I think it is quite an interesting book and i would recommend it to people who want to better understand themselves. I would not see it as a guide how to live your life nor how to plan your career but it does share an interesting concept.

What was good

I really liked the concept of focusing on what we are good at. I think that many of us do it every day. I have been doing it most of my life as i do for living what is my hobby. I think it is interesting to see this concept applied in context of enterprise as well. Instead of forcing people to improve in what they are not predisposed to we should let them specialize and focus on what they are good at.

I think these are all very good concepts.

The second most valuable part of the book is "the themes of strengths". Author tries to summarize 34 different patterns of behaviour. Reader is asked to reflect on them and find most relevant patterns. Once you find out which are your themes you should be able to turn them into your strengths by applying them in your life. For example if you have "Focus" you might use it to your advantage more often and consider jobs / tasks that require it. By having this skill in your blood you will be more likely to be successful than others.

To fully understand the idea you will probably have to read the book :) i think it is worth it.

What was not so good

I think the book was over-simplified for American mass-readers. It could have been much more valuable if it was not so patronizing and "box-of-serial-manual-simple".

Descriptions of "themes of strengths" are very brief. It is easy to read but they are not explored deeply enough. It feels like reading a horoscope really! Half a page to summarize personality perk is not enough.

I also felt that author kept on repeating too much of the same thing as if it was to make sure readers understand it. I was not sure what was the intent but it really made me want to skip some pages ;-)

Finally the book is not a scientific publication. Author's tone seems to be quite firm and creates atmosphere of scientific proof, but there is very little objective evidence. I assume it is just to make the book more attractive.

Conclusion

At the end i think it is still a good book to read and i think most people would benefit from reading it. I would not believe every word as it is not a very scientific book but i can still appreciate it's value.

Final score: 7/10