QUICK DIAGNOSTIC · 4 QUESTIONS · 2 MINUTES

The Macondo Drift Check

A short version of the diagnostic in The Fatal Five, built from the same anatomy that failed on the Deepwater Horizon. Four questions, scored 0–3 each, total out of 12.

Answer honestly and quickly — first instinct, not the polished answer. If you're scoring this with a team, have everyone answer privately first and compare after: a wide spread on the same question is itself a warning sign.

0 of 4 answered

YOUR RESULT

0/ 12

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HOW TO READ YOUR SCORE (0–12 scale)

10–12Barriers intact — re-run this next quarter.

7–9Early drift — pick your lowest answer and act on it.

4–6Macondo pattern active — the pattern behind most disasters in the book.

0–3Displacement in progress — escalate before the next release, not after.

Note: this 4-question check is scored out of 12. The full Fatal Five Assessment in the book and on this site is a different, more detailed instrument — 25 questions scored out of 125. The two scores are not on the same scale and aren't meant to be compared directly; this quick check is a first read, the full assessment is the complete diagnostic.

Want the complete picture? The full Fatal Five Assessment scores all five patterns individually, not just a single composite number.

Take the full 25-item assessment →