1. Identifying Strategic Momentum

Momentum is one of the most critical parts of getting a project off the ground, and it often begins with identifying early sources of relational or social energy before anything is formally built.

Part of the work is knowing where to look for that energy so it can be used at the right points across the life of the project. It might show up in a few strong conversations, thoughtful emails, early social interest, or outreach from potential partners. These aren’t just random events. They’re signals.

The value is being able to interpret those signals and use that energy with intention. You’re not using it all at once. You’re pulling from different pieces and applying it in the right places, especially where momentum tends to slow as the project moves through different stages.

That energy becomes fuel. It helps carry the work forward and can be turned into something tangible that supports the project.

2. Defining the Shared Perspective

Defining the Shared Perspective is the early conversation stage where people begin level setting around what they are doing, what may be unfolding, and what they could be building toward together.

What’s also happening here is you’re resetting expectations. When people come together around something new, there’s often a tendency to overcommit early, to feel like they have to take on a lot because there are only a few people involved.

This stage is meant to counter that. You’re creating space for people to engage without pressure. No required meetings, no response timelines, no added expectations. Just conversation as random or often as you choose.

When that pressure is removed, it can make it easier for people to contribute in ways that feel natural to them. It also prepares them for what’s needed in the next stage (Pillar 3), where that same mindset has to extend to others who come in to contribute to direction and strategy without feeling constrained.

3. Flexible Strategic Direction

Flexible Strategic Direction is the stage where strategy begins to take shape without locking the work into a rigid plan too early. It creates an easier way for others to step in, look at the strategy, and contribute to how the work might move forward, especially as new insights begin to surface.

The goal is to give the project enough direction to gather input and early buy-in, while keeping the structure open enough for the strategy to gel, adjust, and continue developing as more people come into it.

The value here is that it makes it easy for high-level thinkers to contribute without feeling tied down. People can step in, add something meaningful, and step back. This is where a lot of projects struggle -- it's hard for others to contribute unless they fully commit.

When people can contribute without being tied down, they’re more likely to stay connected to the work. And that makes it more likely they come back later or support it in a bigger way.

4. Parallel Incubation and Testing

Parallel Incubation and Testing is the protected background space where people can explore ideas, build early versions (prototyping), and work collaboratively without bringing everything to the surface too soon. It serves as a sandbox for explorations and testing in parallel, which also helps reveal what kind of community space, tools, and working environment the project will eventually need.

This stage can continue throughout the life of the project, giving people a place to develop ideas behind the scenes, learn from what they are building, and pass valuable insight forward before new work reaches the wider organization.

The value here is that it protects the work while it's still forming. Not everything needs to be visible or finalized early, and this space allows people to try things, make adjustments, and learn without pressure.

It also helps prevent the main project from taking on too much risk too early. Instead of pushing untested ideas into the open, you are allowing them to be worked through first, so what moves forward is stronger, clearer, and more ready to be integrated.

5. Community Space & Active Contributors

Community Space & Active Contributors is the stage where the work begins to establish a dedicated home for collaboration, building, and shared participation. It creates the social lanes that allow internal teams, partners, volunteers, and other contributors to enter the work with more clarity about where they fit and how they can take part.

The consistency and participation built in the prior stage often act as the early buy-in for this one. It shows that there is enough real activity to support a more defined space for building together.

This stage also creates an entry point for organizational leadership, stakeholders, and department leads. They are often busy, but more importantly, they are meant to provide early input on how their department may connect to the work over time.

The goal is to make stakeholder contribution easy and clear. They can step in, provide what’s needed, and step back out without being pulled into ongoing activity.

6. Integration & Organizational Alignment

Integration and Organizational Alignment is the stage where what has been built begins to connect more directly into the wider organization, its departments, and the environment where the work is meant to live.

This stage often overlaps with the prior phase, but the focus now shifts from creating a space for building to weaving that work into the larger structure or organization around it. By this point, the people who will operate and run the work are already in the picture. 

Operators need to be able to step into the infrastructure, flows, and processes they are inheriting and understand how the work is set up. That includes why certain decisions were made and how the work was integrated into the organization. 

Their presence is introduced gradually over time, which helps build trust across the organization and makes the handoff feel more natural rather than sudden.

7. Operational Handoff

Operational Handoff is the stage where the project gradually moves from infrastructure building and relational setup into the work being carried forward day to day. The work begins shifting from the people who built the conditions for the project to exist into the people who will run it.

By this point, the work is already connected into the organization. Operators begin working across departments, using the systems, processes, and relationships that have been put in place.

This stage overlaps directly with Pillar 4: Parallel Incubation and Testing. As operators begin using what has been built, they are also testing it in practice. This is where they can see what works as expected, where there is friction, and what needs to be adjusted or improved.

Not everything at this stage needs to move forward publicly. Some of the work may stay within incubation, but it still carries value. As trust builds through the earlier stages, it often becomes easier for teams and departments to engage and contribute, even at this point.

8. Community Migration

Community Migration is a bonus stage for projects that already have a connection to an outside group of people, often from conversational spaces like social media.

The key is that those environments are built for conversation, not building. People are used to reacting, commenting, and low-commitment engagement. So when you bring them into a space where the expectation is to contribute, collaborate, or help build something, that’s a different mode of participation.

If you make that shift abruptly, things break down. People disengage because the environment is asking more of them than they’re used to giving.

So the work here is to bridge that gap. From the existing community, you identify the ones who already lean toward building. Those are your ambassadors.

They go into the new space early with an exploration mindset, and they start moving through the pillars where needed. They’re the ones figuring out how things actually work in practice.

They’re either helping establish that collaborative foundation in the new space, or they’re stepping into one that’s already in place, depending on when this happens in the project. Everybody isn’t coming. The goal is getting the right people there first.