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Now, Discover Your Strengths: How to Develop Your Talents and Those of the People You Manage | 
| Authors: Marcus Buckingham, Donald O. Clifton
Publisher: Pocket Books
Category: Book
List Price: £10.99
Buy New: £6.59
You Save: £4.40 (40%)
New (31) Used (12) from £2.57
Avg. Customer Rating:  23 reviews
Sales Rank: 1574
Media: Paperback
Edition: New edition
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.9
ISBN: 1416502653
EAN: 9781416502654
ASIN: 1416502653
Publication Date: June 20, 2005
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Marcus Buckingham and Donald O Clifton's Now, Discover Your Strengths proposes a unique approach to managing personnel: focus on enhancing people's strengths rather than eliminating their weaknesses. Effectively managing personnel--as well as one's own behaviour--is an extraordinarily complex task that, not surprisingly, has been the subject of countless books touting what each claims is the true path to success. Following up on the coauthors' popular previous book, First, Break All the Rules, it fully describes 34 positive personality themes the two have formulated (such as Achiever, Developer, Learner, and Maximiser) and explains how to build a "strengths-based organisation" by capitalising on the fact that such traits are already present among those within it. Most original and potentially most revealing, however, is a Web-based interactive component that allows readers to complete a questionnaire developed by the Gallup Organisation and instantly discover their own top five inborn talents. This device provides a personalised window into the authors' management philosophy which, coupled with subsequent advice, places their suggestions into the kind of practical context that's missing from most similar tomes. "You can't lead a strengths revolution if you don't know how to find, name and develop your own," write Buckingham and Clifton. Their book encourages such introspection while providing knowledgeable guidance for applying its lessons. --Howard Rothman
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| Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
 Transformation in the Workplace! November 18, 2008
29 out of 29 found this review helpful
"Now, Discover Your Strengths" is a breath of fresh air. I can relate, as authors Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton describe in their book, to people who tend to focus on their weaknesses instead of identifying their talents and building them into strengths. Before reading this book, I used to focus on everything that I thought needed improvement instead of seeing that there were natural areas in my workplace that I excelled in. I am a loan servicer at an investment bank, and I have discovered that I am currently performing in a job that capitalizes on my strengths and my talents. My knack for organization and discipline has earned me the role of training new hires in my department. Without recognizing this talent, I may have turned down the opportunity when my supervisor suggested that I take on this responsibility. I really enjoy my work.
I've also found satisfaction with my workplace from reading books by authors Ariel & Shya Kane. Before reading their book,Working on Yourself Doesn't Work: The 3 Simple Ideas That Will Instantaneously Transform Your Life, I would complain about my job, thinking that it was just a job that paid the bills, always dreading 9:00AM on Mondays and day dreaming about 5:00PM on Fridays. My existence at my workplace was so unsatisfying that I was miserable. After reading their books, including How to Create a Magical Relationship: The 3 Simple Ideas that Will Instantaneously Transform Your Love Life: The 3 Simple Ideas That Will Instantaneously Transform Your Love Life and Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment, I have discovered that if I fully engage in the moment with my life, the mundane tasks in life become magical. Magical - as in fun, easy, and satisfying. Not only have I found that I have unique strengths by reading "Now, Discover Your Strengths", I have found a life of ease in my workplace, by reading the award winning books by Ariel & Shya Kane.
 Don't buy used copies! October 14, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The book provides a single -use access code to complete an online survey, that is at the heart of the book. Unfortunately if you buy a used copy and the previous owner used the code, then you are unable to complete the survey; effectively making this book useless as a tool to understand your talents.
A point well taken, but... October 8, 2008
25 out of 25 found this review helpful
The idea of the book is to help you find your talents, build your strengths, which will in turn, improve your performance.
Building your strengths is indeed somthing that is often overlooked, as most of the time we seek to improve our weaknesses- that's a point well taken- and a good reason to buy the book. However two more things also need to be mentioned. First, why can't we work on building both our strengths AND our weaknesses? In other words, why do we have to necessarily pick just one? I feel that many weaknesses can be improved upon.
Secondly, discovering your talents and doing what you're good at may not necessarily improve your performance. Why? Because there are lots of things we're good at, but still hate to do nonetheless. For instance, I'm really good at cleaning houses and debating, but I don't like to really do either one. People really perform well when its something that they know how to do AND when there's something meaningful/important in it for them. Anyway, just some food for thought. Readers may also be interested in The Sixty-Second Motivator.
Revealing, easy read and a good on-line assessment January 30, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a quick read and his other books are too. Which is a compliment.
Easy to relate to and apply.
I have used the on-line assessments for both myself and employees, and for me I have found them pretty accurate! Today I am buying yet ano book ~ the on-line assessment is foc when you buy the book ~ and I'll be using the assessment next week when looking at a prospective hire.
I have combined some of the concepts in this book when interviewing (I run a recruitment business) with others previously established and found it can support a good match & vice versa help identify ones which are not.
It would be good if an easy read on emotional intelligence in the context of the workplace were available ~ I havent found one yet. If authors see this, please understand small text sizes in books are really hard work ~ this book (Now, Discover your strengths) isnt I'm just making the point.
The Good is the enemy of the best. October 4, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Main idea: Most organizations hold on tenaciously to two fallacies (1) That anyone in the organization can be trained to do any task, and (2) That the greatest room for potential growth for any individual is in his area of greatest weakness. This book turns these on their head by stating (and proving) the opposite is true: (1) That training across the organization ultimately needs to focus on specialty areas of diverse contribution, and (2) That the greatest room for potential growth for any individual is in his area of greatest strength. In other words, let's let Tiger Woods play golf and Pavorotti sing. This should resonate with Paul's advice on spiritual gifts....
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