Gallup - Now, Discover Your Strengths

Im sitting in the front row at a large conference. The keynote speaker is a well-known entrepreneur, and his session is called How to Lead a Strengths-Based Life.

He opens with a simple question: With a show of hands, how many of you have heard of Sigmund Freud?

Every hand goes up.

OK, you can put your hands down. Now, how many of you have heard of Don Clifton?

The room is mostly silent. A few hands go up.

The speaker isnt surprised at all. He knows Freud is world-famous. Freuds development of psychoanalysis, the method to treat mental disorders, defined psychology for generations.

The speaker then says, You may not know Don Clifton, but you will. The way Sigmund Freud is famous for treating whats wrong with people is how Don Clifton will be known for developing whats right with people.

He was talking about the Father of Strengths Psychology and inventor of the CliftonStrengths assessment. Don Cliftons strengths philosophy was simple a persons weaknesses hardly improve, but their strengths develop infinitely. And Cliftons philosophy is gaining global attention.

So who is Don Clifton?

His story began February 5, 1924, on a small family farm in Butte, Nebraska. At a young age, Don broke his leg, causing him to be bedridden for months. As a result, he spent an enormous amount of time reading. He particularly liked stories and biographies. This time in his life inspired his ensuing work.

Don eventually healed just at the outbreak of World War II. He was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Force as a bomber navigator flying B-24s. After more than two dozen bombing sorties in the European theater, he received the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism.

Although Clifton returned as a proud war hero, something didnt feel right. I felt like Id been part of so much destruction in the world, he told his son, Jim, that I needed to do something to make things better.

Clifton enrolled at the University of Nebraska and studied statistics and psychology. He began as a student and eventually became a member of the faculty.

Something occurred to him while pursuing his studies. Everything he learned in psychology was focused primarily on what is wrong with people. But Clifton was interested in something else he wanted to study what is right with people.

He went to the campus library to find books on whats right with people. He made his way to the psychology section and began looking for those books. After searching for a while, it occurred to him the books didnt exist. There was no book or taxonomy on what was right with people.

It was that moment when he discovered his purpose to write the taxonomy on whats right with people. He wanted to write a book about peoples strengths.

The book that best reflects his lifes work is the book that youre reading now. With the help of hundreds of colleagues and hundreds of thousands of interviews, this book is the taxonomy of human strengths. Its a book for you to discover your strengths.

Gallup first published this book 20 years ago. It is the culmination of Don Cliftons lifes work.

When Now, Discover Your Strengths was originally published, Clifton dreamed that 1 million people would discover their strengths through StrengthsFinder, the original name of the assessment.

His dream was fully realized not long after he passed away in 2003. One million people had discovered their strengths through StrengthsFinder. That milestone became just one step in a longer journey as Don Cliftons strengths philosophy went global. As of this writing, more than 22 million people have discovered their strengths through the assessment weve renamed CliftonStrengths in honor of its inventor.

Today, we have a new dream that 1 billion people will discover their strengths through CliftonStrengths. That would change the world.

This book is the beginning of your strengths journey. First, you understand the psychology of strengths. Then, you discover your own strengths. And then, you help develop others based on their strengths.

Join us in the global strengths movement a movement to help people spend less time fixing whats wrong with them and more time building on whats right with them.

Start your strengths journey now so you can follow what Don Clifton always said: Soar with your strengths.

Jon Clifton, Global Managing Partner, Gallup
March 2020