Legal & trust
Are the rights, permits, contracts, insurance, facts, and money route clear?
Protect people, land, money, and trustCheck first.
Check first.
Move second.
Risk rules are not red tape. They keep one rushed choice from hurting people, the environment, the budget, or the Rancho’s name.
Five readiness checks
Every big step must pass the right gate.
A “yes” needs real proof, a named owner, available money, and an accepted level of remaining risk.
Pass before moving →
Sales & visits
Are price, capacity, safety, evidence, follow-up, and a real owner ready?
Audience proof
Do real people care enough to join, reply, visit, or commit?
Campaign ready
Are scope, full cost, team, anchor support, rewards, and reporting ready?
Build or operate
Are demand, permits, full funding, safety, upkeep, and measurement ready?
Four honest answers
“Not yet” is a valid decision.
Go
The proof is complete, the owner and money are ready, and the remaining risk is accepted.
Change
The idea may work, but the design, cost, timing, or team needs to change first.
Hold
An important dependency is missing. Preserve the option and do only essential readiness work.
Stop
The legal, safety, environmental, money, trust, or capacity risk is unacceptable.
Watch list
Know the early warning signs.
The full plan has a larger register. These are the risks every team should recognize.
CriticalLocal Operations
Unsafe people or place
- Early sign
- Fire, weather, medical danger, unsafe access, or a child-safety concern.
- What to do
- Stop the work, protect people, and call the right specialist.
HighCounsel + Founder
Land or permit problem
- Early sign
- Maps disagree, land rights are unclear, or work begins without approval.
- What to do
- Pause the affected work and get independent legal and technical review.
HighController
Money used for the wrong thing
- Early sign
- All money sits together or a restricted gift cannot be matched to spending.
- What to do
- Separate accounts and project codes; check them every month.
HighSteering Committee
Building before demand is proven
- Early sign
- A facility grows faster than bookings, buyers, funding, or operating staff.
- What to do
- Test a small pilot and include the full cost of upkeep before building.
HighGrowth + Counsel
Claims are ahead of the facts
- Early sign
- The public hears promises about ownership, returns, permits, nature, or timing without proof.
- What to do
- Use the approved fact list and remove unsupported claims.
MediumCampaign Lead
Campaign is not ready
- Early sign
- Weak anchor support, missing costs, late content, or no delivery owner.
- What to do
- Delay, shrink, or change the funding route.
MediumLocal Operations
Local trust is slipping
- Early sign
- Complaints, surprise impacts, exclusion, or photos used without consent.
- What to do
- Use a named local contact, listen, respond, and record the solution.
MediumController + Founder
Cash is running short
- Early sign
- Less than six months remain or promises grow faster than cash.
- What to do
- Freeze nonessential hiring and construction; update the downside plan weekly.
Stop-work signs
Stop immediately when…
- A person faces immediate danger from fire, weather, access, medical response, or child safety.
- Work leaves the approved area, scope, permit, or environmental rules.
- A sale or campaign uses an important fact that is false, old, or unsupported.
- Restricted money is missing, mixed, or spent for the wrong purpose.
- A vendor’s bank or identity change looks suspicious and cannot be checked.
- The responsible operator, insurance, or required professional is no longer in place.
Source: Risk Register and Decision Gates, pages 61–63.
Open the full risk register ↗