Marcus Buckingham

Biography

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 Sr. 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 trio of best-selling books, First, Break All the Rules (coauthored with Curt Coffman, Simon & Schuster, 1999); Now, Discover Your Strengths (coauthored with Donald O. Clifton, The Free Press, 2001); and The One Thing You Need to Know (The Free Press, 2005), in which 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 (StrengthsFinder.com), which identifies signature themes that help employees quantify their personal strengths in the workplace and at home. Since the StrengthsFinder debuted in 2001, more than 1 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 is routinely lauded by such corporations as Toyota, Coca-Cola, Master Foods, Wells Fargo, 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.

Marcus Buckingham holds a master’s degree in social and political science from Cambridge University and is a member of the Secretary of State's Advisory Committee on Leadership and Management. He lives with his wife and two children in Los Angeles.

Publications

Following the million-copy bestsellers First Break All the Rules and Now, Discover Your Strengths, Marcus Buckingham’s new book at last answers the ultimate question: How can you actually apply your strengths for maximum success at work?

Research data shows that most people do not make full use of their assets at work. This book aims to change that by kick-starting the Strengths revolution that began with Buckingham’s earlier books. Through a six-step, or six-week experience, Go Put Your Strengths to Work shows you how to seize control of your assets and rewrite your job description under the nose of your boss. You will learn:

* Why your strengths aren’t “what you are good at” and your weaknesses aren’t “what you are bad at.”
* How to use the four telltale signs to identify your strengths.
* The simple steps you can take each week to skew your time at work toward those activities that strengthen you, and how to cut out those that don’t
* How to talk to your boss and your colleagues about your strengths without sounding like you’re bragging.
* The fifteen-minute weekly ritual that will keep you on your strengths path your entire career.

With structured exercises that will become part of your regular work activities, web-enabled tools that allow you to put these lessons into practice immediately, and accounts of people who have successfully applied the book’s lessons. Go Put Your Strengths to Work will arm you with a radically different approach to your work life.

Titles

First, Break All The Rules
Now, Discover Your Strengths