Good-Better-Best Goal Range
Set three success thresholds and judge yourself by effort and learning
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 96%
The Good-Better-Best Goal Range replaces a single pass-or-fail target with three explicit levels of success. The good goal defines a worthwhile baseline, the better goal represents strong performance, and the best goal is the stretch outcome. This range accommodates the uncertainty inherent in business results without removing standards. Alongside the three thresholds, the operator separates controllable inputs—preparation, outreach, execution quality, and persistence—from the final result, which may also depend on timing or external behavior. Afterward, performance is reviewed on two tracks: which result threshold was reached and whether the available effort was applied intelligently. Lessons from the gap become inputs for the next cycle. The mechanism supports motivation by creating more than one way to win while still making the largest ambition visible.
Origin
Extracted from The Jasmine Star Show during an answer about remaining motivated without becoming attached to an unpredictable outcome.
Core principles
- 01Outcomes contain uncertainty that effort cannot eliminate.
- 02A range recognizes multiple legitimate levels of success.
- 03Effort and learning are more controllable than the final result.
- 04Disappointing results can improve the next attempt when lessons are captured.
How to run it
- 1
Set the good threshold
Define the smallest result that would make the project worthwhile or demonstrate meaningful progress. Make it measurable and credible.
Pro tip Use prior performance or a conservative forecast to anchor this threshold.
Watch out Do not make “good” so easy that it provides no useful signal.
- 2
Set the better threshold
Define a result that would indicate strong execution and clear improvement. This should require focused effort without depending on an extraordinary event.
Pro tip Tie the better goal to the improvement your current plan is designed to create.
Watch out Avoid choosing three nearly identical thresholds.
- 3
Set the best threshold
Choose the ambitious stretch result that would represent exceptional performance. Treat it as a direction for effort rather than a guaranteed entitlement.
Pro tip Identify what additional actions could plausibly make the stretch result possible.
Watch out Do not quietly convert the best target into the only acceptable outcome.
- 4
Separate effort from outcome
List the actions and standards you control, then execute and track them. Acknowledge that the final result also contains uncertainty.
Pro tip Use leading indicators to monitor execution before the outcome arrives.
Watch out Outcome uncertainty is not an excuse for weak preparation.
- 5
Review the two scoreboards
Record which goal threshold was achieved and whether you completed the controllable work. Evaluate both without confusing one for the other.
Pro tip Include evidence of execution rather than relying on how the project felt.
Watch out A good result can conceal a poor process, just as a poor result can conceal valuable execution.
- 6
Recycle the lessons
Identify what the result taught you and update the next plan. Convert disappointment into a specific change rather than a generalized judgment.
Pro tip Write the next experiment while the evidence is fresh.
Watch out Learning without changing the next attempt is only observation.
In the wild
A founder sets 40 enrollments as good, 60 as better, and 90 as best. She separately commits to publishing the campaign assets, contacting qualified leads, running the webinar, and following up with attendees. The launch reaches 55 enrollments, so it surpasses good but misses better; her review finds that late follow-up reduced conversions.
→ The launch is assessed accurately, and the next campaign receives an earlier follow-up sequence.
A marketing lead defines one signed partner as good, three as better, and five as best. The team completes all targeted outreach but signs two because several prospects delayed budgets. Instead of treating the campaign as a failure, the team documents timing objections and changes its next outreach window.
→ The team preserves accountability for effort while using external feedback to improve timing.
Common mistakes
Treating best as the only win
This recreates a binary goal under three labels and discards the motivational benefit of a genuine range.
Using uncertainty to excuse effort
You may not control the result, but you remain responsible for the quality and completeness of your actions.
Ignoring lessons after a miss
A disappointing outcome becomes useful only when it changes the next plan or experiment.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for launches, campaigns, and projects whose outcomes depend partly on customers, markets, or other external factors.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when a legal, safety, or contractual threshold must be met without exception.
From the transcript
“When it comes to goal setting, I always encourage people to have a good, better, best goal.”
“I am in control of the effort. I am not in control of the outcome.”
“Did I do everything I could? Because if I did everything I could. And I learned lessons. Next time, we're getting better.”
From the episode
How I Run My Business, Stay Productive, and Avoid Burnout