PProve
Home Glossary
Plain-English definitions

The people-decision glossary

The language of betting on the right people — defined without the jargon.

Commitment Quotient (CQ)

A behavioral signal that scores Initiative, Follow-Through, and Learnability under pressure to indicate who's ready for more scope — measured from behavior, not self-report.

Initiative

How consistently someone acts without being prompted — spotting what needs doing and moving before being directed, especially when the situation is unclear.

Follow-Through

How consistently someone completes what they committed to — staying with a commitment when it gets hard. A behavior demonstrated in context, not a personality label.

Learnability

How consistently someone acts on feedback — the behavior observed when someone is given correction and asked to adjust.

Capacity

Current ability to take on scope — time, energy, and behavioral readiness — right now. A dynamic state, not a fixed trait, which is why it's better observed than assumed.

GWC (Gets it, Wants it, Capacity)

The EOS test for whether a person fits a seat. Capacity is the vaguest of the three — the component Prove makes measurable. How Prove measures capacity →

Regretted attrition

Turnover among the people you wanted to keep. A far truer retention signal than headline turnover, which lumps in departures you didn't mind.

Quiet quitting

Doing the minimum and no more — disengagement that looks like retention on a headcount report but withholds discretionary effort. Spot quiet quitting early →

Span of control

How many direct reports a manager oversees. Stretch it too wide and coaching, feedback, and engagement all degrade — a common scaling failure.

Quality of hire

How well a new hire performs and stays. Best assessed by behavior in the first 90 days, not by resume or interview impression. Prove a hire in 90 days →

The Peter Principle

The tendency to promote people to the level of their incompetence — rewarding past performance with a role that needs different behavior. Why good people fail after promotion →

Engagement paradox

The pattern of engagement scores falling while business performance holds — evidence that engagement and results were never the same thing. The engagement paradox, explained →

The 9 CQ sub-behaviors

The Commitment Quotient score rests on three measured dimensions. Each breaks down into three observable behaviors — the specific things Prove watches for in real work, rather than a personality label. See the first-principles science behind them →

Initiative
Do they act without being told?
Proactive Start
Starting on what needs doing before being asked or assigned — moving first instead of waiting for direction.
Closes the loop
Carrying work all the way to done, especially the unglamorous last mile — not just starting strong.
Resourcefulness
Finding a way around obstacles with the access and tools at hand, instead of stalling until someone clears the path.
Follow-Through
Do they hold when it gets hard?
Resilience
Recovering from setbacks and staying in the work after a failure, rather than deflating or checking out.
Ownership
Taking responsibility for outcomes — including the messy and shared ones — instead of reaching for blame.
Long-Game Drive
Sustaining effort toward a payoff that isn't immediate — staying motivated when the reward is still distant.
Learnability
Do they evolve over time?
Openness to Feedback
Taking correction without defensiveness and acting on it, rather than protecting ego or a track record.
Self-Awareness
An accurate read of one's own strengths and gaps — the starting point for any real improvement.
Growth Orientation
Actively seeking to get better without being pushed, treating skill as something built rather than fixed.

A CQ result reflects observed behavior during a defined window and is valid for twelve months. Anyone assessed receives their own result and may request re-assessment at any time.

Explore the full guides library →