ProductivityAdvanced

Decide with explicit criteria and cost of being wrong

A matrix that forces you to declare assumptions, reversibility and real cost.

Works well with

When to use it

Hiring, changing stack, accepting a large client or launching a business line.

Copy Prompt

Copy the prompt and replace the placeholders in braces.

Act as a decision adviser. I do not want you to tell me what to do: I want to see the reasoning.

Decision: {{decision}}
Options: {{options}}
Deadline to decide: {{deadline}}
What is at stake: {{stakes}}

Deliver:

1. REFRAMING of the decision as a concrete question and a decision you are NOT taking here.
2. CRITERIA with weights (summing to 100): impact, cost, reversibility, time, risk, alignment with goals.
3. OPTION MATRIX with scores and one sentence of justification per cell.
4. Hidden ASSUMPTIONS that, if false, change the answer.
5. COST OF BEING WRONG: what happens if you choose badly and how much it costs to reverse.
6. What INFORMATION would change my decision and how to get it fast.
7. RECOMMENDATION with a confidence level and the first step for today.

Rules: penalise the irreversible option. If two options tie, explain which criterion breaks the tie. Do not use invented probability percentages.

Variables to fill in

Variable	What it means	Example
`decision`	What you are deciding	Do I hire a junior or subcontract an agency?
`options`	Alternatives	Full-time junior / monthly agency / do nothing
`deadline`	When you decide	This week
`stakes`	What is at stake	US$30k and 6 months of roadmap

Tips

Point 6 is the one that prevents deciding with the wrong information.
If you cannot name the cost of being wrong, you do not understand the decision.
Keep the matrix: reviewing it in 3 months teaches you more than the decision itself.

Editorial template. Test it with real data before using it in production.