I’m not just an author, I’m also a project manager and senior web developer. That’s actually how I pay the rent, so to speak, but fortunately for me I get to spend a fair bit of time writing at the office. In addition to being the senior project manager, I’m also the writer and editor of the corporate blog.
The company I work for is eRep, Inc. When people ask me where I work and what we do there, I say, “We sell happiness.” This always generates a fair bit of intrigue and interest because it’s a vague answer that begs for further explanation.
Erep is entirely focused on the Core Values Index assessment. It is a psychometric assessment that measures and defines a person’s innate unchanging nature. It is your personality’s DNA, as I like to describe it.
The CVI is your personality’s DNA.
The CVI assessment starts with an online test that usually takes 7-10 minutes to complete. When done, you are given a score that represents how much of four separate personalty types you possess. It sounds simplistic when I describe it that way, but the number of combinations of those four types is in the trillions.
Personality Types
The Core Values Index assessment is made up of four core values, based on power, love, wisdom and knowledge. These go by the names of Builder, Merchant, Innovator, and Banker, respectively. When you take the CVI, you are given a score between 0 and 36 in each of these four energies or core values, with a total combined score that always sums to 72.
It is your particular combination of these four values that represent your CVI score. Your core values represent where you are the happiest, whether it be solving problems, building relationships, acquiring knowledge, or taking charge and leading others.
The best way I can explain this is to describe my own CVI score. I am a 27 points Innovator and 17 points Banker. My Builder score is 15 points and my Merchant score is 13 points. In the parlance of the CVI, I am an Innovator/Banker.
This means that I value solving problems more than anything, and value knowledge—both its acquisition and dispensation—secondarily. Innovators are all about being the wisdom in the room. Solving problems is their passion, and they don’t believe there’s a problem they can’t solve with enough time. Bankers value knowledge. This combination of core values lends itself to me being naturally and innately drawn to project management and product development.
Merchants find their happiness in the relationships they form with other people. They like to motivate others with their emotional energy and enthusiasm, and they excel at forming consensus among groups. They tend toward being team leaders or team motivators.
Builders are the power in the room. They take charge and get things done. If Innovators can be described as “get it right” kind of people, Builders are “get it done” kind of folks. They love checking things off of lists and earning that strong sense of accomplishment. They are all about action, sometimes to the point of saying, “Get out of the way, let me do it.”
As you can imagine, Builder/Merchants or Merchant/Builders tend to find themselves in positions of power and influence.
These are highlight explanations and don’t do the core values justice. The best way to learn more about the CVI is to read the blog at eRep.
Or better yet, take the free CVI and get your own score. I highly recommend paying for an upgraded CVI. For $49.95 you get a full 17-page report describing your individual CVI profile in full detail. I’ve yet to meet someone who took the CVI and got their upgraded report and regretted it. In fact, they invariably become strong advocates of the assessment, motivating their friends, coworkers, and family to take the CVI.
