According to John C. Maxwell, in his book, “25 Ways to Win with People,” many people often make a mistake in their personal development when they focus too much on their weaknesses. As a result, they spend all their time trying to shore up those weaknesses instead of maximizing the strengths they possess.

Bravo Mr. Maxwell! This is what we have been telling people for years. Why spend time, money, and patience trying to learn to be better at something that you will never be very good at any way. What if you invested the same capital in getting better at a couple of the things you already enjoy doing? The results might even amaze you.

There are two or three things I’m pretty good at, because I enjoy doing those things. I work on those things. And when I’m working on the things I enjoy doing, it doesn’t really feel like work. I read about people, especially successful people. I work to keep up with the changes in the industry, what works and why. I read books like “Rethinking the Sales Force,” “Spin Selling,” and “Successful Entrepreneurial Management.” A little extra practice and a little polish and you can make your strengths so strong that most of the people around you won’t realize you have a weakness.

Here’s a two-step process for being all that you can be:

First, feature your strengths. Take a look at your business plan. Are you playing to your strengths? You should build your entire business plan around your key strengths.

Second, compensate for your weaknesses. That’s all, just compensate. If you are one of those high-D’s that don’t listen to people—take notes. If you are one of those disorganized high-I’s, make a list. If you are a high-S with no sense of urgency, build urgency into your process. If you are a high-C suffering from analysis paralysis, set a time to do the analysis followed closely by a time of implementation. Just compensate for your weakness. Will the high-D ever be as good a listener as the high-S? Never, but your client will never know that.

What happens when you work in the area of your strengths? It’s a proven fact that people working in the area of their strengths are happier, and have less stress. By the way, if you are happier in your job and have less stress you also are more effective and more productive. Think of the possibilities if you could get everyone on your team working in the right areas. When that happens the team becomes 2 or 3 times more productive.

Make yourself a great day!

Ron Keese