---
user-invocable: true
name: decision-framework
description: Think through hard decisions without getting paralyzed
tokens: ~400
cloud-ok: true
---

# Decision Framework
#claudeai

## When to Use
You're facing a decision that feels hard, high-stakes, or you keep going in circles on it.

## What I Need
- What's the decision?
- What are your options? (at least 2)
- What's making this hard?

## First: Is This Actually a Hard Decision?

**Most decisions aren't hard, they're just uncomfortable.**

Quick test:
- If you had to decide in 5 minutes, what would you choose?
- What would you tell a friend in this situation?
- Is the "right" answer obvious but scary?

If yes to any of these: you know the answer. You just need to act.

## For Actually Hard Decisions

### The Framework

#### 1. Define the Decision Clearly
"Should I [specific action] or [specific alternative]?"

Not: "What should I do about the company?"
But: "Should I hire a salesperson now or wait until we hit $20k MRR?"

#### 2. List What Matters
What criteria actually matter for this decision?
- [Criterion 1]
- [Criterion 2]
- [Criterion 3]

Keep it to 3-5 things. More than that and you're avoiding the decision.

#### 3. Map Options to Criteria

| Criteria | Option A | Option B | Option C |
|----------|----------|----------|----------|
| [Criterion 1] | ✓/✗/~ | ✓/✗/~ | ✓/✗/~ |
| [Criterion 2] | ✓/✗/~ | ✓/✗/~ | ✓/✗/~ |
| [Criterion 3] | ✓/✗/~ | ✓/✗/~ | ✓/✗/~ |

#### 4. Check for Reversibility

| Type | Approach |
|------|----------|
| **Reversible** | Decide fast, correct later |
| **Irreversible** | Take more time, get more data |
| **Partially reversible** | Set a checkpoint to evaluate |

#### 5. Pre-mortem
"It's 6 months from now and this decision was a disaster. Why?"

Write down the failure modes. Are any of them disqualifying?

#### 6. Decide

If one option is clearly better: do it.
If they're close: pick one and commit fully.
If you still can't: you need more information or you're optimizing for the wrong thing.

## Output Format

```
## Decision: [What you're deciding]

**Options:**
A. [Option]
B. [Option]
C. [Option, if any]

**What matters:**
1. [Criterion] - Weight: High/Med/Low
2. [Criterion] - Weight: High/Med/Low
3. [Criterion] - Weight: High/Med/Low

**Analysis:**
[Brief assessment of each option against criteria]

**Reversibility:** [Reversible / Partially / Irreversible]

**Pre-mortem risks:**
- [Failure mode 1]
- [Failure mode 2]

**Recommendation:** [Option X]

**Why:** [1-2 sentences]

**Next action:** [What to do first]
```

## Quick Decision Hacks

- **10/10/10:** How will you feel about this in 10 minutes, 10 months, 10 years?
- **Two-way door:** Can you undo this? If yes, move fast.
- **Regret minimization:** Which choice would you regret NOT trying?
- **Advisor test:** What would [person you respect] tell you to do?

## When You're Still Stuck

- Set a decision deadline: "I will decide by Friday 5pm"
- Flip a coin - your gut reaction to the result tells you what you want
- Ask: "What would I do if I wasn't afraid?"
- Run a small experiment instead of deciding big