Van Halen had a clause in every contract as a test to see if the contract was read and followed. And to check, all former Van Halen front man David Lee Roth had to do was walk backstage and look at a bowl of M&Ms. That's right...buried in the middle of their contract was a special clause that read, "There will be no brown M&Ms in the backstage area, upon pain of forfeiture of the show and with full compensation." This was Roth's brown-M&M test, which was used as a diagnostic, allowing the band to spot problems early. If Roth saw brown M&Ms, then he demanded a line check of the entire production...to avoid errors and to ensure an excellent concert with no glitches.

There are signs everywhere that indicate what has a good likelihood of occurring. For example, Johns Hopkins University researchers found that there were two early-warning signs that students would drop out. Researchers found that frequent absenteeism and failed English or math were two powerful predictors or indicators that 75% of those students would drop out.

What are you early warning signs? What are your diagnostics to ensure success?