decision-memo

Decision Memo Skill

A decision memo exists to get a decision made — fast, on the record, by the right person. The failure

mode is a memo that reads like a discussion: lots of context, no recommendation, no ask. This skill

front-loads the recommendation and the decision being requested, then supports it — so the reader can

say yes, no, or "here's my concern" in five minutes.

Required Inputs

Ask for these only if they aren't already provided:

• The decision — the specific choice to be made (phrase it as a question with a yes/no or A/B/C answer).
• The recommendation — your actual recommendation (a memo without one is a status update).
• The options considered and their trade-offs.
• The decider & deadline — who owns this call and by when.

Output Format

Decision Memo: [the decision]

To: [decider] · From: [you] · Date: [date] · Decision needed by: [date]

1. Recommendation (TL;DR) — the recommendation in 2–3 sentences, first. What you want them to approve, and the one-line why.

2. The decision — the question being decided, framed so the answer is a clear choice.

3. Context — the minimum background needed to evaluate it (link the rest). Why this is on the table now.

4. Options & trade-offs — a table; be fair to the options you're not recommending (a stacked deck reads as one):

| Option | Pros | Cons | Cost / effort |

|---|---|---|---|

5. Why this recommendation — the reasoning, and what you'd have to believe for it to be wrong (the assumptions it rests on).

6. Risks & mitigations — the real downsides and how you'd handle them. A reversible decision deserves less agonising than an irreversible one — say which it is.

7. The ask — exactly what you need from the reader: approve / pick an option / give input — by the deadline.

Quality Checks

• [ ] The recommendation is in the first paragraph, not the conclusion
• [ ] The decision is framed as a clear question with a finite set of answers
• [ ] Options not recommended are presented fairly, with real pros
• [ ] The memo states what would have to be true for the recommendation to be wrong
• [ ] It says whether the decision is reversible (one-way vs. two-way door)
• [ ] There is an explicit ask and a decision deadline

Anti-Patterns

• [ ] Do not bury the recommendation at the end — the reader should know what you want in the first 30 seconds
• [ ] Do not write a status update disguised as a decision memo — if there's no decision and no ask, it's not this document
• [ ] Do not stack the options — strawman alternatives destroy your credibility and the decision's quality
• [ ] Do not over-agonise a reversible decision — match the rigor to the cost of being wrong
• [ ] Do not hide the assumptions — surfacing "what we'd need to believe" is what lets a decider pressure-test it

Based On

Narrative decision-memo practice (Amazon-style one/six-pagers; one-way vs. two-way door decisions).