AI Prompts for Decision Making

I am trying to decide: [DESCRIBE WHAT YOU THINK THE DECISION IS]. Help me check whether I am framing this correctly. Is this actually the decision I need to make, or is there a more fundamental decision upstream? Am I solving the right problem? What would I need to decide first before this decision even becomes relevant? Help me frame this clearly before I generate options.

I need to make this decision: [DESCRIBE DECISION]. Help me identify the criteria I should use to evaluate my options. What factors actually matter for this decision? What would a good outcome look like? What constraints must any option satisfy? What am I willing to trade off and what is non-negotiable? Organize the criteria by importance.

I am facing this decision: [DESCRIBE]. Help me think about reversibility. Is this a one-way door or a two-way door? If I make this choice and it turns out to be wrong, how hard is it to undo? What are the costs of reversing course later? How much time and evidence should I gather before deciding, given how reversible or irreversible this is?

A decision needs to be made about [DESCRIBE DECISION]. The people involved are: [DESCRIBE STAKEHOLDERS AND THEIR ROLES]. Who should actually make this decision? Who should be consulted but not decide? Who needs to be informed but not involved? Helping me clarify the decision-making authority will prevent the most common cause of slow or bad decisions in teams.

I am leaning toward [DESCRIBE OPTION YOU FAVOR] for this reason: [DESCRIBE YOUR REASONING]. What assumptions am I making that must be true for this reasoning to hold? List every assumption, especially the ones I am probably not questioning. For each one, tell me how likely it is to be true and what I should do if it turns out to be wrong.

I am deciding between: [LIST THE OPTIONS YOU ARE CURRENTLY CONSIDERING]. What options am I probably not considering? Think outside the obvious choices. Include: hybrid approaches, completely different framings of the problem, options that involve doing nothing or delaying, and options that would only make sense if my assumptions are wrong.

I need to choose between these options: [LIST OPTIONS]. My decision criteria are: [LIST CRITERIA FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT]. For each option, score it against each criterion (1 to 5) and give a one-sentence explanation. Then give me a weighted summary and tell me which option scores best overall and whether the scoring matches my gut.

Help me apply [CHOOSE A FRAMEWORK: THE 10/10/10 RULE, THE REGRET MINIMIZATION FRAMEWORK, FIRST PRINCIPLES THINKING, COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS, EXPECTED VALUE] to this decision: [DESCRIBE DECISION AND OPTIONS]. Walk me through the framework step by step and tell me what conclusion it leads to.

I am choosing between these options: [LIST OPTIONS]. I am more worried about a bad outcome than excited about the best-case scenario. Which option gives me the best protection if things go wrong? For each option, describe: the worst realistic outcome, how likely it is, and what I would do if it happened. Recommend the option with the most acceptable downside.

I am considering this decision: [DESCRIBE OPTION YOU ARE LEANING TOWARD]. What are the second and third-order consequences? What does this decision make more likely to happen in 6 months? In 2 years? What does it make harder to do later? What precedent does it set? I want to think beyond the immediate outcome.

I am deciding between: [LIST OPTIONS]. For each option, state explicitly: what I gain, what I give up, and what I am betting on being true. Present the tradeoffs as a clear comparison rather than a list of pros and cons. Then tell me: which tradeoff is most uncomfortable and whether that discomfort is pointing to something important.

I am about to make this decision: [DESCRIBE]. Imagine it is 18 months from now and the outcome was a failure. What went wrong? List the five most likely causes of failure, ranked by probability. Then for each one, tell me what I could do now to reduce that risk. A pre-mortem makes decisions better, not more fearful.

I am leaning toward [DESCRIBE OPTION]. What information, if I had it, would change my decision? What would I need to learn to switch to a different option? This tells me which uncertainties actually matter and which I should try to resolve before deciding. If most of the answer is "nothing would change my mind," that is also useful to know.

I am delaying a decision about [DESCRIBE]. What is the cost of waiting? What opportunities am I missing while I gather more information? What is the risk of making the decision with less information now versus more information later? Help me think about whether more time will actually change my decision or whether I am just delaying the discomfort.

I have decided to [DESCRIBE YOUR DECISION]. I think this is right because: [DESCRIBE YOUR REASONING]. Play devil's advocate. What is the strongest case against this decision? What would someone who disagrees with me say? What would I need to believe for the opposite choice to make more sense? I want my reasoning stress-tested, not validated.

I have decided to [DESCRIBE DECISION]. Write a decision memo for [DESCRIBE AUDIENCE: MY TEAM, MY MANAGER, THE BOARD] that explains: what was decided, the options that were considered, the reasoning behind the choice, the key risks and how we plan to manage them, and the next steps. Keep it to one page. Be direct and confident.

I need to communicate this decision to [DESCRIBE AUDIENCE] and it will not be well received because: [DESCRIBE WHY IT IS DIFFICULT]. Write a communication that: states the decision clearly upfront, explains the reasoning honestly, acknowledges the impact on the people affected, and gives a clear path forward. Do not bury the decision or over-apologize for it.

I have made this decision: [DESCRIBE]. Now I need to implement it. Break the implementation into specific steps, assign rough timelines, identify the first three actions I should take in the next 48 hours, and flag the biggest risk in the implementation phase. The decision is made. Now help me execute.

I have made this decision: [DESCRIBE]. How will I know if it was the right call? Define: what success looks like at 30, 90, and 180 days, the specific metrics or signals I should track, when I should evaluate whether to change course, and the difference between a decision that was wrong and a decision that just had a bad outcome due to circumstances outside my control.

Document this decision for our team's records: [DESCRIBE DECISION]. Include: the date, the decision made, who made it, the options that were considered, the criteria used to evaluate them, the reasoning for the final choice, the expected outcome, and a planned review date. Good decision documentation helps teams learn from both successes and mistakes.