ASSESSMENT COMPARISON
RECKON VS CLIFTONSTRENGTHS
What CliftonStrengths is built to show, and what it leaves out
CliftonStrengths is genuinely useful for team development and strengths coaching. For founders, the limitation is structural: it was designed by intention to surface what you do well. It will not tell you what derails you.
01 · WHAT CLIFTONSTRENGTHS IS
CLIFTONSTRENGTHS (GALLUP)
CliftonStrengths (formerly StrengthsFinder) is a Gallup product that identifies your top talent themes from a set of 34. The Top 5 report costs $24.99; the full 34 report costs $59.99. The assessment takes roughly 30 minutes. It is the most widely administered strengths-based assessment in the workplace, with hundreds of millions of completions.
02 · WHERE CLIFTONSTRENGTHS FALLS SHORT FOR FOUNDERS
THE GAP
CliftonStrengths shows strengths only, by design. It does not name your derailers, blind spots, or the ways your strengths become liabilities under stress. Independent researchers have called for more validation beyond Gallup's internal evidence base. A founder who only knows their strengths has half the picture.
03 · HEAD-TO-HEAD
CLIFTONSTRENGTHS VS RECKON
CliftonStrengths
Reckon
$24.99 to $59.99
$20
~30 min
about 30 min
34 talent themes, ranked from strongest to least strong
8 dimensions: Big Five, Risk Tolerance, Locus of Control, Need for Achievement
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
04 · WHY FOUNDERS PICK RECKON
THE FOUNDATION. THE GAP MECHANIC. THE OUTPUT.
The Foundation
Reckon is built on validated instruments: Big Five via NEO-PI-R and BFI-2, risk tolerance via DOSPERT, locus of control via the Rotter I-E Scale, and need for achievement via McClelland-rooted scales. The questions are original, anchored on those scales.
The Gap Mechanic
The first question asks what pulls you toward starting a company. After 70 forced-choice questions, the report compares your stated motivation against the archetype your answers actually point to. If there is a gap, the report names it directly.
Decision-Useful Output
The report tells you which businesses to refuse, which cofounder you need, and what your blind spots are. 70 forced-choice questions. About 30 minutes. $20, self-serve, no consultant.
05 · HONESTY
A STRAIGHT ANSWER ON VALIDATION
Reckon is built on validated instruments. It has not itself been independently validated. The FAQ explains the difference.
No independent lab has run a test-retest or criterion-validity study on Reckon. The report describes patterns, not predictions. Anyone who tells you their assessment is scientifically validated without citing specific published research is selling you something. See the methodology page for what the eight dimensions are anchored on and why the forced-choice format matters.