AI Prompts for AI Prompts for Business Strategy

Help me write a clear situation assessment for [BUSINESS/TEAM/PROJECT]. Include: (1) what is working well right now, (2) what is not working and why, (3) the most important constraint or bottleneck, (4) what has changed recently that requires a strategic response, (5) the single biggest opportunity we are not currently capturing. Write this as a structured one-page assessment. I will provide the facts: [YOUR INPUTS].

Here are the key assumptions my current business strategy is built on: [LIST 4-6 ASSUMPTIONS]. For each assumption: (1) how confident am I really in this (rate 1-10), (2) what evidence contradicts it, (3) what would it mean for the strategy if this assumption is wrong, (4) how would I know early if it is breaking. Be direct, identify which assumption is most dangerous.

Help me map the competitive position of [BUSINESS/PRODUCT] in its market. My main competitors are: [LIST WITH BRIEF DESCRIPTION]. For each competitor and for my own business, assess (on high/medium/low scale): price point, product quality, distribution strength, brand recognition, and customer loyalty. Identify: where I am clearly stronger, where I am weaker, and the whitespace no competitor is owning.

Help me identify whether [BUSINESS] has genuine sustainable competitive advantages. Here is what we do and how: [DESCRIBE]. For each potential advantage (cost, product quality, network effects, brand, switching costs, scale, proprietary data, distribution), assess honestly: do we actually have this, how defensible is it, and is a competitor 12-24 months away from eroding it?

I need to work on the strategy for [SITUATION: BUSINESS / TEAM / PRODUCT / INITIATIVE]. The surface problem I have been told to solve is: [DESCRIBE]. Help me find the actual underlying problem by asking me 5 probing questions that challenge whether I am solving the right problem, then based on my answers, reframe what the real strategic question should be.

I need to decide how to [STRATEGIC CHALLENGE: GROW / RESPOND TO A COMPETITOR / ALLOCATE BUDGET / ENTER A MARKET / ETC.]. Help me generate at least 5 distinct strategic options, not variations on the same approach. For each option: what it is in one sentence, what it requires, what it bets on being true, and its biggest risk. Include one unconventional option I probably have not considered.

Help me build a decision matrix to evaluate these strategic options: [LIST 3-5 OPTIONS]. The criteria that matter most to me for this decision are: [LIST 3-5 CRITERIA, E.G. SPEED TO IMPACT, CAPITAL REQUIRED, RISK LEVEL, ALIGNMENT WITH OUR STRENGTHS]. Score each option against each criterion (1-5), weight the criteria by importance, and show the total weighted scores. Then push back on whether I have the right criteria.

I am planning to [DESCRIBE STRATEGIC PLAN OR DECISION]. Run a pre-mortem: imagine it is 18 months from now and this strategy has failed badly. Write the failure story, what went wrong, in what sequence, and what early warning signs were ignored. Then identify the 3 most important things I should do differently or monitor closely to prevent this failure.

Here is our current strategy: [DESCRIBE]. What are the 3-5 key bets embedded in this strategy, the things that must be true for it to work? For each bet: what evidence supports it, what would disprove it, and what is the earliest indicator that it is or is not playing out? Make explicit what is currently implicit in the strategy.

I am considering this strategic decision: [DESCRIBE]. Help me think through second-order consequences. First order: the direct intended result. Second order: what happens as a result of the first order that I might not have anticipated. Third order: what ripple effects could those second-order outcomes create. Focus on negative consequences I should plan for and positive ones I could amplify.

Here are [NUMBER] strategic initiatives we are considering: [LIST THEM]. Help me prioritize them using two dimensions: (1) expected impact on [YOUR GOAL: REVENUE / GROWTH / RETENTION / ETC.] and (2) feasibility given our current resources and capabilities. Plot each roughly on a 2x2 (high/low impact vs. high/low feasibility). Recommend which 3 to pursue now, which to defer, and which to drop.

I need to allocate [BUDGET / HEADCOUNT / TIME] across these competing priorities: [LIST OPTIONS]. My overall goal is [OBJECTIVE]. My key constraint is [CONSTRAINT]. Help me think through the allocation: what would a 70/20/10 split look like and why, what is the opportunity cost of each allocation, and what would a more aggressive bet on the highest-priority option look like.

Here is our current strategy and what we are focused on: [DESCRIBE]. Help me define a clear "not to do" list, the things we will explicitly stop doing, deprioritize, or decline to pursue in the next 12 months. For each item: explain why it is a distraction from the core strategy, what the cost of stopping is, and what we gain in focus by letting it go.

Write a one-page strategic plan for [BUSINESS/TEAM/PROJECT] covering the next [6 / 12] months. Include: (1) strategic objective (what winning looks like), (2) our position and advantage (why we will win), (3) the 3 strategic priorities (the most important things to focus on), (4) key metrics for success, (5) what we are not doing. Tight, clear, no filler. This should fit on a single page.

Here is my current business situation: [DESCRIBE KEY FACTS: STAGE, REVENUE, TEAM SIZE, MAIN CHALLENGE, MAIN OPPORTUNITY]. Given this, what is the single most important strategic move I should make in the next 90 days, the one that would have the greatest positive impact on the trajectory of the business? Walk through your reasoning. Be direct and specific, not hedge-everything cautious.

My strategic priorities for the next 90 days are: [LIST 3-5]. Break each into specific, actionable tasks with: who owns it, what done looks like, and the key decision or milestone in weeks 4, 8, and 12. The output should be a clear 90-day execution plan that a team could actually follow, not a strategy document.

Help me design a strategy review cadence for [BUSINESS/TEAM]. I want to review strategy at [QUARTERLY / MONTHLY / ANNUAL] intervals. For each review: what questions should I ask, what data do I need, what decisions should come out of the review, and how long should it take. Include triggers for an off-cycle review when something significant changes.

The biggest strategic risk my business faces in the next 12 months is: [DESCRIBE RISK: COMPETITOR MOVE, MARKET SHIFT, KEY PERSON DEPARTURE, REGULATORY CHANGE, ETC.]. Help me build a contingency plan: (1) early warning signals that this risk is materializing, (2) immediate response actions if it does, (3) strategic pivots that would position us better regardless of whether this risk materializes, (4) what we should start doing now to reduce our exposure.

We are changing our strategic direction from [OLD DIRECTION] to [NEW DIRECTION]. Reason: [BRIEF EXPLANATION]. Write a communication for [TEAM / COMPANY] that: explains the change clearly without corporate jargon, honestly addresses why the old approach is no longer sufficient, explains what stays the same, and gives people a clear picture of what changes in their day-to-day work as a result.

Here is our strategy from [TIMEFRAME] ago: [DESCRIBE]. Here is what has actually happened since: [DESCRIBE RESULTS]. Evaluate honestly: is this strategy working, partially working, or not working? What does the evidence say? What should we change versus stay the course on? Give me a direct assessment, not a diplomatic hedge.