It is our strengths which differentiate us from the pack, that help us to scale the heights and achieve our goals, and it is here that we should place the majority, if not all of our efforts.
When we work on our weakness, unless they are fatal, we will only end up achieving a fraction of what we can achieve. When we focus on our weaknesses we are focusing on becoming average, because its not our weaknesses that will allow us to achieve greatness or even get close to it, and more often than not it will hold us back.
I learnt this lesson the hard way when I was at university. I studied mathematics and for the end of year exams we had to average a pass across all subjects. So if you scored 90% in one and 30% in another overall you would have an average of 60% which would be more than good enough for a pass.
There was one subject that I just didn’t get, no matter how hard I worked I just didn’t get it. I was determined to master it, it was my main area of weakness and I felt that it was going to hold me back, so even though I had seven or 8 subjects I was studying, some which I was great at, and others I was good at, I spent the majority, well over 70% of my time, revising and working on this one topic which I struggled with. I wanted to pass each and every exam, I didn’t want to have any failures blotting my copy book.
From the title of this blog you can guess what happened, I failed, not only did I struggle in the course I found extremely hard, but I also struggled in the subjects I was good at, as I hadn’t done enough revision. I did ok in those subjects but not enough to cover in the subject I struggled with.
As a result I had to resit then entire set of exams all 8 them.
This time around I decided to take a different approach, I decided that I would spend no time studying the subject I found difficult, and would put all my efforts into the subjects I loved and was good at.
The second time the result was different. I passed and I passed easily. I got great scores on the subjects I knew and loved and these more than made up for the poor score in the one subject I disliked, and was no good at.
This was a great lesson for me, because it showed me that, by focusing on my weaknesses I actually damaged my performance, damaged it enough that I failed.
Now if I’d have to have passed every single exam, then I would have needed to have found a way to get through that subject, but that wasn’t the case, and that’s not often the case in life either.
The challenge is that we see and feel our weaknesses and give them much more importance and relevance than they truly deserve.
We need to do an honest assessment, maybe even get the input of others. Which can be difficult as we need to get vulnerable in order to share our weaknesses. But if we can do that, then we can often find that our weaknesses are not as relevant as we might feel, or that there maybe other ways to over come them.
My recommendation is always to focus on your strengths, build those up, because they are the differentiators, they are what will help you achieve your goals, your dreams.
absolutely agree, I hate listening to “gurus” tell people to work on their weaknesses, nope, be aware of them, for sure, but work with others who have strengths in areas you have weaknesses, and you build a good strong team!
absolutely, let others cover your weaknesses whilst you focus o your strengths
I agree that one should focus on one’s strengths to be the best that one can be. However, there are times when one can’t completely ignore one’s weaknesses. In many university settings, there are times when one must pass a math, science, history or communications course in order to graduate. There are times when minimal competencies must be met.
I have known people in positions of leadership that were absolutely brilliant at systems thinking and formulating an organizational vision. However, they were not good leaders because they failed to communicate their ideas in practical, understandable and usable ways. One such leader recognized this failing and tried to hire appropriate spokespersons to communicate for him. Eventually, the Board of Trustees of the university decided that the individual was superfluous and fired him to the detriment of the university. The communicator that they hired next was not a good thinker and wouldn’t hire people to help him think.
By, i agree we must look at our weaknesses, but if they are not a liability then we can ignore them. If they are a liability then they have to be addressed. In my experience people overstate their weaknesses and down play their strengths to their detriment. Thanks for the comment, very much appreciated
History has numerous witnesses to further elucidate Guru Gordon’s ( GG ) contention that focusing on the strength as the strategic Differentiate-r enables to cross growth boundaries by circumventing the threshold edges.
I have researched five diverse entities which has been enumerated below to stengthen GG contention :
1. As recent as yesterday being Twitter latest decision to buy out NY based Whetlabs whose State of the Art machine learning mechanism would allow to define and automate algorithms based on finer Empirical parameters rather the current trend of Heuristic and liner click based pattern determinant to judge customer taste in terms of Internet usage. This will not only automate versatile processes but also its Predictive Analytic based engine will will able provide much higher and complex level of pervasive computational ability thereby enhancing the dimensions of navigational trend helping the data stream to churn out more accurate Trend and projection behavioral attribute.
Hence twitter will be able to effectively reverse its of revenue losses due to declining patronage by able to reach out to its target segment more precisely
the details are available below, pls copy paste the following url on ur browser
http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/17/twitter-acquires-machine-learning-startup-whetlab/
2. The second second example to support Guru Gordons paragmatic observation is worldwide Trend — Engagement increases when managers focus on employees’ strengths
To test the effects of a manager’s approach to engagement and strengths, Gallup conducted a study with a random sample of 1,003 U.S. employees to determine how much they agreed with two statements: “My supervisor focuses on my strengths or positive characteristics” and “My supervisor focuses on my weaknesses or negative characteristics.” Gallup put employees who did not agree with either statement into an “ignored” category.
You can get the details by copy pasting the following Url on your browser:
http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/167462/employees-strengths-company-stronger.aspx
3. The Third example being Microsoft’s rejection of individual performance ratings as the building block for an effective performance management system, and described why rating people on a list of competencies is a flawed method for improving their performance.
As the Legendary Marcus Buckingham puts it. “Obviously we need a new system. And what can we say about the new system that would serve us better? Well, the specifics of the system will depend on the company, but we do know that it must have the following six characteristics, each of which follows logically from the one preceding.”
You can get the details by copy pasting the following Url on your browser:
https://hbr.org/2013/12/what-if-performance-management-focused-on-strengths
4. The fourth Example is laterally diverse yet fantastically innovative i.e Strengthening the periphery of core so as to out-beat and outpace competition.
The story is that Nike Golf adventure by Chris Zook and James Allen G “Golf ranks as one of the most brutal and demanding markets in the sportsbusiness. So, despite its fabled swoosh, Nike was regarded as an amateur whenit decided in 1995 to branch out from shoes to golf apparel, balls, and equipment. Four years later, however, Nike had scored priceless marketing victories—not once, but three times running. First, the British Open Champ wore Nike’s golf shoes in 1999. Next, Tiger Woods switched from Titleist golf balls, the leading brand, to Nike golf balls in 2000. And, finally, David Duval won his first major tournament just after switching to Nike golf clubs in 2001.
Nike’s entry into the golf market appeared to be the business equivalent of sinking three successive holes in one. But those who had followed the company closely over the previous decade were not surprised. They recognized the formula that Nike has applied and adapted successfully in a series of entries into sports markets—from jogging to volleyball to tennis to basketball to soccer. Nike begins by establishing a leading position in athletic shoes in the target market. Next, Nike launches a clothing line endorsed by the sport’s top athletes—like Tiger Woods, whose $100 million deal in 1996 gave Nike the visibility it needed to get traction in golf apparel and accessories. Expanding into new categories allows the company to forge new distribution channels and lock in suppliers. Then it starts to feed higher-margin equipment into the market—irons first, in the case of golf clubs, and subsequently drivers. In the final step, Nike moves beyond the U.S. market to global distribution.”
You can get the details by copy pasting the following Url on your browser:
https://hbr.org/2003/12/growth-outside-the-core
5 The last but not the Least example if Kate Spade phenomenal growth reported last year in Wall street Journal
“Kate Spade Sales Grow on Strength of Core Brand- Company Post First-Quarter Profit of $46.2 Million” by Michael Calia
Kate Spade Co. said its first-quarter sales grew, driven by a surge in its core Kate Spade brand. The company posted a wider loss from continuing operations, however.
The former Fifth & Pacific Cos. and Liz Claiborne Inc. became Kate Spade in February 2014. Former chief William McComb narrowed the company’s focus to the namesake handbag brand by shedding dozens of others—most recently Lucky Brand—over the past eight years. Along with this greater emphasis on the Kate Spade brand, the company—along with rival Michael Kors Holdings Ltd.–has cut into competitor Coach Inc.’s share of the handbag market.
Chief Executive Craig A. Leavitt said the company’s performance “continued to be very strong” in the quarter. The company had said in February that the first quarter had started off in a positive direction, even amid the severe winter weather that weighed on so many other companies’ results for the period.”
You can get the details by copy pasting the following Url on your browser:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303409004579561591705892318
My closing remarks are the Headlines by Jennifer Ramsey in the Financial Times article of May 2014 where she establishes ” Focus should be on company strength Markets, like life, are all about expectations, and economic growth is already priced in”
You can get the details by copy pasting the following Url on your browser:
http://www.ftadviser.com/2014/05/01/investments/equities/focus-should-be-on-company-strength-SP5DaXIZlUbgvaQqn1tafJ/article.html
Gordon, I completely agree with you. If a weakness gets in your way of accomplishing your goals, you need to address it in some way–or delegate it, or outsource it, or learn it and become solidly average. In working with lots of lawyers, I have found that focusing on strengths as a way to develop business is the way to go!. If you’re a one-on-one relator, best to meet folks for coffee or lunch to develop a relationship that might eventually result in new business. If you’re better at writing, then write and publish articles. If you’re a great presenter, present at conferences. The challenge is to really know your strengths–we take our strengths for granted much of the time because we think it’s no big deal. But, in fact, the groupings of our strengths makes us unique. If you’re clear on your strengths, then you can leverage them more consciously in a variety of ways.
Beverly fully agree with you .Some of my strengths i do not even see because it comes so naturally to me i jut assume its the same for everyone else 🙂
You also devaluate yourself by actually focusing on your weaknesses as you keep on second guessing yourself, when you could be focusing on your strengths and feeling great in the process!
when we devalue ourselves thats never a good thing, and when we focus on our weaknesses if we cannot overcome them they can become limiting beliefs even though they may not be that relevant