Four audience-mapping questions before finalizing any output: Who needs this? What do they need? Where do they consume? When do they need it?

Why This Is a Rule

Distribution failures are rarely about the output quality — they're about mismatches between the output and its audience. You write a detailed 3-page analysis for an executive who has 30 seconds (format mismatch). You post a time-sensitive update on a wiki nobody checks daily (channel mismatch). You distribute meeting minutes three days after the meeting when follow-up actions needed to start immediately (timing mismatch). Each mismatch reduces the output's effective value, sometimes to zero.

The four audience-mapping questions systematically prevent each type of mismatch: Who prevents sending to the wrong audience or failing to reach the right one. What prevents over- or under-producing relative to the audience's actual need (Define minimum viable output: who receives it, what action should they take, what minimum content enables that action — then ship at that threshold). Where prevents channel mismatches that reduce discoverability or timeliness. When prevents timing mismatches that make the output arrive too early (ignored) or too late (irrelevant).

These four questions should be answered before finalizing the output (not after), because each answer shapes the final form: knowing the executive has 30 seconds means adding an executive summary at the top. Knowing the channel is Slack means formatting for mobile screens. Knowing the deadline is Monday morning means distributing Friday afternoon.

When This Fires

• Before distributing any output to an audience
• When outputs consistently miss their mark despite good content quality
• When designing distribution plans as part of Define the distribution plan before starting production — audience, channels, format, and timing are design constraints, not afterthoughts's pre-production protocol
• Complements Define minimum viable output: who receives it, what action should they take, what minimum content enables that action — then ship at that threshold (minimum viable output) and Push distribution for known audiences + time-sensitive needs; pull distribution for unknown future audiences — deploy both for significant outputs (push/pull distribution) with the audience analysis

Common Failure Mode

Producer-centered distribution: formatting and distributing based on what's convenient for the producer rather than what serves the audience. Sending a PDF because it's easy to export, posting on the channel you're already in, distributing whenever the output is done rather than when the audience needs it.

The Protocol

(1) Before distributing, answer all four questions: (1) Who specifically needs this? Name roles or people, not "everyone." (2) What do they need from it? The specific decision, action, or understanding this output should produce. (3) Where do they consume information? The specific channel, tool, or medium they check regularly. (4) When do they need it? The deadline or optimal timing for maximum impact. (2) Format the output to match the answers: length for the audience's attention span, structure for the medium, tone for the relationship. (3) Distribute through the identified channel at the identified time. (4) If any question can't be answered ("I don't know who needs this"), pause distribution and clarify before sending — distributing to an unknown audience through an unknown channel at an unknown time is broadcast, not communication. (5) For recurring outputs, answer these questions once and encode the answers in your template (Design near-complete templates for recurring outputs — section headings, formatting, and boilerplate pre-filled, requiring only variable content insertion).