Jim Clifton

This book builds on Gallup's earlier entrepreneurial strengths profile, which means the older one is out of date. It shows empirically how the strengths statistically related to business performance. It also focuses on how to build a team with the right combination of skills. I struggled with it for two reasons. First, if you're a sole proprietor, it's not as useful. You can look for ways to understand your strengths and weaknesses, and to complement them with vendors and partners. Still, the success is ultimately on you. Second, as much as I love the science, there's something adventurous in letting go of the psychological profile and just jumping into the work.… (mehr)

Following the lasting success of the StrengthsFinder, this book attempted to extend the approach to the subject of entrepreneurship. What I most valued was the opening chapters about the role entrepreneurship distinctly plays in our collective success. For the past decade, we've been valuing innovation rather than the risk takers and doers who turn invention into enterprise. As for the strengths themselves, the authors identified ten strengths important to entrepreneurial success, based on research with over a thousand business founders. I found the description of the strengths helpful, especially the points about how to leverage them and the potential pitfalls of each. Unfortunately, the assessment appears to be no longer available, nor are new copies of the book. I took that as an indicator that this model is no longer in production.… (mehr)

Summarizes Gallup's research on workplace trends. More of a generic HR or management information/resource than a how-to book.

Each of the 50+ chapters are really short to present 1 idea (or a facet of an idea). It's highly repetitive, with the same points being repackaged in different forms over and over again. Each chapter is sliced so finely that some can barely stand on their own if you don't read other chapters. In many places, it reads like a collection of loose points or an outright promotion of Gallups’ tools and assessments.

Still, if you're looking for facts or data to incorporate into your strategy or presentations, or just want to get a quick idea about how the workplace is evolving, this book has some good resources

What it covers:
• How work expectations have changed for Millennials and Generation Z, and what it means for your organization’s strategy and culture;
• How to attract, develop and retain top talents by building an employment brand and managing the employee life cycle. This includes: attracting top talents, hiring the best fit, setting the right tone with onboarding, managing performance, improving employee engagement, coaching people to grow, planning effective successions and exits; and
• What's the future of work, including trends/priorities in: diversity and inclusion, creativity and innovation, technology and digitization, telecommuting, remote work and gig jobs.

Book summary at: https://readingraphics.com/book-summary-its-the-manager/… (mehr)

In the book The Coming Jobs War, Jim Clifton describes the global pursuit of good jobs and how such a shift in focus will affect leadership decisions as countries wage war to produce the best jobs. Clifton believes that leaders of countries and companies should focus on creating good jobs as jobs bring prosperity, peace and human development while long-term unemployment ruins lives, cities and countries. However, despite understanding Clifton’s stand and the fundamental importance of good jobs in a society, I personally feel that Clifton made a slippery slope argument and has undermined the complexity of global issues. I believe that centering all public policies around the creation of good jobs, as implied by Clifton in his argument, will not solve all global problems. Moreover, the measures suggested by Clifton stems from the Business Perspective which I believe, neglects the social aspect of a society and is not applicable to all societies. Different societies have different social fabric and it is important to cater to their individual needs. Making such a generalized claim and introducing a “one size fits all” strategy will only create issues of social exclusion, where vulnerable and marginalized groups in a society have restricted access to opportunities and resources.… (mehr)