Rating: 
Summary: First rate book that delivers!
Review: The best part of this wonderful book is the online questionnaire which enables participants to gain insight into their talents and strengths. As a direct result of reading this book and taking the results of the questionnaire to mind and heart, I consiciously choose activities that utilize my strengths when planning my day. I also recommend the "Rate Your Thinking" questionnaire at optimalthinking.com to determine how much of your thinking is in your best interest. It's free! In my opinion, Optimal Thinking: How To Be Your Best Self is the most important book for all, to learn how to make the most of thinking, feelings, strengths, resources, opportunities and to bring out the best in others.
Rating:
Summary: A Glass of Lemonade
Review: I thought I'd place my premature evaluation. I call it premature because I have only reached chapter 5 thus far. This book is definitely refreshing - like a tall glass of lemonade on a hot summer day. I was intrigued most by the idea of a new paradigm in the area of improvement - focus on your strengths for improvement and not your weakness (as much) - so simple, yet so valuable. I would say the online exam is worth the price of the book. For me, I found it to be very accurate. Within the framework of this book, I have had the opportunity to reflect and see my strengths in my past interactions - VERY EMPOWERING. This book encourages you to be yourself (the best way you know how) because you have a mix of greatness that is unique to you. Here is your chance to know thy self. Enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Book defective--no review possible
Review: I paid for the new book, but it arrived without the code required to conduct that partnered web profile. Amazon said I would have to contact the publisher for resolution, although from the generic nature of the reply I doubt my customer service request was even read by a human. Regardless--buy the book somewhere where you can return it if it is defective, not here.
Rating: 
Summary: MUST BUY NEW
Review: This is a great book, I recommend it to all. VERY IMPORTANT. You must buy this book new in order to take the online test. I purchased a used book through the marketplace (always and excellent experience by the way) so the code has already been used. Now I have to spend the money to buy a new one just to take the test. In this case buying used does not save you anything.
Rating:
Summary: A Book With A New Twist
Review: This is one of the best of the hundreds of how-to books on leadership I have read over the years. It has a new twist, an on-line test to identify your inherent leadership strengths. But, keep in mind, there's more to leadership than meets the eye. You should understand the philosophical underpinnings of leadership to be a truly successful leader. To do that, there is no other book that makes understanding the philosophy of leadership easier than Norman Thomas Remick's "West Point: Character Leadership Education..". When you finish "Now", I suggest you go on to read the Remick book to become one of those rare leaders who are successful because they really understand what they are doing.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for discovering strengths!
Review: I read most of the business and self-improvement books. This is the best book on discovering your strengths and talents. The self-assessment is better than anything I have come across. Read this book and "Optimal Thinking: How to Be Your Best Self" which shows you how to make the MOST of your greatest asset (your mind) to make the BEST choices, OPTIMIZE strengths and talents, and MAXIMIZE everything that comes your way.
Rating:
Summary: Mentoring, not hand-holding
Review: I've read quite a few of these kinds of books starting way back when with "What Color is Your Parachute," through "The Acorn Principle" and "Please Understand Me." This has been a long-term process of discovering my interests, talents, abilities, skills, knowledge, preferences, and potential - always with the intention of finding my true calling in life. But this book is not just another addition to that list; this is a superior method for focusing in on very specific talents and strengths and clarifying your own thinking about your life choices. The assessment and categories of strengths are more straightforward than taking the Meyers-Briggs or other similar tests. The book confirms some of what I already knew, but completely clarified the concept of natural talent combined with skills and knowledge creating the strengths that one can use throughout their life. People have complained in other reviews that some of the book is "fluff" or that it doesn't tell you what job to go get. This is only true for people who want one 250-page book to answer some of the greatest of life's questions. I greatly appreciate that the authors give simple, straightforward examples and their own theories quickly and pointedly. They leave it up to ME to make decisions based on that information. If you are prepared to do the work over the course of time and use this book as a mentor (not a nanny who tells you what to do) you will gain great insight into yourself and your path.
Rating:
Summary: A Strong Follow-Up
Review: Now, Discover your Strengths (NDYS) is the follow-up of First, Break all the Rules and generates answers to many of those burning questions left from FBATR. The book starts out with three chapters discussing what a strength based organization is, and provides an overview of some concepts taken from FBATR. If you recently read FBATR, you could easily skip to the assessment test, and work thru the rest of the book with your test results. The 4th chapter is an overview of all 34 strength possibilities. While it is good to know each of the strengths to understand your employees/co-workers, you could easily just breeze thru the chapter and save your disection of each of the strengths till chapter six, where they discuss how to manage an employee of each strenght. The final chapter gives an implementation plan to make your organization a strengths based organization. Overall the book is laid out very similiarly to FBATR, and at times overlaps stories and concepts, but does provide additional insight into the workings of people. Lastly, if you are like me, and wanted to take the assessment test before you read the book, see the reverse side of your book jacket. Hopefully this little tidbit will save you an email to their tech support
Rating: 
Summary: Repetitively obnoxious
Review: Self-help or not, as I read this book I felt that I was being "talked down to". The author probably would make an excellent kindergarten teacher, because only there is teaching by repetition considered an option. I feel that all the "advice" could have been said in about 10 pages or so. I understand, however, that there are some people who enjoy reading such books and perhaps my opinion is tainted by the fact that I have not read that many "self-help" books. But I am a regular "inspiration book" reader, and I have been more inspired by "Jack: Straight from the Gut", "A Passion to Win", etc. I probably would have finished reading this book had I not gotten tired of the redundancy. This may be a good read if you have recently broken your leg and need something to pass the time. For me, I have a better source of nagging: my wife.
Rating:
Summary: Great Motivational Book
Review: "Now, Discover Your Strengths", is a great motivation
book on building strength and success. A great book
for self-empowerment. Having a winning attitude,
believing in yourself, and thinking positively, are
all extremely vital to success. Diana: Author of: "You Hold The Key To Riches And
Happiness"; "Sure Fire Ways To Make More Money And
Get A Better Job"; (and) "Inspirational Wisdom For
Love, Beauty, And Richness."
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