Coordinate and act
Standby, then GO
Warn first, then act, never the reverse
Two separate steps before any irreversible action: a standby warning, then a distinct go.
Borrowed from stage management in theater, where every cue is called with a "standby" warning before the "go." Read the original source.
Ongoing habit · Minutes to start · Anyone on the team can start it
Try this first
On your most irreversible action, require a heads-up and then a separate confirmation. Two steps, never one.
Use it when
Irreversible actions get fired without a confirmation beat.
Skip it when
Reserve it for irreversible or high-stakes actions. Applied to routine work it is friction people will resent and route around.
How to introduce it
For irreversible actions, split the trigger in two. First a standby that says the action is coming and gives everyone a moment to catch a problem. Then a separate go. The two never collapse into one, so nothing unrecoverable happens on a single impulse.
How to show up
Decide which actions are irreversible enough to warrant it, then keep the two steps apart. The pause is the whole value, so do not let people merge them for speed.
How long it takes
No real setup beyond naming which actions need it.
What makes it hard
Under time pressure people want to collapse the steps, which is when the pause matters most. Choosing which actions qualify is the judgment. Too many and it becomes ceremony, too few and a real one slips through.
What it looks like when it's working
Irreversible actions get a pause where problems can surface, and occasionally someone uses it to stop a mistake. Two steps merged into one reflex means the protection is gone.
How long until it sticks
Expect a few uses before the two-step rhythm feels natural for the actions that warrant it.
How you know it stuck
The team separates the warning from the trigger on anything it cannot take back.
The idea behind it
Irreversible steps deserve a pause, not a click. The gap between standby and go is where the mistake gets caught.
Where it comes from
Stage management. A two-beat confirmation before an irreversible action. Cues follow a fixed two-beat sequence: a "standby" warning, then "GO", never reversed.