I had the privilege of talking with Jim for the podcast and it was a blast. I discovered Gallup's Strengthsfinder back in 2006 on a friend's recommendation and thought the test was very useful. As I mention during the episode, it's something that helped shape and build my CV as I transitioning to work in marketing & brand strategy.

More recently, thanks to my friend Adam's recommendation I found out about the Gallup Strengths Webcast series Called to Coach and Theme Thursdays hosted by Jim from the Gallup Campus in Omaha, Nebraska. I enjoy listening to both regularly and reached out to Jim to find out if he'd be up for participating in a recording.

For those who don't really know, Gallup is an international research, performance and management consulting company. It was founded by George Gallup in 1935. Advertising legend David Ogilvy joined the company in 1938 and worked there for 10 years before opening his own advertising agency, Ogilvy & Mather, one of the largest advertising agencies in the world still to this day (Also where James Whatley works, recently featured on the podcast). Gallup were particularly known for their opinion polls in the US, and then the company was acquired by Positive Psychologist Don Clifton's company SRI in 1984.

Jim has also been interested in new technology gadgets for a long time, in particular home automation gadgets and home networks. He started a podcast network called The Average Guy, that now features several shows including their flagship Home Gadget Geeks, Cyber Frontiers, Home Tech Tips, Tech Reviews, and Ask The Podcast Coach.

We cover a lot of ground in the show including Jim's time in the U.S. Army, his skiing in Europe, growing up in the Silicon Valley, Gallup Strengths, The Omaha College Baseball World Series, home gadgets and more. Enjoy!

If you've enjoyed the episode, it would be great if you share it with friends, or even better post a review on iTunes /iPhone's podcast app!

Info mentioned in the episode:

• Jim Collison on Twitter: Personal | Gallup
• Gallup International
• Gallup Strengthsfinder (Find out more about Gallup Strengths and take the assessment)
• Gallup Coaching Resources
• Gallup StrengthsFinder Technical Report (pdf)
• Gallup Called to Coach Webcast: Youtube | iTunes | Stitcher
• Gallup Theme Thursday Webcast: Youtube | iTunes | Stitcher
• The Average Guy Network
• Home Gadget Geeks
• Cyber Frontiers
• Home Tech Tips
• Tech Reviews & How Tos
• Ask The Podcast Coach
• IBM
• Apple (Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak)
• San Jose Mercury News
• HP 8088
• Apple EE
• 3.5 floppy disc
• Cadence International 
• CRM - Customer Relationship Management
• The IT Crowd (TV Series)
• Data Warehouse
• Big Data
• ROI - Return on Investment
• Warren Buffett
• Positive Psychology
• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
• Power of 2 (book)
• Omaha College Baseball World Series
• Zesto's Ice Cream, Omaha, Nebraska
• Command & Conquer (real time strategy game)
• Missile Command (arcade game)
• Anonabox VPN device
• Shelfie
• Amazon Echo
• AI - Artificial Intelligence
• Home Automation
• Gartner Hype Cycle