How do I catch goals that are about to slip?
To catch a goal before it slips, read the early signals – intentions repeated week after week, blockers that never clear, updates that get vaguer – and act before anyone flips the status. By the time a goal is officially “at risk,” it has been quietly drifting for weeks, so this preset reads those signs each Wednesday and names the goals likely to slip before they’re marked.
What this is for
This preset solves the lagging indicator problem. Goal statuses are self-reported, and people are optimists. A goal stays “on track” right up until it visibly isn’t, because nobody wants to be the one to flip the flag early. But the raw signals don’t share that optimism: the same intention stated four check-ins in a row, a blocker reported twice with no resolution, progress updates that shrink from paragraphs to sentences.
The Early warning preset reads those signals every Wednesday and predicts which goals will slip before they’re formally flagged. Each prediction comes with the specific warning signs behind it, so you can verify the reasoning yourself before acting. You intervene midweek, mid-goal, while the cost of a course correction is still small.
Who should use this
Engineering managers who’ve been burned by a goal that was “on track” until the week it wasn’t. You’ll get the heads-up while the status is still green.
Program managers running initiatives where one slipping goal cascades into five. You’ll see the first domino wobbling instead of watching them all fall.
Skip-level leaders who only hear about problems after they’ve been escalated. You’ll spot trouble from the raw signals, not the filtered reports.
The prompt
Review recent check-ins, stated intentions, blockers, and goal updates. Predict which goals are likely to slip before they are formally marked at risk, with a brief explanation of the warning signs for each.
How to use
Click here to create a new Echo using this preset. You'll be able to customize the prompt and schedule before it starts generating answers.