The test gives you a builder level, from 1 to 5, and a line of work to grow. The level comes from what you did in recent months, not from how you see yourself. You can also go straight to a path without answering anything.
Fifty questions in ten steps
The ten steps are the book’s, from mindset to reference. Each step asks five questions:
- questions about what you usually do at a precise moment, for example “when you’re given a task”;
- questions you can check, such as “do you know what the thing you work on costs?” or “if you left for two weeks, what would happen?”;
- for rarer moves, “when did you last…”, five times in the whole test;
- one “the last time…” question, with four answers that describe what you did;
- one short situation, with four answers: pick the one that is better to do.
There is no fixed period to count: some moves come back every week, others once a year. The four answers to a question all sound reasonable, and most are shown in a random order. The right one can’t be guessed from its tone or from where it sits.
Answer for what you really do: at work, in class, in a community group or a project of your own. If a situation didn’t come up, say so. If your setting didn’t allow it, for lack of time, access or agreement, say so too. These two answers stay out of the calculation.
How the level is calculated
Each answer is worth 0 to 3. A step is solid when its average reaches 2.2 and your “last time” answer is worth at least 2. It is under way from 1.2. A step needs three scored answers to be judged.
Your solid step is the highest solid step, with at most one lower step that isn’t solid. That step is named in your result. Nobody grows in a perfect order, and a single weak step shouldn’t wipe out everything.
Your level groups the steps two by two:
| Level | Steps | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 to 2 | You are laying the foundations |
| 2 | 3 and 4 | You move on your own |
| 3 | 5 and 6 | You ship and answer for the result |
| 4 | 7 and 8 | You make next time easier |
| 5 | 9 and 10 | You grow other builders |
Five levels, not ten: an online test you fill in alone can’t reliably tell ten levels apart. It can tell four or five.
The result quotes the answer that holds you back at the next step. You can check where your level comes from.
What the result shows
Before the first step, the test asks which steps you think are solid. You tick as many as you like, or answer “none yet” or “I don’t know”. At the end, it compares step by step with what your answers show: that is often where the surprise is. A step your setting limited, or that didn’t come up, counts neither for nor against.
The result then answers three questions, in order:
- Where you stand: the ten steps, the solid ones, your position and the next step.
- What holds you back: the five moves of the next step, the ones you already do ticked, and your answer under each one that is missing. Before them, two things you already do well.
- What to do next: a single move, to make the next time the situation comes up, with the card from the book that goes with it. You can copy it, with the date to take the test again.
The ten steps stay available at the bottom, to choose another line of work.
When your setting limits a step
A step limited by your setting doesn’t lower your level. It is shown separately: it is information about your context, not about you. If your setting limits more than two steps, the test gives no level. It would give a false one.
What the level doesn’t say
The level comes from your answers alone. Nobody checks them. Its cut-offs were set by hand, from the book. They will be recalibrated on real answers, collected later with people’s consent, and this page will say so.
The level doesn’t predict your success, your pay or your performance. It is not for hiring, for ranking colleagues or for assessing a team. A level shown in front of others pushes everyone to inflate their answers, and then the test measures nothing.
Take the test again in three months. The level is meant to move.
Your answers
Nothing is sent anywhere. Your answers disappear when you leave or reload the page, unless you tick “Keep my answers on this device”. They then stay in your browser, and only there, until you untick the box or clear the site’s data. Next time, the result shows what moved: your step before, your step today, and the moves that have become habits. You can also copy your move or your line of work; your answers are not included.
After your level, choose a step and what you want to do: start, go deeper into your practice, act with a group, or back other builders. The line of work offers a bounded move, conditions to examine, and three cards from the book.