Are You Using Your Strengths?
Posted on September 27, 2007 by
Adie 
General 
3 Comments
One of the best books I’ve read about business is Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton. In the book, they argue that is the secret to having a fulfilling and successful work life is to know your strengths and use them as much as possible.
I remember a passage from the book where they talk about Warren Buffett, a famous investor and billionaire. Here is the exact passage found on page 15:
“I am really no different from any of you.”
Warren Buffett, with his usual down-home style and slightly disheveled appearance, is talking to a roomful of students at the University of Nebraska. Since he is one of the richest men in the world and since most of the students can barely cover their phone bill, they start to chuckle.
“I may have more money than you do, but money doesn’t make the difference. Sure, I can buy the most luxurious handmade suit, but I put it on and it just looks cheap. I would rather have a cheeseburger from Dairy Queen than a hundred-dollar meal.” The students seem unconvinced, and so Buffett concedes on one point. “If there is any difference between you and me, it may simply be that I get up every day and have a chance to do what I love to do, every day. If you want to learn anything from me, this is the best advice I can give you.”
On the surface this sounds like the kind of glib throwaway line you tell people after you have already banked your first billion. But Buffett is sincere. He loves what he does and genuinely believes that his reputation as the world’s greatest investor is due to his ability to carve out a role that plays to his particular strengths.
This passage stuck in my mind. In the fast paced environment of internet business, I think many of us have never really intentionally tried to figure out what our strengths are. But Buffett claims the reason he is so successful is because he uses his strengths all the time in his business.
So, let me ask you 2 questions.
- Do you know what your strengths are?
- If you do, are you using them often in your online business?
I’ll have more to say about this, but until then, feel free to answer the 2 questions in the comment section below.
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My criticism of the book is that it is very good at identifying your talents but leaves you in the lurch when it comes to interpreting them into strengths.
This is an interesting article - I wrote something similar entitled ‘Exploit what you already know‘. Many people fail to recognise their strengths. Even worse are those that recognise them but fail to take advantage of them!
- Martin Reed
My (possibly uninformed) answer is yes, I know what my strengths are and I use them very often in my business. I think that using your strengths is the easy part, and only gets you so far. The hard part is recognizing and compensating for your weaknesses. Having said that however, I have not read the book, so maybe reading it would help me discover strengths I am not aware of.