Hard to Fire
Soft Landing · Chapter 1 · First 72 hours

The First 72 Hours Triage Tracker

The first 72 hours are expensive territory for improvisation. Keep one written record of the three emergency actions: stop, secure only what you're authorized to keep, and schedule the next review.

The Emergency Action Box is the default path. This tracker gives those three actions a place to live. It isn't a fourth action.

Action record0/20 actions resolved
Completion test0/4 completion conditions met
AgreementStatus not recorded

Next: In the Room, #1. Listen until the script ends.

Work the sequence

Resolve each item as Done or Not applicable. Use the note for the source, answer, or follow-up. Sequence beats intensity right now.

In the Room0/5 resolved

1. Listen until the script ends.

2. Say: "I need time to review the complete agreement with an advisor before I sign anything."

3. Request the agreement, attachments, benefits information, deadlines, and HR contact in writing.

4. Request written confirmation of any verbal promise.

5. Do not sign, negotiate, threaten, post, or transfer company information.

First Two Hours0/6 resolved

1. Write down who attended, what was said, and what you received.

2. Update personally owned professional accounts that used a company email address.

3. Call one steady person and schedule a next-day check-in.

4. Stay off social media.

5. Preserve only personal or professional material you are authorized to retain.

6. Do not access, forward, photograph, or remove confidential or company-owned material.

Day 10/3 resolved

1. Read the agreement once with Chapter 2's Decoder.

2. Mark every provision, attachment, and deadline you don't understand.

3. Calendar the deadline stated in the agreement.

Day 20/3 resolved

1. Confirm health-coverage end dates and replacement-coverage notices.

2. Confirm retirement, deferred compensation, equity, and property procedures.

3. Write down who supplied each answer and when.

Day 30/3 resolved

1. Use Chapter 4's red, yellow, and green counsel gates.

2. Escalate any serious red flag without waiting for a score.

3. If self-negotiation is appropriate, begin Chapter 3's counterproposal.

Completion test

The detailed action record supports the finish line. It doesn't replace it.

  • The agreement remains unsigned.
  • The meeting notes are saved.
  • The known dates are calendared.
  • The next review action has an owner and time.

Federal age-claim waiver timing

21 daysIndividual offer consideration period, generally
45 daysCovered group program consideration period, generally
7 daysSigning is followed by a seven-day revocation period

These federal age-claim-waiver timing rules don't create one universal deadline for every employee, claim, jurisdiction, or agreement. Read the deadline in the actual agreement and get qualified advice when the facts call for it.

Serious risk is a route, not a score

Contact qualified counsel promptly for a very short deadline, suspected discrimination or retaliation, protected leave or activity, a threat, a demand to destroy evidence, or a clause you can't safely evaluate.

This tracker organizes facts and next actions. It isn't legal advice and it doesn't decide a claim.

Monday Move

Write the next review action, its owner, and its time. If one of those blanks stays empty, the review isn't scheduled yet.