Preston Smalley

As part of my leadership course at UC Berkeley I recently took a hybrid self-assessment, facilitated by CPP, which combines the power of Myers-Briggs’ MBTI with a less well known assessment called FIRO-B.

First introduced by William Schutz in 1958, the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation (FIRO), analyzes the dimensions of Inclusion, Control and Affection. It also probes on behaviors you tend to express as well as those that you wish others to demonstrate. Recently repositioned by CPP this tool is now rising in popularity.

The assessment and analysis uses the three FIRO dimensions to further color the factors used in the MBTI. The tool really helped me better understand my leadership style. It outlines areas of strengths as well as potential challenges I may face. Finally it provided a detailed action plan that I could utilize in developing my career plan.

Whether you are trying to better understand yourself or are looking for a tool to use in developing a career plan for someone you manage, this assessment is worth a look.

Take Assessment [Cost = $120 for 3 reports Leadership, MBTI, and FIRO-B]

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eBay’s growing its User Experience organization and so my team and others will continue to hire over the coming months. It’s an incredible opportunity to help make the unique eBay experience even more engaging and easy to use.

Here’s what I’m looking for:

• Sr. Information Architect / UI Designer
• UI Designer - Browsing and Search Experience
• UI Designer - Shopping Tools
• UI Designer - Bidding and Buying Process
• Manager, UI Design

Also within UED are following open roles:

• Sr. Manager, UI Design
• Principal UI Designer
• Lead UI Designer
• Sr. UI Designer | #2
• Principal Creative Designer
• Sr. Creative Designer
• Lead Quantitative User Researcher
• Sr. Content Manager
• Sr. Software Engineer
• Software Engineer

Update 4/25/07: See current positions open  or check eBaycareers.com

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Matt Carey, eBay’s CTO, announced today a new browser policy for eBay.com which focuses support on the most modern of web browsers (accounting for 95% adoption). This means that eBay will focus on:

• Microsoft IE 6.0 and higher
• Mozilla Firefox 1.5 and higher (including my favorite variant Flock)
• Apple Safari 2.0

This is a big acknowledgment of the growing popularity of browsers and operating systems made outside Redmond. Mac and Linux users rejoice!

Similar to Yahoo!’s graded browser policy, eBay will also continue to support basic functionality across other web browsers. The older the browser, the less likely features will work. This will eBay’s product design team continue to innovate on increasingly more interactive user experiences–something I’m quite excited about.

Example of what users with older web browsers will see while using eBay:

More about eBay Marketplace’s Browser Policy and How to Upgrade

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On the heals of the Berkeley MBA’s rise in the WSJ ranking (to #5), the Haas School’s ranking moved up to #8, from #17 last year, in the annual BusinessWeek ranking.

The combination of a small class, exceptional faculty, and a collegial atmosphere impressed students. Recruiters, meanwhile, were wowed by the quality of the grads.

It’s great to have the outside validation of what I consider to be a great program. On a related note, I’m flattered to be featured in the school’s brochure this year.

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I’ve been thinking recently about what engages people online to spend time on various web sites. People come to eBay for the thril of the auction, the high of winning. YouTube is famous for entertaining people.

I believe that as a designer, we must think beyond the utility of our experiences and consider the other sense and feelings we create in our customers. Two examples:

• Casino Design. Over the years the industry has honed the experience down to a science (see Matt of 37signals recent post on the casino experience). For example, there are good reasons that a slot machine doesn’t look like an ATM…

MONEY GAMBLING MACHINE

Sorry, you just lost $100.
[BET AGAIN] [QUIT]

• Car Interior Design. In persuit of building the ultimate driving machine, BMW considered every element of the experience inside the car. For example the sound made when lane changing, the way the knob feels when you adjust the radio station, to the thump made when the door closes. These are not accidents but done on purpose to reinforce the powerful nature of the car.

If your business model hinges not how people feel when using your product, then it is critical that you analyze the feelings people have (or want to have) when using your product.

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