Pinned Terms — Ep. 002: READY?

Deadlines have a talent: they turn one word into a stamp of approval. “Ready.” Everyone says it. Everyone means something else.

“Ready” is a magnet word. One person hears speed. Another hears criteria. A third hears “close enough.” The room moves fast, then pays interest.

So we run a scope check—the fastest kind of clarity:

• Includes what?

• Excludes what?

• What proof counts as ‘ready’ in this room?

Move: Scope check.
Why it matters: “Ready” needs a threshold. When the team writes the criteria down, urgency stops rewriting the definition mid-stream.

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Panel 1

• Malik: “Come on—are we READY? Let’s drop Episode 2 today!”

• Board header: “EPISODE 002: READY?”

• Whiteboard: “LET’S GO LIVE TODAY!”

• Caption: “In high-stakes work, ‘ready’ is a magnet word.”

Panel 2

• Amina: “Quick reset. Before we launch— what does ‘ready’ include?”

• Juno: “Is ‘ready’ about speed… or about meeting criteria?”

• Card: “SCOPE CHECK”

  • “READY =”

  • “Includes what?”

  • “Excludes what?”

• Side board (Pinned Terms / ALIGNED):

  • “Final art exported”

  • “Alt text + transcript”

  • “Teaching note written”

Panel 3

• Caption bubble: “Decision Log: ‘Ready’ means criteria met—not just excitement.”

• Checklist (EPISODE 002: READY?):

  • ✅ Final art exported

  • ✅ Alt text + transcript

  • ✅ Teaching note written

  • ⬜ Preview image tested

• Footer: “Move-of-the-Week: Scope Check.”

Where does “ready” cause the most friction for you: launches, meetings, proposals, or handoffs?

Pinned Terms is a weekly Meaning Repair comic from What Time Binds. If this helped, share the link and tell me which word you want pinned next.