--- title: "The Three Questions — Goal Grounding Test" url: https://mkelango.com/diagnostics/three-questions/ description: "The Three Questions test any goal you hold: where the number comes from, who decides when it moves, and what happens automatically when it goes off-track." site: mkelango.com author: M. K. Elango updated: 2026-08-26 evidence_standard: "Every figure carries a grade [A] verified / [B] claimed / [C] estimate and an as-at date. See https://mkelango.com/evidence/" --- Free · no email to start From goal1 # The Three Questions Ask any goal you currently hold: where does the number come from, who decides when it moves, and what happens next. Almost everyone fails the third. - **Length:** 3 questions · under 2 minutes - **Scored out of:** 15 - **Benchmark:** 6 What it reads Whether the goals you hold are grounded instruments or typed assertions. From [goal1](https://mkelango.com/books/goal1/) · INSTRUMENT In short Updated 2026-08-26 The Three Questions is a free instrument that tests one real goal you currently hold: where does the number come from, who decides when it moves, and what happens automatically when it goes off-track. It scores out of 15 against a benchmark of 6. Most organisations pass the first two and fail the third. Why this one ## In OKR, the goal and the work live in different systems. Every failure mode follows from that one gap. Three questions, asked of one real goal you currently hold. Not a hypothetical one — pick the one on the slide. The third question is where systems fail. Organisations can usually say where the number comes from and who owns it. Very few can say what automatically happens when it goes off-track, which is why the answer is nearly always "a meeting, eleven days from now." The book behind it goal1 Truth — because a grounded measure cannot be negotiated. Read the argument [goal1](https://mkelango.com/books/goal1/) Where this gets fixed goal1 Installation 365 days, four movements, and an honest year-one scorecard. The programme [goal1 Installation](https://mkelango.com/programs/goal1/) Method ## The benchmark, and how it was built. A score is only as good as the thing it is compared against. So the benchmark carries a grade and a method, exactly like every other figure on this site. The benchmark 6 /15 [C: Median across founders and chiefs of staff asked in workshop settings. estimate, as at 26 August 2026. As at 26 August 2026] Median across founders and chiefs of staff asked in workshop settings. Grade [C] — estimate, as at 26 August 2026. [A] Verified Traced to a primary source — a filing, an audited statement, a contract, a dataset held by us — and the source is named. [B] Claimed Reported by a credible party, including by us, but not independently traceable to a primary document. [C] Estimate Modelled, sampled or directionally derived. Method stated. Treat as a shape, not a number. [The Evidence Log](https://mkelango.com/evidence/) What we do with your result The score is computed in your browser. Nothing is transmitted unless you ask for the detailed report, and in that case only the score, the trait breakdown and your email address are stored. Your result is never published, sold, shared or attached to your name in any material. [Privacy](https://mkelango.com/privacy/) The questions ## All 3, published in full. Nothing is hidden behind the interaction. If you would rather read the instrument than run it — or run it on paper, in a room, with other people — here it is. **01 **Where does the number come from?** — Pick one goal you hold today. Where does its number come from?** Be exact. "The CRM" is a good answer. "Sales" is not. - 1 Someone types it in a planning tool - 2 It is assembled by hand each period from several places - 3 It comes from one system, adjusted by a human - 4 It is read from a system of record, with an override log - 5 It is read from a system of record and cannot be overridden **02 **Who decides when it moves?** — Who has the authority to say the measure has changed?** - 1 Whoever is presenting that week - 2 The goal owner, unilaterally - 3 The goal owner, with a review - 4 A named owner under published rules - 5 Nobody. The system reads it; humans decide the response, not the reading **03 **What happens next?** — When it goes off-track, what happens automatically?** This is the question almost everyone fails. - 1 A meeting, eventually - 2 It is flagged in the next review - 3 The owner is notified - 4 A defined action is routed to a named owner - 5 A routed action with a named owner and a governed approval gate Scored out of 15. Published benchmark 6. Method and grade above. The bands ## What each range means. Published before you take the test, so the reading cannot be tuned to flatter afterwards. 0–5 Typed, not computed The goal and the work live in different systems, and between them a person types a number. Every OKR failure mode you have experienced lives in that gap — they are not five problems, they are one. 6–9 Partly grounded The measure has a source and an owner, which puts you ahead of most. The break is almost certainly the third question: going off-track produces a conversation rather than a routed action, so the response time is set by the calendar. 10–12 Nearly a mission Intent, Measure and Level are in place. What is missing is Route — the governed action that fires without anyone deciding to convene. Adding it is the smallest change with the largest effect in this instrument. 13–15 A mission, not an objective Read rather than typed, owned under published rules, with a governed route on the downside. The quarterly ritual is now optional for this goal. The work is repeating it for the other thirty-nine — and knowing what breaks at eight and again at forty. FAQ ## Questions about The Three Questions Answered plainly, with the real figures. If something here is wrong, [tell us and it goes in the log](https://mkelango.com/evidence/). ### Why do most organisations fail the third question? Because going off-track produces a conversation rather than a routed action. Organisations can usually say where a number comes from and who owns it. Very few can say what happens automatically when it moves the wrong way, so the answer is nearly always 'a meeting, eleven days from now' — and the response time is set by the calendar. ### What are the three questions? Where does the number come from; who decides when it moves; and what happens automatically when it goes off-track. Ask them of one real goal you currently hold — the one on the slide, not a hypothetical one. Each is scored on a five-level ladder, giving fifteen points in total against a published benchmark of 6. ### What is the difference between a mission and an objective? An objective is typed and reviewed. A mission is read rather than typed, owned under published rules, and carries a governed route on the downside — Intent, Measure, Level and Route. If the third question is your weakest, you hold an objective, not a mission. Adding Route is the smallest change with the largest effect in this instrument. ### How long does The Three Questions take? Three questions and under two minutes — the shortest instrument on the site. It is free, needs no account and no email to start, and scores in the browser. The bands are 0–5 typed rather than computed, 6–9 partly grounded, 10–12 nearly a mission, and 13–15 a mission rather than an objective. ### What does the goal1 programme involve? goal1 Installation runs 365 days across four movements and ends with an honest year-one scorecard. It is limited to ten installations a year and priced at ₹20L – ₹90L, banded by the number of missions and systems of record, with the platform licence quoted separately. The diagnostic itself remains free. The other instruments ## Five more, one per altitude. [All six](https://mkelango.com/diagnostics/) Free The AQ Score Where your organisation sits on the twelve properties that let a machine improve a million-fold in a decade. 12 questions · about 4 minutes [The AQ Score](https://mkelango.com/diagnostics/aq-score/) Free The Flywheel Locator Where your AI capability actually sits on the powertrain — and which part is holding the wheel. 6 questions · about 3 minutes [The Flywheel Locator](https://mkelango.com/diagnostics/flywheel-locator/) Free Do You Actually Have a Moonshot? Whether the thing at the top of your ladder is an objective you could be held to, or a sentence that sounds good in a deck. 7 questions · about 3 minutes [Do You Actually Have a Moonshot?](https://mkelango.com/diagnostics/moonshot-test/)