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Strategic decision framing
Turn a fuzzy strategic question into a structured decision brief with options, trade-offs, reversibility, and recommended next step.
How it works
Leaders live in decisions that don't fit a spreadsheet. This technique gives you a repeatable structure so a decision either gets made or gets a clear next step to move it forward. What to include in your prompt: - The decision, in one plain sentence. - What you already know and what you don't. - Any hard constraints (safeguarding, financial, regulatory). - The people or groups most affected. What to check before acting on the output: - Are the "arguments against" actually strong, or are they straw men? - Is the recommended next step small enough to do this week? - Have you separated the decision from the announcement of the decision?
Example prompt
Act as a strategy adviser to the CEO of a mid-sized YMCA association. The decision is: {DECISION}. Produce a one-page decision brief with (1) the decision restated in one sentence, (2) 3 options with a one-line description of each, (3) for each option: strongest argument for, strongest argument against, reversibility (low/medium/high), and who is most affected, (4) a recommended next step (not the decision itself) that reduces the biggest uncertainty. Use only the context I've given. Where you need information I haven't provided, list it as an open question.