Strengthsfinder 2.0
"I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence but it comes from within. It is there all the time." Anna Freud
So I picked up a copy of Strengthsfinder 2.0 and took the code from the book and did the online assessment. It seemed like a lot of questions but it did not take long to answer them. It came back with my assessment of my 5 key strengths:
- Context
- Individualization
- Connectedness
- Learner
- Intellection
The book and online aids give out some great information on the strengths it finds you reveal in your answers - and the list of possible strengths is a long one. The answers you pick in combination are used in some complex matrix to come up with the key 5. The way to use them in your teams, work environments, and probably relationships looks to be pretty interesting.
Here's what the expanded explanations were for mine:
10/28/04
The Espresso Conspiracy
I had a whole rant prepared on why I'm annoyed with some or other political ideal, but I made the mistake of walking through my company's lobby at around 12:30 P.M. today, and that whole rant was blown away.
You see, we have a "coffee" stand in our lobby, and there was a line of folks who decided to order some Espresso.
10/26/04
Weather Should Be Banned
I've lived in the South where if it didn't rain every day people feared a drought was coming. I've lived in the North where if it didn't rain in the fall and in the spring, people feared a drought was coming. I've lived in the Pacific Northwest where if it didn't rain every 10 minutes, people feared a drought was coming.
But nothing compares to Southern California, where if it rains at all every meteorologist in the state becomes the star of their very own breaking news-story entitled "STORMWATCH [insert year]". For some reason when the skies open and nature showers us with her raindrops, Southern California goes into a frenzy. I know, for instance, that if it rains on any given day, that I might as well stay at work until 7pm to avoid the inevitable parking lot that's normally called Interstate 5.
10/25/04
They Were Right Both Times
zeitgeist: the 1960s through 2004
ortgeist: the (un)trustworthy in the United States
"Never trust anyone over the age of 30" was a popular phrase with the young people of the 1960s and 70s. Was it Bob Dylan or Abbie Hoffman who said it? I can never remember which dissident said what.
In any case, many of the Woodstock Generation wore that phrase like a badge of honor during the 1960s and 1970s. Later, they swapped the word "over" with "under" as they hit their 30s.
I think they were right - both times.
Living Without Common Sense
zeitgeist: late 1700s
ortgeist : The British Colonies known as "America"
If I try hard enough, I can still hear my mother - muttering under her breath as she often did - that I have "no common sense". How was I supposed to know, at the age of 7, that the colder water from the Sparklett's water dispenser wasn't any more effective at putting out my small backyard fire than water from the tap? Hrmph!
To this day, it is often said about me that I am plenty "book-smart" but I have no "street smarts"... which is just a way for my friends to chide me about how incredibly intelligent I can be at times, while also being incredibly naive (aka "stupid"). I don't mind that they chide me; I've grown used to it over the years. In some ways, I suppose it's true that I rather take pride in it.
10/24/04
A More Purple America
zeitgeist: election year 2004
ortgeist : the United States
I picked up a copy of U.S. News and World Report, recently (the Oct 25 edition) and found myself first irritated, and then amused, by an article called "How Deep is the Divide?" written by Jay Tolson.
This article, admittedly, paints a caricature of what sorts of people make up the Republican constituency and which make up the Democratic constituency. The caricatures are as follows:
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