Customer Rating:
Summary: It's just what you give them
Comment: I suppose if there is some value in confirming what you already knew, then Strength's Finder has some value. It doesn't cost that much, so it is worth the money just to confirm what you already know about your self. Nothing new. After I did the survey and read the results, I doubt I will ever look at it again.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time
Comment: Total waste of time. Many/most of the "strengths" they list are contradictory, overlapping or basically unscientific. To determine 39 separate values in a 20 minute test is impossible, and you end up with a mishmash of vague descriptions that in some way could apply to anybody. It got my top strength right on - but then, I could have told you what that strength was. The other four were vaguely worded and not descriptive.

I would discourage anyone from investing too much thought, time or effort based on what this book tells you.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Nothing New, But Not A Bad Buy Either
Comment: This stuff is nothing new. It's the same old personality trait test reworked and reworded. Whether you take this, a myers-briggs test, or some other personality test, you'll learn what your personality is like. It's pretty common sense that extroverted people annoy introverted people. That one personality trait can compliment or cause conflicts with someone else's trait. That said, I wouldn't discourage someone from buying this if they needed to take a personality test. Just don't waste your money if you've already taken a different test such as a myers-briggs.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Good idea - Terrible execution
Comment: The book is a good read but being able to take the online assessment is critical. In my case, I've been shunted off to the Japanese version (I live in Japan) despite English being my native language. I've sent email to the help account shown on the Strengthfinder site but still no reply after one week. It's too bad the publisher didn't upgrade their online service in addition to the book.

What a waste of money! I'll never buy another book from this publisher again.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: An Effective Starting Point
Comment: The strength of this book is really centered in the online test that you get with your purchase of the book. Since, I found the online test to be so useful, I salute this book.

Other reviewers have already made the point, repeatedly, that Marcus Buckingham's book is the better read on the benefit of using one's strengths (I agree). But, the combination of this book, assuming you make use of the online test, and Buckingham's is a powerful one-two punch to drive home the point that leveraging our strengths is important to our success.

Because our society tends to emphasize our weaknesses (including with relentless advertising offering instant cures to our weaknesses), there is much more written about curing our weaknesses. It is great to see some authors serving up an alternative thought: leverage your strengths. Of course to do so, one first needs to objectively assess one's strengths and this book, and the accompanying online test, is an effective way to do so.

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