Adaptation Triggers

Teams often say they need to adapt, but they do not define when adaptation should happen. An adaptation trigger is a specific condition that tells the team to change the plan.

Trigger Examples

A trigger can be based on score, opponent pattern, resource disadvantage, repeated failed route, communication breakdown, or objective timing. "If we lose two attempts through the same route, we switch to the alternate route" is clearer than "if it feels bad, change."

Worked Example

A team keeps losing the same center fight. The review shows the opponent reaches the position first every time. The adaptation trigger becomes: "If the opponent controls center before us twice, we stop contesting center first and play for side control."

This protects the team from ego. The team does not keep repeating a failed plan just to prove it can work.

Artifact: Trigger Table

Make a table with three columns: signal, change, owner. The signal is the condition. The change is the new plan. The owner is the role allowed to call it.

Common Failure

Changing plans every time something goes wrong is not adaptation. That is panic. A trigger should be specific enough to prevent random decisions.

Check

A good trigger is observable, limited, and tied to one planned response.