Module 1/4 24 min
Why internal communities die within three months
Step 1 / 2·Miss one of three and it dies
0/2 steps done
Learning objectives — after this module you will:
- Recognise the three causes of an early death
- Test the preconditions before starting a community
- Tell a community of practice from a chat group or a club
Learn ~12 min
Miss one of three and it dies
Test the preconditions before launching.
The familiar pattern: a group launches with enthusiasm, fifteen posts in week one, two in week four, and by month three nobody opens it. The cause is almost always one of three things, and all three can be tested before you start.
Three causes and their early warning signs
| Cause | Sign in the first month |
|---|---|
| No shared problem that actually hurts | Posts are all shared articles; nobody asks a specific question about their own work |
| The facilitator does it in their own time, voluntarily | The posting rhythm depends entirely on one person's diary |
| No fixed rhythm | Every session requires a poll for availability, and each one slips a little |
The tool is not the cause
Moving from a chat group to a dedicated community platform will not save a community missing those three conditions. Changing the tool only changes where the silence happens.