There's one decision to make before any other.
Not which database to build first. Not how to train the team. Not which template to use.
The decision that shapes everything else is: what situation are you actually in?
Picking the wrong track doesn't mean you'll fail. But it does mean you'll spend weeks fighting your own context instead of working with it.
Two tracks, two different realities
The Guerrilla track and the Official track aren't two speeds of the same rollout. They're two fundamentally different approaches, with strategies, rhythms and constraints that have nothing in common.
On the Guerrilla track, your main resource is proof. You build visible wins before asking leadership for anything.
On the Official track, your main resource is authority. You have the mandate. The challenge isn't convincing anyone anymore, it's executing without botching the launch.
Using the Official track's playbook without a mandate means announcing a rollout nobody actually signed off on. Using the Guerrilla playbook when you have a mandate means wasting the authority you were given by working in the shadows.
The 5-question diagnostic
Answer honestly. Not how you wish it were, how it actually is.
1. Does your direct management know you want to roll out Notion?
No, or not really → Guerrilla
Yes, and they support the initiative → Official
2. Is there a budget allocated to this project?
No → Guerrilla
Yes, even a modest one → Official
3. If you launch Notion with your team tomorrow and it doesn't work, what happens?
Nothing visible, you quietly drop it → Guerrilla
It's visible, your credibility is on the line → Official
4. Can you ask your team to use a new tool?
No, you're working with volunteers → Guerrilla
Yes, you can mandate it → Official
5. Is there an executive sponsor behind this project?
No → Guerrilla
Yes, someone above you is backing this project → Official
Unsure about your starting point?
A 1-hour session to clarify your situation and leave with a concrete plan of action.
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