Discover Your Own Personality

You could spend hours analyzing your strengths and weaknesses – or use a tool to do it within minutes. Crystal (crystalknows.com) can be used to understand yourself better and improve your team.

Crystal shares insights about what your online persona reveals about you. To get the most out of the tool, take the free personality quiz. Then investigate the reports to discover the keys to the way you prefer to see the world.

Crystal is even better for teams. Once you have yourself figured out, you can look up colleagues to discover insights into their personality styles and communication preferences. For example, maybe you're writing long, detail-rich emails to your boss, when she may prefer short emails that end in a simple yes/no question. A word of caution.... Crystal sometimes has challenges with common names. When you look up your colleague named "Mary Smith," be prepared to enter extra details so the system can find the right one.

Crystal lets you look up 5 contacts a month for free, or you can pay $19 a month to look up anyone you choose.

Beth Ziesenis is Your Nerdy Best Friend. She is the author of several books on technology including Nerd Know-How: The 27+ Best Apps for Work ... & How to Use 'Em! Beth travels the country talking to organizations about free and bargain technology.