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Signature Themes by The Gallup Organization (840 question survey)Now, Discover Your Strengths

This report presents my five most dominant themes of talent, in the rank order revealed by your responses to StrengthsFinder.  Of the 34 themes outlined in the book "Now, Discover Your Strengths", these were my "top five."

Strategic

The Strategic theme enables you to sort through the clutter and find the best route. It is not a skill that can be taught. It is a distinct way of thinking, a special perspective on the world at large. This perspective allows you to see patterns where others simply see complexity. Mindful of these patterns, you play out alternative scenarios, always asking, “What if this happened? Okay, well what if this happened?” This recurring question helps you see around the next corner. There you can evaluate accurately the potential obstacles. Guided by where you see each path leading, you start to make selections. You discard the paths that lead nowhere. You discard the paths that lead straight into resistance. You discard the paths that lead into a fog of confusion. You cull and make selections until you arrive at the chosen path—your strategy. Armed with your strategy, you strike forward. This is your Strategic theme at work: “What if?” Select. Strike.

Analytical

Your Analytical theme challenges other people: “Prove it. Show me why what you are claiming is true.” In the face of this kind of questioning some will find that their brilliant theories wither and die. For you, this is precisely the point. You do not necessarily want to destroy other people’s ideas, but you do insist that their theories be sound. You see yourself as objective and dispassionate. You like data because they are value free. They have no agenda. Armed with these data, you search for patterns and connections. You want to understand how certain patterns affect one another. How do they combine? What is their outcome? Does this outcome fit with the theory being offered or the situation being confronted? These are your questions. You peel the layers back until, gradually, the root cause or causes are revealed. Others see you as logical and rigorous. Over time they will come to you in order to expose someone’s “wishful thinking” or “clumsy thinking” to your refining mind. It is hoped that your analysis is never delivered too harshly. Otherwise, others may avoid you when that “wishful thinking” is their own.

Restorative

You love to solve problems. Whereas some are dismayed when they encounter yet another breakdown, you can be energized by it. You enjoy the challenge of analyzing the symptoms, identifying what is wrong, and finding the solution. You may prefer practical problems or conceptual ones or personal ones. You may seek out specific kinds of problems that you have met many times before and that you are confident you can fix. Or you may feel the greatest push when faced with complex and unfamiliar problems. Your exact preferences are determined by your other themes and experiences. But what is certain is that you enjoy bringing things back to life. It is a wonderful feeling to identify the undermining factor(s), eradicate them, and restore something to its true glory. Intuitively, you know that without your intervention, this thing—this machine, this technique, this person, this company—might have ceased to function. You fixed it, resuscitated it, rekindled its vitality. Phrasing it the way you might, you saved it.

Achiever

Your Achiever theme helps explain your drive. Achiever describes a constant need for achievement. You feel as if every day starts at zero. By the end of the day you must achieve something tangible in order to feel good about yourself. And by “every day” you mean every single day—workdays, weekends, vacations. No matter how much you may feel you deserve a day of rest, if the day passes without some form of achievement, no matter how small, you will feel dissatisfied. You have an internal fire burning inside you. It pushes you to do more, to achieve more. After each accomplishment is reached, the fire dwindles for a moment, but very soon it rekindles itself, forcing you toward the next accomplishment. Your relentless need for achievement might not be logical. It might not even be focused. But it will always be with you. As an Achiever you must learn to live with this whisper of discontent. It does have its benefits. It brings you the energy you need to work long hours without burning out. It is the jolt you can always count on to get you started on new tasks, new challenges. It is the power supply that causes you to set the pace and define the levels of productivity for your work group. It is the theme that keeps you moving.

Consistency

Balance is important to you. You are keenly aware of the need to treat people the same, no matter what their station in life, so you do not want to see the scales tipped too far in any one person’s favor. In your view this leads to selfishness and individualism. It leads to a world where some people gain an unfair advantage because of their connections or their background or their greasing of the wheels. This is truly offensive to you. You see yourself as a guardian against it. In direct contrast to this world of special favors, you believe that people function best in a consistent environment where the rules are clear and are applied to everyone equally. This is an environment where people know what is expected. It is predictable and evenhanded. It is fair. Here each person has an even chance to show his or her worth.

Character Building Points in My History:

  • 2009 Awarded ASQ Fellow at world conference in Minneapolis with 1700 people
  • 2009 Said "hi" to San Diego's Mayor Jerry Sanders at a luncheon at UCSD Faculty club
  • 2008 Filmed having dinner with channel 8's Marcella Lee (11/11 at 11) during networking event
  • 2008 Big layoff #2 ... times have changed since I last looked for a job
  • 2007 Said hi to actor Richard Dreyfus in line at Frys Electronics in San Marcos
  • 2007 Oldest son graduated high school and 15yr old pet rabbit (Hopper) died.
  • 2006 Spent 25 minutes in line at the post office talking to Channel 10 news anchor Hal Clement  
  • 2006 Oldest son learns to drive.  
  • 2005 Pulled a girl out of a car wreck upside down in a creek during a rainstorm
  • 2005 Discovered a new 8th cousin once removed (go up 10 fathers to find the common Niles node).
  • 2004 Finished polishing a 6" telescope mirror that I started grinding 26 years earlier.
  • 2003 Received my Masters Degree in Quality Science
  • 2002 Spent 20 min with News 8 Larry Himmel at Scripps aquarium ... waiting for our families.  I've also seen him 2x around town ... once we gave each other thumbs up while waiting for a stop light.      
  • 2001 Introduced Keynote Tom Pyzdek to 600+ at an international Six Sigma convention.  I had met is daughter on a plane when she saw me reading her dad's article which I incorporated into the talk.  
  • 1997 Sold our 1st house and bought our second house in Escondido ... big change for the kids
  • 1990-2004 gave blood 8 times and saved 24 lives per the American Red Cross ad ...
  • 1990 Big lay off number one ... took me five months ... changed my career from research to quality
  • 1994 Had son number two
  • 1992 Worked in Mexico for Japanese management ... culture trip. 
  • 1988 Had son number one
  • 1987 Crash landed a Cessna airplane in El Centro
  • 1987 Bought our first house in College area for $104,000
  • 1986 Steve Martin sat down next to me on a bench in Santa Barbara ... interesting discussion
  • 1985 Got married
  • 1985 Saw two jets and one small plane crash in three separate crashes.  Watched the pilot of one jet parachute to the ground next to me as his jet took out a parking lot full of cars in a big fireball.  
  • 1985 Worked inside of a nuclear fusion reactor
  • 1984 I literally ran into SD Mayor Roger Hedgecock while running up the stairs at the county court house.  I saw Roger later in his talk show career at Donovan prison, at the Fair, and at a Fireman's event at Qualcomm stadium.     
  • 1982 Broke my femur while riding my bike to school.  
  • 1980 Found a dead body
  • 1978 Got shot in the head by a 22 caliper bullet
  • 1977 Received my Eagle Scout award

Guiding Philosophy

  • Hierarchy of Drives:  Father >> Husband >> Professional >> Teacher >> Statistician >> Author
  • Guiding Principles:  Ethics, Teamwork, and Affirmation

Personality

  • Thinking Type:  ENTP thinker, strong N and P (Myers-Briggs).  
  • Key Influences:  My dad & Mom (physics proff & Librarian; both with MS degrees), Del Johnson (long time friend), Tom Pyzdek (friend and quality guru), Dr. Douglas Montgomery (friend and statistical guru), Keki Bohti, Ken Blanchard, Steven Covey
 

 

Last Update:   Saturday July 25, 2009