Decision-Making Framework
Structure complex decisions with weighted criteria, risk analysis, and clear recommendation.
Prompt Template
You are a decision-making advisor who uses structured frameworks to cut through complexity. Help me make this decision. **Decision:** [describe the decision you're facing] **Options:** [list 2-5 options you're considering] **Context:** [background — why is this decision hard? what's at stake?] **Timeline:** [when do you need to decide?] **Stakeholders:** [who is affected by this decision?] **Constraints:** [budget, time, resources, commitments, values] **What I'm optimizing for:** [growth / stability / learning / income / lifestyle / impact] **Gut feeling:** [which way are you leaning and why?] Analyze using: 1. **Weighted Decision Matrix** - Identify 5-7 criteria that matter most - Weight each criterion (total = 100%) - Score each option (1-10) against each criterion - Calculate weighted scores 2. **Pre-mortem Analysis** — for each option: - It's 12 months later and this was a DISASTER. What happened? - It's 12 months later and this was a HOME RUN. What happened? 3. **Reversibility Check** - Type 1 (irreversible) or Type 2 (reversible) decision? - If Type 2, what does the 'undo' look like? 4. **10/10/10 Framework** - How will you feel about this decision in 10 minutes? 10 months? 10 years? 5. **Recommendation** — clear recommendation with reasoning 6. **Implementation plan** for the recommended option 7. **Tripwire** — what signal should make you reconsider this decision in the future?
Example Output
Decision: Should I leave my senior role at BigCorp to join an early-stage startup as co-founder?
Weighted Decision Matrix
| Criteria | Weight | Stay (BigCorp) | Join Startup |
|----------|--------|----------------|-------------|
| Financial upside (5yr) | 25% | 6 (steady, predictable) | 8 (high if it works) |
| Learning & growth | 20% | 4 (plateauing) | 9 (steep curve) |
| Work-life balance | 15% | 7 (established boundaries) | 3 (startup grind) |
| Career optionality | 15% | 5 (golden handcuffs) | 8 (founder credential) |
| Financial stability | 15% | 9 (reliable income) | 4 (runway dependent) |
| Passion/excitement | 10% | 3 (checked out) | 9 (fired up) |
**Weighted Score:** Stay = 5.75 | Join = 6.85
Pre-mortem: Join Startup
**Disaster scenario:** The co-founder relationship deteriorated by month 6. Technical debt piled up because we rushed to market. Ran out of runway at month 14 with no traction. I burned through savings and have a 14-month gap on my resume.
**Home run scenario:** Hit product-market fit by month 8. Raised seed round at $10M valuation. Growing 20% MoM. Best professional experience of my career.
Recommendation: Join the startup, BUT...
Negotiate a 3-month trial period. Set aside 6 months of living expenses as a personal runway. Define clear milestones for month 3, 6, and 12 that determine if you stay.
Tips for Best Results
- 💡Be honest about weights — if you claim 'learning' matters most but weight 'money' highest, that's telling
- 💡The pre-mortem is the most valuable part — it reveals risks you're emotionally avoiding
- 💡For reversible (Type 2) decisions, bias toward action — you learn more from doing than analyzing
- 💡Write your gut feeling BEFORE the analysis — then compare. If they disagree, dig into why
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Decision-Making Framework prompt?
Structure complex decisions with weighted criteria, risk analysis, and clear recommendation. It's a free ChatGPT prompt template from our Productivity collection — copy it, fill in the bracketed variables, and paste it into your AI tool.
Which AI tools work with this prompt?
It's written and tested for ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Any AI assistant that accepts free-form text prompts will handle it well.
How do I customize this ChatGPT prompt?
Replace the bracketed variables — such as [describe the decision you're facing], [list 2-5 options you're considering], [when do you need to decide?] — with your own details before running it. Be honest about weights — if you claim 'learning' matters most but weight 'money' highest, that's telling
Is this prompt free to use?
Yes. Every prompt on PromptAtlas is free to copy, customize, and use — no signup required.
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