Six down, forty-six to go.

Six down, forty-six to go.

Now, Discover Your Strengths
by Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton

I had to read this for work. It's one of those business-minded self-help books that are supposed to help you unleash your potential and all that stuff. Like most other books in this genre, I personally felt it's message could have easily been delivered via a short essay, so much of its content came across as redundant padding.

The ultimate message was that successful people capitalize on their natural talents and develop them into strengths. What revolutionary thinking! The secondary message seemed to be a set-up to entice the reader to enroll in further StrengthFinder programs for further guidance. This was not exactly a surprise either.

Luckily I work for a company that does not blindly buy into simple messaging, so we altered its usage accordingly and used some of the basic concepts as tools for discovery rather than as bible verses to be followed exactly. Plus, it gave us a common vocabulary for discussion, and that was helpful. Even if "Intellection" isn't a word.

Anyway, for the curious, here's the thumbnail view of my top five strengths -- and to be honest they seem reasonably accurate -- according to the program's StrengthFinder questionnaire:

Input
People strong in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.

Intellection
People strong in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions.

Relator
People who are strong in the Relator theme enjoy close relationships with others. They find deep satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a goal.

Strategic
People strong in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.

Responsibility
People strong 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.