Eight questions, asked monthly in writing, that function as a complete diagnostic on someone's working life. The scale: **1 is "it couldn't be any worse," 3 is "meeting expectations," 5 is "it couldn't be any better."** > - What is your 5 year career vision? > - Is what you are doing now at work leading you toward that vision, 1-5? > - How are you feeling about your life at work, 1-5? > - How are you feeling about your personal life, 1-5? > - How are you feeling about your physical work setup, 1-5? > - How are we performing as a company, 1-5? > - What is it like to work with the rest of the team, 1-5? > - What is it like to work with me, 1-5? Then, for the lowest score only: **"What would get it to the next level?"** ### **What I'm thinking about** 1. **You only work the lowest one** – Not all eight. The instrument's job is to locate the binding constraint, and the follow-up question does the rest. 2. **The two-bucket processing rule is the part people miss** – Work life, personal life, physical setup and working with peers usually require actions *from them*. Company performance and "working with me" usually require actions *from you*. Different owners, different follow-up. 3. **Most of the value is in the asking** – "80% of the value is in me asking the question and listening to the answer so that my star performer feels heard. 20% of the value is creating the requested condition." You do not have to fix everything. You have to hear it accurately. 4. **Personal life is deliberately in scope** – Which feels intrusive the first time. The justification: "We have been able to raise the productivity of some team members 10x by helping them sort out their personal life." If the binding constraint is at home, no amount of work-side coaching moves it. 5. **The closing challenge is uncomfortable and fair** – If you find yourself unwilling to spend this time on someone: *"Why are you still working with those people?"* ### **So what?** Eight questions, five minutes, once a month, and they surface things that would otherwise appear as an unexpected resignation. The most valuable is usually the last — *what is it like to work with me* — precisely because it is the one nobody volunteers unasked. If the score for personal life is the low one, there is a second layer: rate relationship, home, career, money, time with friends and family, fun, physical health, mind and soul — and then the same follow-up on the lowest. Related: [[Absolute Feedback]] [[Praise Earns the Right to Critique]] [[The Energy Audit]] [[The Five A's of Receiving Feedback]] [[Executive Operating System MOC]]