Maximize Your Strengths
Helping You Do What You Do Best?
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Janet Attwood on Passion
"Sometimes it's painful. I love to dispel myths about living a passionate life. Many people thing that just because you live a passionate life you'll have no challenges. Once I know my passions it's like a smooth road, but it's not so. There are obstacles, there are challenges, there are moments when you go, 'I don't know whether to go right or left'."
To take "The Passion Test" go to: http://www.thepassiontest.com
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Age As A Strength and Seeing Your "Mold" - Jonathan Sackner-Bernstein
And most of all, he challenges us to like Alexander Fleming, find our "mold".
Thursday, November 27, 2014
The Science of Personality - Film Short
The Science of Personality from Signal Factory on Vimeo.
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Assets and Liabilities - Pam Hendrickson
http://www.pamhendrickson.com/download/DiscoverYourHiddenAssetsPamHendrickson.pdf
Friday, October 10, 2014
Delivering Your Strengths Is The Point!
...and I would add...in a way that makes a difference. You must learn to become obsessed with delivering your strengths in a way that maximizes your contribution to the organization, team or business unit.
How do you deliver your strengths?
How do you make a difference?
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Take Control Over Your Responses To The Unexpected - Dan Sullivan
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Discovering Your 10x Purpose - Dan Sullivan
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Monday, June 2, 2014
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Billionaire Entrepreneur Mark Cuban Talks About Strengths
Thank you to my strengths practitioner friend Johan Oosthuizen for sharing this video...
In this short interview with billionaire entrepreneur and Dallas Mavarick's Owner Mark Cuban, he talks about his philosophy of success. He shares how he started to understand his own strengths at age 12. Cuban shares his experience selling garbage bags from door to door:
"It was when I was selling them, that I realized that I like to sell, and that I could sell and I realized that selling was about providing a service and creating value for people. I knew literally back then that I could always succeed". If you are familiar with the Strengthsfinder Assessment... Cuban is sharing his recognition of the Talent Theme called "Woo".
Cuban continues, "I think when I was 16 years old, I started a stamp company and started going to stamp shows and trade shows, just working a little bit harder than other people (Strengthsfinder Achiever Theme) and trading up from one stamp to the next. I remember I started with a quarter and bought one stamp and left with $50.00"
Cuban shares, "I've always been passionate. I would stay up till 3 or 4 in the morning, even though I had to get up and go to school, and read Linn's Stamp News and Scott's Stamp Journals and have them all memorized. Even when I was in college, I'd be in the library reading business books and looking for business biographies (Strengthsfinder Input Theme) and just reading all I could about business. When I had Micro Solutions, I started with no money, I'd pull all nighters in front of borrowed computers teaching myself software and how to program (Strengthsfinder Learner Theme).
I've always just really enjoyed the competition of business (Strengthsfinder Competition Theme). The ultimate sport is business, and you have to do it 24x7x365 days forever. There's always somebody out there trying to kick your butt. There's always somebody who looks at your business and says, 'I can do that better - I have a better idea', and you have to compete with that person."
Cuban also talks about the importance of passion. He shares, "Love what you do...it's not who you know, it's not how much money you have access to. It's really about finding something that you really love to do. I had no idea that I loved computers and technology. I took one class in computers, then I bought a little PC, a 99/4A from Texas Instruments for $99.00 and started teaching myself to program. I found out 4 hours later that I had been working this entire time and I loved it. That was the difference. I failed a lot of times and I didn't know where I'd find my success, and then all of a sudden, I started playing with PC's and technology and it just clicked."
Cuban concludes, "I think the most important thing is knowing your strengths and weaknesses and knowing what you enjoy doing. If you look at it as job, you've already lost. It's not going to be your passion. Your going to count the hours. If you look at it as something you love to do, and then you know what your strengths are, then you can leverage those strengths in your business and helping others. Once you recognize your weaknesses, then you can work with people that complement you. In every one of my businesses I've had a partner that's very anal... Martin Woodall, Todd Wagner are incredibly perfectionist people. I'm a slob. I'm a big picture, think about what's around the corner... How's technology going to change things? How can I change this industry? I need to make sure that there's somebody there to dot the i's and cross the t's and keep me in the baselines. Recognizing my weaknesses is just as important as recognizing my strengths and my core competencies and having a passion to do it."
That last paragraph is a pretty good summary of the Strengths Philosophy as I teach it.
Process Usually Trumps Product
In his almost always brilliant blog, Seth Godin explains this principle using "Staples" as an example. Godin begins:
"The people who started Staples didn't do it...
Lashinsky continues, “Apples approach to career development is yet another way it ruins contrary to the norms at other other companies. The prevalent attitude for workers in the corporate world is to consider their growth trajectory - what’s the path up? Companies spend an inordinate amount of time growing their people for new responsibilities... But what if it turns out that all that thinking is wrong? What if companies encouraged employees to be satisfied where they are because they’re good at what they did? Instead of employees fretting because they were stuck in terminal jobs, what if they were excited in having found their perfect job? There are many professionals that find it liberating to work at what they are good at, receive competitive killer compensation, and not have to worry about supervising others or jockeying for higher rungs on the org chart.”
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Strengths @ Facebook
Monday, May 19, 2014
Character Strengths
Sunday, May 11, 2014
The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance - Steven Kotler
The One Question All Successful People Can Answer Immediately
In her article posted on "The Muse", Sarah Chang talks about, "The One Question All Successful People Can Answer Immediately".
The Question:
"If You Were A Super-Hero, What Would Your Super-Power Be?"
She's right. Two extensive studies have been done that completely support the idea behind knowing the answer to this question. "Awareness" of strengths and "Alignment" with those strengths are really the only common denominators of success across different roles, positions and functions.
What You're Really Meant To Do - Robert Steven Kaplan
This includes a barrage of input about and from:
Peer Push - "Come Work With Us"
Plant - "Who's Hiring"
Posting - "Who's Hiring"
Parental Push - "You Should Be A ______"
Promoters - "This Will Make Your Life Better"
Place - "It's Close By"
Pay - "I Can't Afford To Make Less"
Position Prestige - "The Title Sounds So Successful"
Programs - "The Television Version Of A Job"
In this "Google Talk", Robert Steven Kaplan shares a better way...
Passion - "What You Love"
Purpose - "What You Think Is Important"
Personality - "Fits With Your Temperament"
Potential - "What You're Naturally Good At"
Process - "What You Enjoy Doing"
If you like this talk, let me suggest his book by the same title!
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Science Prodigy
What if your child is a prodigy?
What if you are a prodigy?
Prodigy Mechanic
What if your child is a prodigy?
What if you are a prodigy?
Prodigy Artist
What if your child is a prodigy?
What if you are a prodigy?
Prodigy Surfer
What if your child is a prodigy?
What if you are a prodigy?
Coaching, Class, and Collaborator Comments
The Purpose of this letter is to describe the benefits I enjoyed from my coaching experience with Dale Cobb. I had a very specific issue, which I needed help getting over the hump with. Our conversations were very helpful in keeping me on track and getting me to the finish line. I believe that Dale is a keen observer of the human condition and has the ability to reflect back an individuals thoughts and goals as one strives for success. I found the services offered by Dale to be timely and effective. In the future, I am sure I will be presented with challenges that require outside assistance. When that time comes, I will not hesitate to call on Dale for his fresh bright and insightful guidance.
“I would like to take the opportunity to offer my recommendation for Dale Cobb. He has the remarkable ability to clearly listen to a problem, understand the issues and suggest a course of action that satisfies the needs of me and my clients. I cannot tell you how many times his advice was precisely what I needed to close a deal or carefully resolve a difficult situation. He is resourceful and creative in his teaching style. Over all he helped me to be more efficient and successful in my career.”
“Dale gives attention to detail and runs one of the best team meetings I’ve ever seen. He has the keen ability to make complex things seems simple enough that anyone could understand them.”
“Thank you for all your time and encouragement. With your advice and direction, I was able to get a decent job offer. They even complimented my resume.”
Ben Davidson, Visalia, CA