I love this guy, Marcus Buckingham, so I might have to break this post into two postings. I don't know why I like him so much. Perhaps because he's a great communicator. Perhaps it's his English accent (he's British). Perhaps because he knows his stuff. Perhaps it's because his content really resonates with me.
Buckingham has written 3 noteworthy books: The One Thing You Need To Know, First Break All The Rules, and his latest, Go Put Your Strengths to Work. They all revolve around the principle of "build on your strengths, and manage around your weaknesses." His thesis is that people need to do what they enjoy & are strong at, not spend so much time improving your weaknesses because you'll never move much in improving your weaknesses, but can be the best in the world at the thing your strongest at.
It's not that you shouldn't work on your weaknesses, but you should focus more on your strengths...and when you are working on your weaknesses, you should do so through your strengths. For example, if your kid is really good in Science and failing Algebra, you don't abandon Algebra. However, your kid is probably not strong in math and likely never will be, simply because he's not made that way. But, if you can help him approach Algebra in a scientific way, he can improve his weak area some (some being the key word there)...and perhaps enjoy it in the process because he's using his strength. What you should really do, though, is help him be the best scientist ever, because that is his strength.
Next time I'll post on his talk: Three Myths & Truths About Strengths & Weaknesses
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