People Analyzer: A Simple Tool to Track Accountability

This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "Traction" by Gino Wickman. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.

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What is the People Analyzer? How can it help you hire and hold your current employees accountable?

The “People Analyzer” is a report card tool for assessing how well current and potential employees match your company’s values. Download the tool here or create your own version.

Keep reading to learn how to implement the People Analyzer tool to track accountability and benchmark your staff against your company values.

How to Implement the People Analyzer Tool

In the downloaded “People Analyzer” form, list the people you’re assessing in the left column and list your core values across the top.

Rate those on the list for how they align with your core values:

  • Give them a plus (+) if they demonstrate the value most of the time
  • A plus/minus (+/-) if they sometimes demonstrate the value.
  • A minus (-) if they rarely demonstrate the value.

The company’s senior leaders need to decide the minimum acceptable standard managers should apply in hiring and holding employees accountable. For instance, if a company has five core values, the overall bar could be three pluses, two middle ratings, and no minuses. People who are at or above this standard would be right for your company.

Once you have rated each employee, follow these steps to have your leadership team provide their own assessment:

Step 1: Have your leadership team analyze each other’s alignment with the company’s core values. There are two benefits:

  • It’s a test of your values. If everyone on the team is weak in a particular value, it may be one you should exclude from your core values.
  • You’ll learn whether any of your senior leaders are below standard. If so, give them a chance to improve using the three-strike rule.

Step 2: As a leadership team, assess the rest of the employees and have each person’s manager share the assessment with him.

Step 3: As the company leader, use the assessment tool in your quarterly performance reviews with senior leaders and let them grade you too.

Step 4: If you have a personnel problem, use the tool to assess the person. If they’re not meeting the standard for the right fit, use the three-strike process.

People Analyzer: A Simple Tool to Track Accountability

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  • How a first-time entrepreneur can gain the traction needed to grow
  • Why hard work and determination aren't enough for your business to succeed
  • The 6 key principles of the Entrepreneurial Operating System

Darya Sinusoid

Darya’s love for reading started with fantasy novels (The LOTR trilogy is still her all-time-favorite). Growing up, however, she found herself transitioning to non-fiction, psychological, and self-help books. She has a degree in Psychology and a deep passion for the subject. She likes reading research-informed books that distill the workings of the human brain/mind/consciousness and thinking of ways to apply the insights to her own life. Some of her favorites include Thinking, Fast and Slow, How We Decide, and The Wisdom of the Enneagram.

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