the communication.Overall, a great read, good information, extremely useful, but still not quite enough for what it sets out to do, at least in my opinion. However, I am going to try to focus on this on a regular basis (daily) so that I can start to use what I've learned and learn more (after all, I'm a Learner).