The new book is only the beginning, however. The Gallup
Organization also offers training courses for corporations and
individuals, as well as an innovative Web-based survey offered to -
and only to - purchasers of the book. Each copy of Now, Discover
Your Strengths comes with a unique code number printed inside,
which the purchaser can punch in at a Web site to take a free,
online test that identifies the test-taker's top five signature
themes. (For more information, log onto
www.strengthsfinder.com.)
The results are uniformly intriguing. They tend to reinforce what
people already know about themselves, while revealing heretofore
misperceived talents. For instance, I wasn't surprised to find
Analytical, Intellection, and Learner on my list. Being able to
sort through masses of data, think about things, and learn new
topics quickly are essential skills for a freelance writer. But
Input, the theme of curiosity, was a revelation.
Unlike, say, astrological signs or Jung's either-or types,
strengths don't have opposites. The Gallup strengths are described
in terms that are broad enough to encompass a large number of
people, but fine enough that you will be able to recognize when one
applies to you and when it doesn't. As an aside, there are 32
million possible combinations of the themes, enough to make it a
virtual certainty that you will never meet anyone with your same
combination.
Making It Work
So what do you do with the StrengthsFinder survey findings? First,
you talk about them. Any discussion of strengths is likely to
include a request to reveal your own, followed by a discussion of
what this could mean in the context of the strengths of the person
you are talking with.
But be careful. People can be finicky or even protective about
their themes. When Buckingham said, after learning about my five,
"Those are all mind candy," I was taken aback. Mind candy? That
means you think a lot about things, was Buckingham's essential
explanation.