Decide now what each pause line would mean for your company — the stopping conditions are already written, so preparation is knowing your runway, burn and demand against them rather than predicting the turn.
Put cash, burn and demand numbers next to the pause lines for hiring, roadmap and spend, and write down for each what you would cut, defer or stop if it trips — so a change of conditions triggers a decision you already made.
Conditions are Cloudy and worsening since Sep 30; revisit decisions made on the Sep 30 reading.
Each pause line sits six points past the line where conditions change, and each resume line four points inside it, so one noisy reading cannot reverse a decision and restart it. The margin study found the published margin measures distance from that line, not probability. What the record cannot tell you is your own demand: the company inputs below are yours to fill in.
| Area | This week | Pause line | Resume line |
|---|---|---|---|
| HiringLines set by Funding pressure & Risk appetite | Limit hiring to backfills and mission-critical roles tied to delivery risk. | Pause linePause net-new hiring if funding pressure is above 76 or risk appetite falls below 44. Funding pressure is 90 now.past the line | Resume lineResume the held roles when funding pressure falls below 66 and risk appetite is above 54.24 pts away |
| RoadmapLine set by Risk appetite | Keep the core roadmap on schedule; ship the pieces customers can use this quarter first. | Pause linePause long-payback bets if risk appetite falls below 44 or two weekly readings in a row come in weaker.8 pts away | Resume lineResume the paused bets when risk appetite is above 54 and the weekly reading holds or improves.2 pts away |
| SpendingLine set by Funding pressure | Put a payback figure on every discretionary line before approving it; 6 months is the bar. | Pause linePause new discretionary spend if funding pressure is above 76. Funding pressure is 90 now.past the line | Resume lineResume new spend when funding pressure falls below 66 and the payback figures still hold.24 pts away |
Conditions change if: Funding pressure falls 20 pts from 90 to 70 or below, or risk appetite falls 2 pts from 52 to 50 or below.
Change line 70
0 = easier funding · 100 = harder funding
On this signal alone: Money is tight — conserve cash, extend runway, defer big bets. Fundraising windows are narrow.
Change line 50
0 = risk-averse investors · 100 = risk-hungry investors
On this signal alone: Markets are selectively open — prove traction before scaling; get customer evidence before making large commitments.
If [score] crosses [line], we will [action] in [area] within [timeframe]. Approver: [name]. Evidence to reopen: [criteria]. Review: [date].
Fill in the company inputs before using it as an approval.
Whether Weekly Brief — 2026-10-23 Conditions: Cloudy (money is available but pricey) Margin: within reach of the line (how far the scores sit from the line where conditions change) Source note: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DGS1MO Full brief: https://whether.work/
Data date: Oct 23, 2026 · freshness: Oct 25, 2026, 2:00 AM UTC.