Pressure-test business decisions and find bottlenecks with structured AI prompts

What you’ll get

You’ll get a detailed analysis of a business decision, including arguments for and against, critical assumptions, and new questions to consider. You’ll also be able to identify a potential bottleneck in your business operations. This approach works because it gives the AI a clear role, context, task, format, and constraints, leading to much more focused and useful answers on the first try.

Tools you need

• ChatGPT (freemium): An AI chatbot for general conversations and tasks.
• Claude (freemium): Another AI chatbot known for its long context window and nuanced responses.
• Gemini (freemium): Google’s AI chatbot, integrated with Google services.

Steps

1. Choose your AI tool: Open your preferred AI chat tool (ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini) on your phone or computer.

   • You should see the chat interface ready for your input.

2. Understand the prompt structure: The author uses a five-part structure: Role, Context, Task, Format, and Constraints. This helps the AI understand exactly what you need.

   • This step is informational, preparing you for the next ones.

3. Pressure-test a business decision: Copy and paste the “Decision Pressure Test” prompt into the chat. Replace [describe the decision and your current lean] with your actual business decision and what you are currently leaning towards.

   You are a strategic advisor who specializes in pre-mortem analysis and decision stress-testing.
   Context: I am about to make a significant business decision. Before committing, I want to pressure-test it from every angle.
   Task: Run a full decision audit on the choice below. Argue both sides with equal force. Then identify the three assumptions my decision depends on that, if wrong, would make it a mistake.
   Decision: [describe the decision and your current lean]
   Format: (1) Case FOR — 4 strongest arguments. (2) Case AGAINST — 4 strongest arguments. (3) Three critical assumptions I'm making. (4) One question I haven't asked that I should.
   Constraints: Do not tell me what to do. Do not soften either side. Your job is clarity, not comfort.

   • You should get a structured response with arguments for and against your decision, key assumptions, and a new question to consider.

4. Identify a business bottleneck: (Optional) If you want to find a bottleneck, copy and paste the “Bottleneck Finder” prompt into the chat. Replace [describe your business flow and activity here] with details about your business operations. The author only shared the beginning of this prompt; the Format and Constraints sections were not provided. You may need to add your own based on the structure from the first prompt and your specific needs.

   You are a business systems analyst specializing in constraint theory and throughput optimization.
   Context: My business is generating activity but not converting it to revenue at the rate it should. Something is the constraint — I may not be seeing it clearly.
   Task: Analyze my business flow below and identify the single constraint that, if addressed, would most significantly improve my conversion to revenue.
   [describe your business flow and activity here]

   • You should receive an analysis identifying a potential bottleneck in your business process.

Original source

This workflow was shared by Reddit user /u/Frank_Eventus on the r/ChatGPT subreddit. The author presented these two prompts as examples of a five-part structure (Role, Context, Task, Format, Constraints) that consistently yields usable AI output on the first try.

Notes & variations

• Common mistake: Forgetting to replace the bracketed placeholders like [describe the decision and your current lean] with your actual information. The AI needs specific details to give you useful answers.
• Tip for better results: Experiment with different “Roles” for the AI (e.g., “You are a marketing expert” or “You are a financial analyst”) or refine the Context and Constraints to match your specific needs. The more precise you are, the better the AI’s output will be.
• Free-tier viability: All the listed AI chat tools offer robust free tiers that are sufficient for these workflows. You won’t need to pay to get good results.