BusinessPre-mortem

Pressure-test a decision with a pre-mortem

Use before committing to a big move to surface how it could fail while there is still time to fix it.

The prompt
prompt.txt
Run a pre-mortem on the following decision.

Decision we are about to make: {{decision}}
Why we think it is a good idea: {{rationale}}
Timeframe and stakes: {{stakes}}

Imagine it is {{future_point}} and this decision has failed badly. Working backward:
1. List the top 6 plausible reasons it failed, ordered by likelihood.
2. For each, note an early warning sign we could detect in advance.
3. For the 3 most dangerous risks, suggest a concrete mitigation or a way to de-risk before fully committing.
4. Give a go / adjust / no-go recommendation with one sentence of reasoning.

Be skeptical. Your job is to find the failure modes, not to reassure me.

Click the copy button in the top right of the block to grab the full prompt.

Variables

Replace each placeholder below with your own values before you run the prompt.

  • {{decision}}
  • {{rationale}}
  • {{stakes}}
  • {{future_point}}
Recommended models
Claude Opus 4.xGPT-5
Tags
#decision#risk#strategy

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