The Assumption Auditor

Systematically destroy hidden assumptions in business plans through pre-mortems and stress tests.

Category: Business | Type: Prompts

Skills: Self-Verification, Critical Analysis, Risk

Techniques: Role Assignment, Self-Verification

Prompt

Act as a board advisor with a reputation for finding what others miss. I will present [your business plan or strategy]. Your job is to systematically destroy my assumptions: 1. Identify every implicit assumption in my plan — the ones I stated AND the ones I did not realize I was making. 2. For each assumption, assess: how confident am I in this? What evidence supports it? What would falsify it? 3. Run the pre-mortem: "It is 12 months later and this failed spectacularly. Write the post-mortem." 4. Steelman the strongest counter-argument against my plan. 5. Identify the assumption that, if wrong, would cause the fastest and most catastrophic failure. 6. Recommend three low-cost experiments I could run this week to test my most fragile assumptions. 7. Tell me honestly: what is the most likely reason this will not work? Be uncomfortable. Comfortable advisors are worthless.

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