Days 1–2: Stabilize
Understand reality and create control. By the end of day two you have a command center, a contact list, confirmed dates, and a started tracker.
Days 1–2: Stabilize
Goal: understand reality and create control. You’re not solving anything yet — you’re building a clean picture and a place to keep it.
Do
- Collect the key documents (lease, work letter, building rules, moving policy, insurance requirements, approved drawings, vendor scopes).
- Build the contact list — internal, building, and vendors.
- Confirm the move-in and access dates.
- Meet or email the property manager.
- Identify all vendors and assign a workstream owner to each.
- Write your Minimum Viable Opening paragraph.
- Build the Open-Item Tracker and log the first blockers.
- Set the daily standup and schedule vendor check-ins.
The First 24 Hours Checklist walks this step by step.
Active workstreams
- Project Control & Governance — stand up the command center.
- Property Manager & Building Rules — open the line early.
Output
- A project command center (one source of truth)
- A contact list
- A critical path
- An initial risk list
The mindset
Resist the urge to fix things in these two days. If you try to solve problems before you can see all of them, you’ll spend energy on the wrong ones. Stabilize first: get everything visible, owned, and in one place. Control comes before action.