Born to Build: How to Build a Thriving Startup, a Winning Team, New Customers and Your Best Life Imaginable

by Jim Clifton, Sangeeta Badal

Grounded in global Gallup research, Born to Build offers readers inspiration and motivation as well as practical steps for building an enterprise of any size from scratch.People will ask you throughout your life, “Where do you work?” and “What do you do?” They never ask you, “What are you building?” When conversations change to “What are you building?” the world will change. Written for anyone trying to figure out how to make the most of their lives, Born to Build seeks to inspire entrepreneurs and ambitious, self-motivated people to build something that will change the world. A builder’s venture could be a small business that grows into a mammoth enterprise, a thriving new division in an existing company, a nonprofit, a social enterprise, a church, a school — anything that creates economic growth and makes a lasting impact on society. Born to Build is written by Gallup Chairman and CEO Jim Clifton and Sangeeta Badal, Ph.D., Principal Scientist for Gallup’s Entrepreneurship and Job Creation initiative, and is grounded in years of research. This book goes beyond the conventional economics-based business training and instead offers a uniquely psychological approach to venture building. It gives readers the tools and techniques they need to understand who they are, what motivates them and what they can build — and how. By following the practical steps in Born to Build, readers will have the tools to build a sustainable and profitable venture of any size from scratch.

Genres: Business, Entrepreneurship, Nonfiction, Startup, Leadership

262 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 3, 2018

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I ordered this because I loved Jim Clifton's The Coming Jobs War. I know Clifton and the Gallup organization have been doing great work with regards to identifying and developing entrepreneurial talent from a young age, and I thought this book would about that work. However, this was more similar to the Gallup's more well-known line of books in the Stengthsfinder category, which I personally found to be less interesting.

[Fred Darbonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Gallup organization excels at helping us understand ourselves and what we have to offer, as well as providing concrete tools to build upon and implement our newly developed self-awareness. This is the latest such work, and while it adds to their previous tools such as StrengthsFinder 2.0 (2007) and Emotional Intelligence 2.0. (2009), it can stand on its own for entrepreneurs and anyone who wants to build something—an enterprise, a new division in an existing company, a social enterprise or nonprofit, a congregation, or a school. Like the first two tools, it includes an online assessment—the Builder Profile 10—complete with descriptions and action items for each participant’s builder talents, identification of our primary builder role, and access to online worksheets for planning and implementation of our learning.

Jim Clifton is the Chairman and CEO of Gallup and author of The Coming Jobs War. Sangeeta Badal, Ph.D., is the principal scientist for Gallup’s Builder Initiative and is responsible for translating research findings into interventions that drive small-business growth. She is the author of the book, Gender, Social Structure, and Empowerment: Status Report of Women in India.

After describing the builder’s mindset, Clifton and Badal outline and discuss the Four Keys to Building: Creating Self-Awareness, Recognizing Opportunities, Activating on Ideas, and Building a Team. Guidance is provided for keeping a “purpose journal” and creating a “personal board of directors.” The authors identify three types of “alpha” builders—the Rainmaker, the Conductor, and the Expert, and the necessity of having each of these three roles on a team, along with recommendations for configuring your team. The Builder Profile 10TM will assess which of these roles you best fit based on your responses.

Clifton and Badal chart 10 Builder talents, describing the behaviors associated with each talent and the likely business outcomes each can produce. Current examples of leaders exemplifying each talent are provided, as well as recommended steps to maximize specific talents. The Builder Profile 10 will assess your top talents, as well as list all ten talents in the order of their strength for you.

For the researchers among us, a detailed Methodology Report is provided for the Builder Profile 10, along with an extensive reference list for further reading.

[Surya Prakash · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Interesting book which can be reviewed only after measuring the impact of its assessment after effectively using its input. Never the less, this is a good attempt to quantify and measure the psychological aspects to entrepreneurship. I am very eagerly applying its takeaways and measurements to build my venture and will update on this one.

[David Rosage · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and found the companion online builder assessment to be very helpful. I was actually a little surprised by my results. Always good to learn about your own strengths and weaknesses.

[Lance McNeill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting assessment

A well written and interesting assessment. I’m not sure they had enough material for a book so 40% of the content is appendix with details about their scientific approach. I thought that was a bit overkill so I deducted a star. I like the assessment though

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a big fan of Gallup’s books and services, but this book really should have just been a PDF guide to go along with the Builder Profile 10 survey that Gallup sells. There really was no need to make this into a book. I would skip this one.

[Trevor Fry · Rating 3 out of 5]

reads a bit like a horoscope in that you can probably find something in it that feels like it relates to you, but could also relate to anyone.

The assessment and tools are helpful, but again, not the most detailed or actionable.

[Shanna Raye · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mix of different personalities to create a winning team makes sense based on personalities - like the Rainmaker. It's a bit dry with less clear examples. The nuances of technical vs. soft skills are not as clear cut.

[Sandy Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great compliment to Clifton Strengths. A deep dive into successful entrepreneurial ventures with builders having high self awareness of what they do best. I should have read this long ago.

[Denny Troncoso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for entrepreneurs or those aspiring to be.

[Linda Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful tools for any business venture.

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A valuable blueprint and toolset for building a business.