Method · Soft skills
Game Is Serious uses a curated O*NET skill library (24 workplace behaviours), not a Myers-Briggs-style type test. Managers pick three to five focus skills per rep. Deal IQ scores customer-facing beats. Team IQ scores inside-pod beats.
01 · Source
Our catalog draws from the O*NET database: observable behaviours like Active Listening and Conflict Resolution. Each skill has a stable ID and a group.
Focus skill IDs flow into simulation config, debrief charts, and dossier exports across Mirror, Deal IQ, Team IQ, and Transfer.
Situational fit beats self-report.
02 · Five groups
Twenty-four skills in five groups. Managers pick three to five for the current gap.
Listening, analysis, and reading the room.
Active Listening · deep dive below
Critical Thinking
Analytical Thinking
Social Perceptiveness · deep dive below
Persuasion, negotiation, and relationship building.
Persuasion · deep dive below
Negotiation
Building Relationships
Empathetic Support
Service Orientation
Written Expression
Conflict Resolution · deep dive below
Persistence, initiative, and follow-through.
Persistence
Resilience
Initiative
Attention to Detail
Time Management
Decision quality, accountability, and coaching.
Decision Making
Decisive Judgment
Accountability · deep dive below
Objective Setting
Coaching · deep dive below
Flexibility, learning agility, and creative thinking.
Flexibility
Active Learning
Creative Thinking
O*NET: Active Listening
Giving full attention, understanding points being made, and asking questions as appropriate.
In Deal IQ, we tag listening on discovery beats against the buyer. In Team IQ Ep3 retro, the same skill ID scores forum scenes where peers vent. Cross-sim flags appear when customer fit is strong but team fit is mismatch.
O*NET: Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
O*NET: Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
O*NET: Responsibility for Outcomes and Results
Taking ownership of work outcomes and results.
Team IQ Ep2 (The Spill) centres accountability: owning a mistake without blaming peers. James O'Brien's demo dossier shows high fit here while RheinMark deal axes still flag champion gaps.
O*NET: Coaching and Developing Others
Identifying developmental needs and helping others improve knowledge or skills.
O*NET: Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others
Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances.
03 · Training triangle
Same triangle for Deal IQ and Team IQ.
01
Snapshot on a single episode or deal diagnostic.
02
Full cycle or Team IQ arc slice.
03
Rematch snapshot or dossier delta.
04 · Native axes
Psychological safety, managing up, peer trust repair measured in-fiction.
Psychological Safety Contribution
Peer openness after your beats in pod scenes.
Managing Up
Fit signals in manager 1:1 episodes.
Peer Trust Repair
Recovery after conflict beats, not avoidance.
Values-in-Action
Company values rubric on visible choices.
Feedback Reception
Response to coach and manager input in-fiction.
05 · Cross-sim
Shared focus skill IDs enable cross-sim coaching insights.
Personality test?
No. Situational fit on simulation beats.
How many focus skills?
Three to five per person.
Who owns rubrics?
Deterministic beat rubrics, not LLM scores.
Team IQ vs Deal IQ?
Pod craft vs buyer room. Same passport.