Play to Your Strengths An old cliche that's revolutionizing management

Joseph Wise knows exactly what he's good at. The 44-year-oldCEO and chair of eSchool Solutions, an Orlando, Florida, companyproviding information technology systems to schools, is sodisciplined that it's an uncommon day when he doesn't checkoff every item on his to-do list. He's got strong core values,and he rarely strays from them. He's also great at winningothers over, has a powerful drive to be recognized and is a masterarranger. "Basically, I'm a juggler," Wise says ofthis last talent. "I can put many factors in order, aligningpeople, processes and money."

Wise gained such knowledge about his character and talents fromthe results of his Strengths Finder profile, a test designed byThe Gallup Organization to tell people what talents they possessand, conversely, what talents they lack. The flip side is just asimportant, Wise says. Because of the Strengths Finder test, Wiseknows, for instance, that he is not talented in anything involvingmeasurement and numbers.

"I look at everything qualitatively and notquantitatively," he explains. "That's why I have afabulous VP of finance who has a huge measurementorientation." Wise knows his VP of finance's talentsbecause he administers the 180-question, 30-minute exam to othersin his organization. Knowing what everyone is good at helps himhire, promote and assemble teams in the 74-person firm far moreeffectively-and helps him to work better, too. "It'spretty liberating when you can say, 'This is not something I dowell,'" Wise says. "Then you can get a team aroundyou of people who can make sure you don't do that."