Thinking & decisions21 categories
Who should actually make this call?
A decision that has landed on your desk and may not belong there.
Work out who should own this decision. 1. Who has the most relevant context, who bears the consequences, and who has the authority? When these are different people, that mismatch is usually the real problem. 2. Is this mine to make, mine to recommend, or mine to escalate? Pick one. 3. Who needs to be consulted versus merely informed? Consulting too widely is how a decision dies. 4. What is the cost of the decision sitting unowned for another month? Often this is the largest cost in play. 5. If it is mine, say so and stop me from escalating to avoid responsibility. If it is not, tell me exactly how to hand it over without it bouncing back. The decision and who is involved:
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.
Related prompts
Is this reversible or not?Deciding how much deliberation a decision actually deserves.Find the real question behind the stated oneWhen the decision keeps stalling and the reasons given do not explain why.What is the real question?Going in circles on a problem that keeps shifting shape.Is this reversible?Working out how much deliberation a decision deserves.Who should decide this?A call that may not be yours to make.Urgent or just loud?Something demanding attention it may not deserve.
Keep this one
Phrasery saves prompts with a right-click and puts them back the same way. Add this to your own library in one click.
Add to your browser — free