The Falconi Test

You may be quite adept at metrics, measurements, and even Role-Based Assessment, but if you haven’t used the Falconi Test, read on.

I got a call today from Ken Krauss, VP of Operations for US Axle, a very cool manufacturing company about an hour outside Philadelphia.  They use Role-Based Assessment because it predicts how people will work on a team, but he was calling to ask if I knew of anything useful for measuring engineering skills.

It turns out that people who are coherent tend to be better judges of their own abilities, and are less likely to cover up for their shortcomings.  (In fact, many people revel in the things they do badly and are happy to tell you, for instance, how they can never find anything on their desk.)  So RBA is a good start.

But Ken wanted an answer.  And I had one, pulled from the annals of my past life in manufacturing, as president of a sheet metal shop.

There was another president of another sheet metal manufacturing company, and he was the most brilliant test developer I have ever met.  He didn’t have a PhD.  I am pretty sure he graduated high school, but I doubt he was ever interested in a career in research.  He just understood people and he was a very clever entrepreneur, although he never patented his test.  He didn’t name it either.  So, although Frank is probably now manufacturing halo holders for angels, I am going to name it after him: The Falconi Test.

The Falconi Test has one simple piece of equipment: a steel rule with the first inch cut off and neatly finished.  The result is a rule that starts at the 1″ mark instead of zero.  He would give it to a job applicant and say something like, “mark off 3 5/16 inches on that paper.”  As you can well guess, there were many who simply looked at the 3, then counted 5 little hashes and made their mark.  And, of course, they were wrong.

Engineers need to be precise.  If they aren’t they can wreak havoc with expensive machinery or waste a lot of expensive material.  (Or worse.)  But they also need to be good team players.  Now Ken can have it all.

It’s a good feeling to have a satisfied customer and to honor an old friend at the same time.

The Intern Diaries: The Beginning of the End

I agreed to expanding our internship program without too many expectations.  After all, even though they had the RBA results that predicted they would be successful to varying degrees, they are still in college, with no experience to speak of.  Well, I am now convinced more than ever that giving people with potential a chance – and giving them the Role-appropriate challenges to meet – is a better strategy than bringing people on with fat resumes but nothing else.

The interns are beginning to leave and on their last day they have decided to make presentations to us, and their fellow interns, on what they accomplished and what they learned.

Crystal was the first to leave this week.  She’s going to visit family in China.  She had been the last to join us, a week after the others, so she had the shortest time.  But oh did she ever use it well!  She presented market research on one of our ‘skunkworks’ projects complete with data, analysis, suggestions – better than marketing presentations I’ve seen from senior executives.  But no wonder – as a strong Action Former who is also capable of being a Vision Mover, she is a powerhouse at any age !  And she learned enough about herself to be very clear on her entry level career goal – product management.

She was closely followed by Lindsay, now on her way back to Texas.  Since Lindsay is primarily a Communicator, I suggested to her that she just do an informal verbal presentation.  So I was surprised when she showed up with a PowerPoint.  Turns out while she didn’t think she had done much, when she started listing what she’d actually accomplished, she felt it would work better to do some writing.  I laughed.  Communicators are often thought of as lazy because they like to talk.  Even they can think of themselves that way.  But oh my, was she ever convinced as page after page of her accomplishments filled the screen.  Let’s just say the Social Marketing Optimization is in her future, whether she stays in her psychology major or not.

Best of all, while it is the beginning of the end of internship, it is not even the end of the beginning of these wonderful relationships!

Selecting the Next President

I’m a political junkie. Not a partisan, more of a very enthusiastic observer. I don’t care what party the person is from, what the polls are saying about them or who’s on their big donor list. What I watch for is the same thing I want in anyone whose decisions affect the future. While the only control I actually have (and even that is shared) is who gets to join the team at The Gabriel Institute, the temptation is there to play it out with the US citizenry’s next BIG HIRE. Of course, with the team here, everyone takes their Role-Based Assessment™ first, so I have good data, but watching is the next best thing.  The problem is, it can take a while to get to the inconsistencies.  Luckily this election cycle is so long, there will be plenty of time for the flipflopping to start.

So what’s the most important characteristic?  I want a President who can hold up under stress and not make impulsive, nonsensical decisions.  I don’t want someone who is so rigid they can’t look at and integrate new information and ideas, nor do I want a fluffheaded ditz who agrees with the last person that happened to get to them (or their wallet).

So I’m hoping that the coming debates will feature more obnoxious questions and lots of pushiness from the questioners.  I mean, really, if you lose it over a question, what will you do when you’re facing a real threat?

Three Customers in a Few Hours Can’t Be Wrong

When it comes down to it, the best judges of quality of hire are your customers.  So imagine my slightly mixed feelings at getting these three emails within the space of a few hours from my daughter Marni, QoCS (Queen of Customer Service).

1- I came in to find an email sent out to the floor.  It was a kudos to me.  It seems that a nurse called back hours after I talked to her to let my manager know that I was “friendly and knowledgeable”.  Yay me!

2- Jamie from Client Services just came over and asked if I remember talking to a specific nurse yesterday (she’s a supervisor in a generally new account) and she said that I was the only person to be able to do ANYTHING for her and thank you.

3- So a nurse (who is actually pretty new) called and asked for me specifically and it was just a regular thing of taking an order and when I asked why she asked for me she said “because you know what you are doing.”

I was in London for a customer so by the time I read them, it was too late to call and tell her how proud I am of her.  And how happy I am that I was wrong.  (Oh no, stop the presses: mother admits to being wrong!)

This is the kid I didn’t understand until she took a Role-Based Assessment.  I mean, really, I’ve been interviewing people most of my life, been a therapist, done expert testimony.  I gave birth to her and lived with her for all that time – the equivalent of a few years of interviews at the very least – and still did not get her.   Of course once she went through RBA for career help (now online at www.Tools4Careers.com) and I got over the shock of having raised a kid who is that caring she can handle anyone’s problems any time as long as they are very short term, it was pretty obvious she was born to be QoCS.  Even though I thought she was just being stubborn, not wanting to become a psychologist or run a company.

Mom 0, Customers 1.  I think I like being wrong.