Lesson 2: Week 3–6 failure map + early catches

This is the danger window. Not because people are bad, but because energy outruns structure.

What typically breaks first

1) The feed becomes the operations system

Symptom: people post requests in Mighty instead of VT360 Root cause: friction, confusion, or poor onboarding Early catch: pin a “Where to post requests” reminder + close feed requests with a redirect script Steward move: “Thanks. Please log this in VT360 using the template. We match from there.”

2) Scope creep starts quietly

Symptom: “while you’re here…” turns one match into three Root cause: requesters don’t know the rules, helpers feel pressure Early catch: remind “new need = new request” weekly Steward move: close current match and create a new request for the extra work

3) Overgivers take over

Symptom: same 3 people are helping everyone Root cause: social habit + lack of capacity limits Early catch: ledger pattern + pulse checks show overload signals Steward move: pause matches for overgivers, route new matches to fresh helpers, shrink scope

4) Under-clarity becomes resentment

Symptom: helpers complain privately, requests feel “messy” Root cause: NeedsInfo isn’t enforced, people match anyway Early catch: rising “oops” cancellations, lower completion rates Steward move: enforce clarity standards harder, not softer

5) Emotional requests hijack the system

Symptom: operational requests become therapy-by-proxy Root cause: no separate container for emotional load Early catch: requests labeled High emotional load increase Steward move: reroute to CareAndListening; require explicit consent

6) Steward burnout

Symptom: triage delays, backlog grows, “we’ll get to it” culture Root cause: roles not staffed, unclear cadence Early catch: steward dashboard not being used daily Steward move: reduce active domains, pause new domains, recruit backup steward

7) Fairness stories + social comparison

Symptom: “I always give and nobody helps me” Root cause: invisible labor + lack of clean closure + no private check-ins Early catch: rising tension records, passive-aggressive posts Steward move: private check-in, ledger review, matching equity adjustments, publish norms reminder (no public scoreboards)

8) Tools drama (if tools are active)

Symptom: missing tools, late returns, blame stories Root cause: no booking rules or enforcement Early catch: overdue bookings increase Steward move: tighten booking rules, add deposit/approval for high-value tools, enforce return deadlines

The Week 3–6 “Early Catch Routine” (30 minutes weekly)

Run this every week from Day 14 to Day 45:

1. Dashboard scan: NeedsInfo backlog count
2. Dashboard scan: CompletedNotLogged count
3. PulseChecks: overload signals
4. Ledger: top helpers last 14 days
5. Domain: which domain is draining people
6. Fix: pause or reduce scope in the top problem area

This routine prevents collapse without making a big deal of it.