Our hypothetical CareerLeader™ user, Jan Wright, finds that her scale scores from the BCII, MPRP, and MPAP all match up with the prime characterists for this Achilles Heel to a "T" -- her BCII Counseling and Mentoring score was 38, Very Low; her MPRP Altruism score was 0, also Very Low; and her MPAP Critical Thinking (10, Very High) and Communication (1, Very Low) scores are practically a perfect match as well with Mr. Spock's "Prime Characteristics." So she reads on about Mr. Spock.

For those who have never seen the original television program "Star Trek," Mr. Spock was the character who had no emotion -- at all -- and could not understand the feelings of anyone else. The Mr. Spock Achilles' heel refers to those people who approach business issues and make their business decisions without taking into account how people are going to feel about them. The decisions often "make sense" on every level other than that of how other people react -- but that "minor" matter has been enough to frustrate their objectives and in some instances to get them fired. This is an Achilles' heel that can be troublesome -- but not fatal -- in individual contributor (non-management) roles where interactions are brief and basically for the purposes of information exchange. But when the person is managing other people, understanding and valuing others' feelings and differing points of view become essential for success.

Prime Characteristics of Mr. Spock

BCII Low or Very Low interest in Counseling and Mentoring MPRP Low or Very Low value on Altruism MPAP Very High or High ability in Critical Thinking; Low or Very Low ability in Communication See full details below

Jack (one of our clients, but not his real name) had everything going for him: BS and MS degrees from a top technical institute, an MBA from a top business school, great work experience; he was articulate, charismatic, good looking, and an expert in his field. When we met him he had been recently fired by the company for which he had been the senior vice president for marketing. When we discussed the reasons for his having been let go (both with Jack and with the president and other top executives of the company) the story was consistent: Jack made excellent decisions on the basis of facts, but totally ignored the "human" feeling aspect -- people's need to feel included in decisions that had a significant impact on them, the importance of their relationships with co-workers, etc. He also ignored many of the interpersonal/human/feeling elements of everyday workplace interaction. He was all head, with no heart. Over time his actions and his decisions, while they always made the most sense in terms of the immediate bottom line, so alienated people in the company that he was unable to carry out his responsibilities effectively and had to be let go.

Some common signs of having this Achilles' heel are:

BCII results:		MPRP results:		MPAP results:
1.	Almost always Low or Very Low interest in Counseling and Mentoring	1.	Almost always Low or Very Low value on Altruism	1.	Almost always Very High or High ability in Critical Thinking and Low or Very Low ability in Communication
2.	Usually Very High or High interests in one or more of Application of Technology, Quantitative Analysis, Theory Development and Conceptual Thinking, and Creative Production	2.	Almost always Low or Very Low value on Managing People	2.	Usually Very High or High abilities in Power-orientation, Action-orientation, and Multi-focus; and Low or Very Low ability in Leading/Managing
3.	Usually Low or Very Low interests in Managing People and Relationships and in Influence Through Language and Ideas	3.	Usually Very High or High values on Autonomy and Intellectual Challenge and Low or Very Low value on Affiliation	3.	Often Very High or High ability in Quantitative Analysis
		4.	Often Very High or High value on Power and Influence