In a world where efficiency and competency rule the workplace, where do personal strengths fit in?
It's a complex question, one that intrigued Cambridge-educated Marcus Buckingham so greatly, he set out to answer it by challenging years of social theory and utilizing his nearly two decades of research experience as a Senior Researcher at The Gallup Organization to break through the preconceptions about achievement and get to the core of what drives success.
The result of his persistence, and arguably the definitive answer to the strengths question, can be found in Buckingham’s best-selling books including, First, Break All the Rules (co-authored with Curt Coffman, Simon & Schuster, 1999); Now, Discover Your Strengths (co-authored with Donald O. Clifton, The Free Press, 2001); The One Thing You Need to Know (The Free Press, 2005); Go Put Your Strengths to Work (The Free Press, 2007); The Truth About You (Thomas Nelson, 2008); and his latest book, Find Your Strongest Life: What the Happiest and Most Successful Women Do Differently (Thomas Nelson, 2009). The author gives important insights to maximizing strengths, understanding the crucial differences between leadership and management, and fulfilling the quest for long-lasting personal success.
What would happen if men and women spent more than 75% of each day on the job using their strongest skills and engaged in their favorite tasks, basically doing exactly what they wanted to do?
According to Marcus Buckingham (who spent years interviewing thousands of employees at every career stage and who is widely considered one of the world's leading authorities on employee productivity and the practices of leading and managing), companies that focus on cultivating employees strengths rather than simply improving their weaknesses stand to dramatically increase efficiency while allowing for maximum personal growth and success.
If such a theory sounds revolutionary, that's because it is. Marcus Buckingham calls it the "strengths revolution".
As he addresses more than 250,000 audiences around the globe each year, Buckingham touts this strengths revolution as the key to finding the most effective route to personal success and the missing link to the efficiency, competency, and success for which many companies constantly strive.
To kick-start the strengths revolution, Buckingham and Gallup developed the StrengthsFinder exam which identifies signature themes that help employees quantify their personal strengths in the workplace and at home. Since the StrengthsFinder exam debuted in 2001, more than one million people have discovered their strengths with this useful and important tool.
In his role as author, independent consultant and speaker, Marcus Buckingham has been the subject of in-depth profiles in The New York Times, Fortune, Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal and is routinely lauded by such corporations as Toyota, Coca-Cola, Master Foods, Wells Fargo, Yahoo and Disney as an invaluable resource in informing, challenging, mentoring and inspiring people to find their strengths and obtain and sustain long-lasting personal success. In addition to The Oprah Winfrey Show, Marcus Buckingham has been featured on Larry King Live, The Today Show, Good Morning America, and The View.
A wonderful resource for leaders, managers and educators, Buckingham challenges conventional wisdom and shows the link between engaged employees and productivity, profit, customer satisfaction and the rate of turnover. A member of the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on Leadership and Management, Buckingham graduated from Cambridge University in 1987 with a masters degree in Social and Political Science. He lives with his wife and two children in Los Angeles.
Marcus Buckingham, Best-Selling Author & Expert on Leadership and Management Practices, is available through IMG Speakers Bureau for speaking engagements. Marcus Buckingham is also available for business seminars, panel discussions, corporate meetings and events and much more. Please contact IMG Speakers at 212-774-6735 or speakers@imgworld.com for more information on booking Marcus Buckingham.
