Far too many people in the world suffer needlessly because they don’t understand their personal areas of working genius. As a result, they don’t do the kind of work that gives them joy and energy, and they end up in jobs and projects that are draining and demoralizing. This is a grave tragedy on two levels.

First, it leads those people to lose confidence in themselves and enthusiasm for life, which is devastating for them, their families and friends, and society as a whole. That alone is heartbreaking.

Second, organizations and teams-even families-that don’t tap into the true genius of their members can’t come close to realizing their potential.. They are left puzzled by their inability to achieve their goals. This often leads them to make inaccurate and hurtful judgements about one another, and to feel unnecessarily guilty about their own shortcomings.

What makes all of this particularly tragic is that it is avoidable. The solution is for everyone-employees, managers, students and spouses-to identify their areas of working genius, as well as their areas of life-draining weakness, and to put themselves in a position to tap into their genius more and engage in their weakness less.

That is what this assessment is all about.