Go Put Your Strengths to Work: 6 Powerful Steps to Achieve Outstanding Performance

Marcus Buckingham’s latest work, Go Put Your Strengths to Work begins by speculating on the source of the strengths movement. He speculates that perhaps for many it may have begun with Peters Drucker’s 1966 comment in The Effective Executive: “The effective executive builds on strengths—their own strengths, the strengths of superiors, colleagues, subordinates; and on the strengths of the situation.”

For me, it began in the early seventies when Jack McKinney—my Dad—began presenting his Know Yourself seminars in English-speaking countries around the world. A big part of his seminar was identifying and building on strengths and learning to manage them as the excessive use of strength becomes a weakness.

Whatever your introduction was to the strengths movement, Go Put Your Strengths to Work is an attempt build on the shoulders of giants to advance the current strengths movement from just identifying and labeling our strengths to learning how to actually put our strengths to work. This is the real point of the whole process. His practical system is very useful in helping you to do just that. The system is based on 6 steps:

1: Bust the Myths—So, What’s stopping you?
2: Get Clear—Do You Know What Your Strengths Are?
3: Free Your Strengths—How Do You Make the Most of What Strengthens You?
4: Stop Your Weaknesses—How Can You Cut Out What Weakens You?
5: Speak Up—How Do You Create Strong Teams?
6: Build Strong Habits—How Can You Make This Last Forever?

The process involves the careful observation of your work habits—using a guided questioning procedure—to turn the best of your job into the most of your job. Simply put, Buckingham defines your strengths as “those activities that make you feel strong.” Conversely, the best definition of weakness is any “activity that makes you feel weak.”

Of course, the system is backed by a web site—SimplyStrengths.com—accessed by using the now familiar code given with the purchase of the book. The release of the book is also backed by a nationwide tour by Marcus Buckingham beginning today. This event will also include a private showing of his short feature film entitled Trombone Player Wanted.

Related Interest:
StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test

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Posted by Michael McKinney at 10:02 AM
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