AKA “First Break All the Rules, Part II,” this book picks up where the other book leaves off. In FBATR, Buckingham presents his concept of managing strengths in employees and developing them in ourselves. In this book, he goes into detail about what strengths are and presents an online test to discover them.

If you enjoyed First Break All the Rules, and if you manage people, you did, then this book too is a must-read if not a first-read that you need to pass under your nose and study. Buckingham takes his excellent writing ability and the power of the Gallup organization’s research to further your understanding of what talents are and how to manage to them.

This book contains the following concepts:

• 31 different talents or themes
• A secret code to use on the strengthfinder test to find out your themes
• Instructions on how to manage each theme
• Broadbanding
• Another rant about how companies should use broadbanding (they never will)
• Suggestions on how to work-around weaknesses

The biggest thing this book has to offer is a known psychological quantity that most managers are in denial about: many characteristics of adults over the age of 30 are fixed and immutable. They are who they are, and they will not change. Expecting an adult to become less emotional or more proactive is like spitting into a headwind - you accomplish nothing. If managers could learn this concept, learn to focus on behavior, and focus on effectiveness, never again would an employee have to sit in front of their boss and listen to a pedantic, parental lecture about how they need to “grow” into something they are genetically hardwired to never become.

Buckingham implores managers to get the best from their people, and he reiterates his powerful belief that hiring is the unturned key to almost everything in management.

Grab a copy of Now, Discover Your Strengths for yourself from Amazon.com!