The Premortem (Before Day 1, Week 1, Month 1)

The Trap

Planning the first days, weeks, or month of a new role or project purely as a task checklist: action items with no defined destination.

The Reframe

Before starting, run a premortem. Define:

• What does success actually look like?
• What does failure actually look like?
• What are the early signals in between that indicate which direction things are trending?

Why It Works

Most people don't think about reporting or KPIs until after launch, by which point the early-warning signals that would have flagged a problem were never set up. Defining them upfront means you can catch drift while there's still time to correct it.

How the Pieces Fit

The premortem defines what the in-between signals should look like. Launches Aren't Binary explains why those signals matter: they're where you actually have room to act. A role-based stakeholder map tells you who needs to see those signals as the situation evolves.