Quick Hibernation Self-Assessment

Eight YES answers mean you can hibernate. Four or fewer mean you're just dying slowly—hibernation is denial with extra steps. What is a hibernation self-assessment? It's metabolic triage: the quick diagnostic that determines whether your company should enter dormancy or pursue other options. Arctic ground squirrels don't hibernate randomly. Their bodies assess fat reserves, den temperature, and seasonal timing before committing to an up-to-9-month shutdown. Companies that skip this screening die 3x more frequently than those that assess first—per 2024 data, startup failures rose 25.6% year-over-year, with underprepared cost-cutting being a leading cause. This 10-question checklist applies the same logic to business dormancy decisions. A company can cut burn rate by 60% and survive 18+ months of market winter, but only if conditions align. Like the squirrel that hibernates in a compromised den, a company entering dormancy with weak reserves or permanent market shifts will simply die more expensively. The framework screens for fatal flaws: Is scarcity temporary? Do reserves cover 3x estimated costs? Can you retain 75% of critical talent? WeWork tried hibernation in 2023—cutting staff, closing locations, reducing burn—but the market shift was permanent, not cyclical. They filed Chapter 11 within months. The critical gate question: Is this a cyclical downturn or permanent market shift? If permanent, don't hibernate. For full analysis, the Hibernation Decision Framework provides detailed scorecards and emergence criteria.