Building from your Strengths

I love a good underdog story. Nothing gets my heart pounding more than watching Maximus defy the Emperor of Rome, or William Wallace free Scotland from England, or Austin Powers fight Dr. Evil. I love rooting for the underdog. Like Rudy - the movie of a boy with no talent but big dreams of playing college football for Notre Dame. He tries hard and eventually plays for a few seconds.

There’s another story of a boy named Joe who wants to play for Notre Dame. But here’s where the stories differ. Joe has talent. He tries hard and eventually plays as the starting quarterback. That’s quite a different result.

I mean it with love. They both had the same dream: play for Notre Dame. They both put in years of effort. Rudy was told he was too-small, too-slow, and too-weak to play - I'd say those were weaknesses. Rudy insisted on building from his weaknesses and was rewarded with a pity play.

Joe came into Notre Dame a talented football player. He applied the same level of effort as Rudy, yet Joe was building from his strengths. Joe's reward: stellar results - and it launched a legendary career into the Hall of Fame. Seriously - I might root for Rudy in a movie, but I'd rather be Joe Montana.

I can't say where Rudy would have ended had he built from his strengths since that's all hypothetical. For all we know, maybe Rudy would have been an awesome football announcer. The world, and Rudy, will never know because Rudy never examined his strengths. He was so focused on shoring up his weaknesses that he never really got to see how great he could be.

I figured out some of my strengths with the aptly named: StrengthsFinder. The Gallup Organization interviewed thousands of people in a 40-year study of human strengths. They created 34 Strengths the "perfect" organization or person would have. Each Strength on its own can be powerful. It was also healing to see that I had the hardest time liking some people because I was misinformed on their Strengths. I was bothered because they were weak at X, and I missed out on that they were great at Y. Thus began the journey to learn more about the Strengths. I wanted to know what mine were and from there, recognize what others bring. Besides, it had this great introduction about two guys named Rudy and Joe Montana *grin.* I took the test with caution. I wasn't expecting fireworks when I got done, yet I logged it as information to mull over. Here's what I came up with.

Context: My first Strength is I want to know what's up.

Billionaire Mark Cuban's advice on How to Get Rich:

1. save cash,


2. read,


3. jump when the time is right.

Software Blogger Jeff Atwood cites research that most people in software own zero books on their field and have read zero books. That's how low the bar is: zero books. So if you read just one - you're already ahead of almost everyone else.

I read because I fear more what I miss than I fear the cost of reading. Imagine if I started a company with the idea of selling a white music player. How foolish is that? I think it’s been done before.

StrengthsFinder says people with CONTEXT: Enjoy thinking about the past. They understand the present by researching its history.

For me, it's the "figure out what's out there" Strength.

Strategic: My second Strength is a constant search to be special. When I drive, I look at a map, and figure out how to get where I want to go. Reading is like looking at a map and strategy is like steering the car. Reading gives me the context to operate in and enables me to find existing players. Then I can make a decision given what everyone else is doing on how to be different. How to partner with A, B, and C and combine that with our special sauce to really deliver something compelling for customers.

STRATEGIC: Create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.

It's "figure out what's out there, find a way to be special."

Achiever: Big ideas mean something more when they get actualized into action. The best-laid plans are useless if no one is willing to do it. I'm built with a daily drive to build something, do something, to create - and even if the only person keeping score is me. At the end of the day I need to point at least one thing and say "the world is measurably better today because I accomplished this."

ACHIEVER: Have a great deal of stamina and work hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.

It's "figure out what's out there, find a way to be special, put a plan in place to get there"

Self-Assurance: No doubts. There's a peace that comes from preparation: knowing I've read the most, I've thought the most, and I've embraced change the most. My plan is progressive but iteratively delivers value so we can make adjustments. Now I need to instill confidence in myself and the people involved in making it happen so we can move mountains. I believe it can be done.

SELF-ASSURANCE: Feel confident in their ability to manage their own lives. They possess an inner compass that gives them confidence that their decisions are right.

It's "figure out what's out there, find a way to be special, put a plan in place to get there, believe the plan, sell the plan"

Responsibility: Actually Do It. StrengthsFinder says I take psychological ownership over what I say I will do. I love that phrase. It explains why I'm a little crazy with commitments. When I give my word, I want it to mean something. Responsibility, combined with my Meyers-Briggs ENTJ personality that loves closure, means I will finish it. Even if there's a higher than expected personal cost to me, and I said I'd do it, I'm still doing it. I may initiate a discussion to figure out if there's another solution that works for everyone, but if I said I'd do it, I'll do it.

RESPONSIBILITY: Take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.

It's "figure out what's out there, figure out a way to be special, put a plan in place to get there, believe the plan, sell the plan, do the plan"

I've now tied together each of my individual strengths into a foundation I can build on - hopefully it's solid. Time will tell. Regardless, it’s definitely a lot more fun.

How about you? When you examine your strengths and where you’re putting effort, will you know how great you can be?



Artist’s Corner: I chose this picture I took of the Coliseum for the line in Gladiator where they first see it and say, “I didn’t know men could build such things.” I hope the same for your life. I hope that when you get done we say “I didn’t know one could build such things.” I chose the actual image of the ruins because the foundation is exposed. You get to see the Coliseum down to its core. What’s your core?

Integrity and Continuous Improvement

My life is rather causal, that is: I make decisions and get to live with the consequences.  Some are awesome; others are awful.  I decided to establish a framework for making better decisions.  I wanted to rapidly make decisions I could live with.  This framework – which I call Integrity - guides my decisions so I’m not in internal conflict or second-guessing myself.  It allows me to have true freedom.  Maybe things change later, but it allows me to stand up and say “I made the best decision I could with the information I had.”

I make decisions through some criteria such as:

1. Ends don’t justify the means

2. No such thing as a small lie

3. Keep my moral compass

4. Would I do this in the light?

5. My father once told me “Money comes and goes, but no one can take your word from you.”

6. I return constantly to “If I can be trusted in little, I can be trusted in much.” I say it as a challenge to stay upright now so that I can grow into seeing more of the world.

My second value is Continuous Improvement. It’s a two-sided coin. On one side, we have the ideal – it’s what I want to happen. On the other side it recognizes that I’ll make mistakes, and, as long as I’m honestly evaluating my progress and doing a little better every day, then that’s ok. It’s not a free pass. It doesn’t lower the bar. It simply says: the bar is here, did you make it? No. Why not? Let’s change that and try again.

Continuous Improvement is all around us. In high school, I wanted to be part of the “Gold Club.” It was a set of weight-lifting goals that only the top 3% of students could meet. We had to clean, squat, and bench. Squat was easy as I biked to school every day. Clean was pretty easy as it carried over from squat. Bench was my nemesis. I had no training and could only bench my weight: 175 pounds. I needed to bench 225. The bar was 225. Not “Justin’s feeling sad, let’s make it 220.” No – 225. Not “Justin’s trying hard, let’s make it 220.” No - 225. I worked every day. I knew where the bar was: 225. And every day I’d work and get a little bit closer: 180, 185, 190. Every so often I’d try and “bust out” to 225. On the days that I failed, I didn’t quit. I just tried again. As long as I was “moving the football one yard closer every day” I knew that I’d get there. 

I had Integrity with myself to know that I’d follow-thru with the goal. I didn’t have to do it all at once. I couldn’t. I tried over and over to do it all at once and failed. Try, fail, move the football; try, fail, move the football…over and over. One day I got there. I can’t say I ever lifted a pound past 225. Never made it to 226. Don’t know if I can lift 225 to save my life today. But on that day, I got there.

Continuous Improvement to me is the bar, mixed with grace to fail. Another high school story. I needed to get a 700 on my Chemistry 2 SAT to get into Caltech. I had no idea where I was at, so I took it: 530. Hmm, not quite 700. I signed up for AP Chemistry and took it again: 630. Hmm, not quite 700. I did some prep classes and took it again: 670. Still not enough. But I had to apply since I was out of time, I couldn’t try again anymore. 

In both stories - the point is that I redefined failure as quitting. Everything else was progress. I didn’t get discouraged. I was just taking a poll of where I was that day. Was I at my goal? If so, then stop. If not, then keep on.

Continuous Improvement gives me a sense of peace knowing that I may not have accomplished all I want to, and I will miss the bar a few times, but if I can keep pressing toward the goal, then eventually I’ll get there. At minimum I'll enjoy the journey!

So there you have it – Integrity and Continuous Improvement give me Freedom and a Sense of Peace. What are your values and what do they give you?

Artist's Corner: My cousin and I took today's picture at a Luau at Paradise Cove in Hawaii. I chose it hoping to invoke a) the freedom of the seas with b) peacefulness of tropical paradise and c) it might be a tad much, but the two tiki torches are paired together, just like today's two topics are a pair for me.