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Is this reversible or not?

Deciding how much deliberation a decision actually deserves.

Longreversibilityriskdecisions
Classify this decision by how hard it is to undo, then tell me how much thought it warrants.

1. If this turns out wrong, what is the cost of reversing it: money, time, reputation, relationships, lost optionality?
2. Which parts are genuinely reversible and which are not? Most decisions are a mix, and the irreversible part is often smaller than it feels.
3. Is there a version that keeps the irreversible part open longer, or a smaller test that buys information first?
4. Verdict: is this a decision to make quickly and correct later, or one to slow down on?
5. If it is reversible and I am agonising over it, say so plainly. Over-deliberating a cheap decision is its own failure.

The decision:

Making it yours

  • Paste your own material where the prompt asks for it. Everything above that line is instruction, not content.
  • Delete any rule that does not apply to you. A shorter prompt that fits beats a thorough one that does not.
  • If the answer comes back vague, add a line saying what you do not want. Constraints work better than encouragement.

Framing the decision. Working out what is really being decided, how reversible it is, and whose call it should be.

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