Strengths vs. Weaknesses

On the recommendation of the Startupsfor the Rest of Us podcast#38, I just read Strengths Finder 2.0. From a book that came highly recommended by others, I was a bit disappointed in the book, the test that accompanies it, as well as the test results that are provided after the test has been complete. If you can find the book at a reasonable price like I did, I still think you'll get your money's worth.

The book provides an introduction to the test and the 34 'themes' that the test can identify. The introduction explains the importance focusing on ones strengths by using a few analogies, yet most of these analogies involve sports. A personality test like the one that is included with the book of course would never work for an aptitude with sports. While sports analogies are easily accessible, with access to numerous individuals who have taken their personality test, one would imagine a more appropriate analogy would be available.

The test itself involved a series of two statements which one must judge which applies better. However, the nature of the test and the speed of which it must be finished (as each question has a set time period in which it must be answered), made me extremely nervous and had me second guessing myself. While I'm a very introspective person by nature, I also second guess myself as to whether I'm the best judge of my character or if my wife would have been able to answer more accurately.

Finally, I think it would have been helpful if the test results would have also revealed 5 weaknesses, so I could know what areas to avoid. However, with the description of the 'themes' in the book, I can identify which areas I'm weakest at myself, though it would have been nice to know this from the test.

While my review of this book has been harshly critical, I think there's a couple points to keep in mind. First, this book came highly recommended, so I had high expectations going in. Second, the book and test are a few years old, and as such, I think there are likely better personality tests out there now. The book touted itself as a revolutionary way to determine strengths, but in the end, it seemed like a standard personality test, one that I've taken for free on the internet every now and again. Having to pay $10 to $15 for the book to gain access to the test is a little steep. However, if you can find this book for less, I would say it would be a good deal and worth the couple of hours it would take to read the book and take the test.