Better team decisions with AI

Peter Drucker said "Making good decisions is a crucial skill at every level." AI can help your team with this.

This blog lays out a four-phase framework for a teams to make smarter, more collaborative decisions with AI.

Your team could follow this framework synchronously or asynchronously. If its a small decision, you could move through the whole process (skipping some steps) in 20 minutes. If its a large decision, you could move through it over months.

My Principles

Don't be lazy and have AI make the decision for you
Do use AI to help you do things you know you should do but probably wouldn't do, to brainstorm and add to your thinking, and to formalize your work / flesh out your notes.

1. Frame your decision

What is the best question to answer?

Write down the question you are deciding
What kind of decision is this? (Go / No Go, Decide among alternatives, Prioritize among alternatives)
- Prompt: I'm working on a decision and need help clarifying what type of decision it actually is. The decision I’m facing is: [INSERT DECISION DESCRIPTION]. Please help me determine whether this is best framed as a Go / No Go decision (a binary choice to proceed or not), a decision among multiple alternatives (selecting the best option from a set), or a prioritization decision (ranking or sequencing alternatives based on importance, timing, or impact). If the decision doesn't cleanly fit into one of these categories, suggest how to best frame it for effective analysis and planning. Also help me understand how the decision type might affect the process, tools, or criteria I should use.
Refine the decision question (What question you choose to answer is key to the outcome)
- Make explicit the assumptions behind the question
- Possibly widen the question, narrow it, state it in reverse, or switch the kind of decision
- Prompt: I'm working on a decision and want to refine how I'm framing the question. My current decision question is [INSERT YOUR QUESTION HERE]. Please help me explore this decision from multiple angles by making the question more precise, widening the question to consider broader implications, narrowing it into specific sub-questions, reversing it to consider what I should avoid or the opposite path, switching decision types (e.g., from yes/no to multiple choice or priority ranking), and challenging any assumptions in the original phrasing. For each of these approaches, provide 2-3 specific reworded versions of my question and suggest which reframing might help most in reaching a clear and informed decision.
Finalize the question you will be deciding

What is the context?

Write down your goals and your values
Describe the context of the decision
- Prompt: I'm working on a decision and need help completing the context. My goal is [INSERT GOAL], and here’s what I currently know: [INSERT CURRENT CONTEXT DESCRIPTION]. Please help me fill in missing context by suggesting key environmental factors, relevant stakeholders, important constraints, historical precedents, market or industry influences, and any timeline considerations I should be factoring in.
Assess the decision's importance and urgency on a 2x2
- Prompt: I need to assess where this decision fits relative to my other recent decisions. Here’s my current decision: [INSERT DECISION DESCRIPTION]. These are my other recent major decisions: [LIST OTHER RECENT DECISIONS]. Please help me place this decision and the others on a 2x2 matrix of Importance (High/Low) vs. Urgency (High/Low), suggest how much time and resources to allocate based on its position, and identify whether I'm misallocating effort relative to its significance.
State the amount of time, effort, resources you will spend on the decision

What is your plan for making the decision?

Create a plan for making the decision
- Could be simple and you make the decision in the next 20 minutes. Could be a months long decision
- Prompt: I need to create a plan for making this decision: [INSERT DECISION DESCRIPTION]. The deadline is [INSERT DEADLINE OR "flexible"], and the complexity level is [Simple/Moderate/Complex]. Please generate a decision-making plan including key phases, timelines for each phase, who should be involved at each step, what information or analysis needs to be gathered, decision checkpoints, and fallback options in case more time or information is needed.

Generate a list of stakeholders and input from them
- Prompt: "I need help creating a comprehensive RACI chart for [INSERT YOUR PROJECT/PROCESS NAME HERE]. Please identify all relevant stakeholders who would be involved in this project (including internal teams, external partners, customers, regulators, etc.), then for each stakeholder provide their typical input regarding their roles, responsibilities, what they need to be accountable for, what they need to be consulted on, and what they need to be informed about. Using this stakeholder analysis, create a detailed RACI matrix showing all key activities/deliverables as rows, all stakeholders as columns, and clear R/A/C/I assignments for each intersection with brief explanations for any complex assignments. Project context: [ADD YOUR SPECIFIC PROJECT DETAILS, SCOPE, AND CONSTRAINTS HERE]."

2. Work on your decision

If it's a big or complex decision, break down the decision into smaller parts
- Prompt: I'm facing a big or complex decision and need help breaking it down into more manageable components. The overall decision is: [INSERT DECISION DESCRIPTION]. Please help me identify the smaller, more specific sub-decisions that make up this larger decision. These might include sequencing choices, resource allocation, stakeholder involvement, timing considerations, or parallel decisions that need to be addressed independently. For each sub-decision, suggest how it could be tackled on its own and how it connects to the overall decision. This will help me approach the larger decision in a clearer, more structured way.

If choosing one of several alternatives:
- List alternatives
  - Prompt: I'm working on this decision: [INSERT DECISION] and need help brainstorming alternatives. I've already considered these options: [LIST CURRENT ALTERNATIVES]. Please suggest new and creative alternatives, including radically different approaches, hybrids of current ideas, out-of-the-box options that challenge assumptions, phased or pilot strategies, and alternatives with different resource, timeline, or risk profiles. Aim for 5–10 new alternatives.

- List criteria
  - Prompt: For this decision: [INSERT DECISION], I need help developing thorough evaluation criteria. I’ve already identified these criteria: [LIST CURRENT CRITERIA]. Please suggest additional criteria, including financial (e.g., cost, ROI), strategic (e.g., goal alignment), risk-based (e.g., operational or market risks), timeline-related (e.g., time to value), resource-related (e.g., skills or tech needed), stakeholder-related (e.g., customer or employee impact), and quality-related (e.g., scalability or reliability).

- Make a table comparing the alternatives against the criteria
  - Prompt: I need to create a comparison table for a decision. My alternatives are: [LIST ALTERNATIVES], and the criteria are: [LIST CRITERIA]. Please build a table with criteria as columns and alternatives as rows. For each criteria, make two columns, one with a text explanation, and one with a rating. Rate each alternative consistently from 1 to 5 with 5 being good and 1 being weak. Highlight the best performer per criterion, and identify clear winners or weak options.

- Make a reduced table with the top alternatives against the most important criteria
  - Prompt: Based on a full comparison of all alternatives and criteria, I now want to narrow the focus to the most promising options. Please help me create a reduced comparison table that includes only the top-performing alternatives and the most important criteria. Use the initial table to identify which alternatives scored highest overall or stood out in key areas, and which criteria had the most influence on decision quality or tradeoffs. Build a new table that includes these selected alternatives and criteria, showing both text explanations and consistent 1–5 ratings (with 5 being strong). Highlight the strongest performers and flag any remaining tradeoffs to support a final decision.

If prioritizing alternatives:

List alternatives
- Prompt: I'm working on this decision: [INSERT DECISION] and need help brainstorming alternatives. I've already considered these options: [LIST CURRENT ALTERNATIVES]. Please suggest new and creative alternatives, including radically different approaches, hybrids of current ideas, out-of-the-box options that challenge assumptions, phased or pilot strategies, and alternatives with different resource, timeline, or risk profiles. Aim for 5–10 new alternatives.
List criteria
- Prompt: For this decision: [INSERT DECISION], I need help developing thorough evaluation criteria. I’ve already identified these criteria: [LIST CURRENT CRITERIA]. Please suggest additional criteria, including financial (e.g., cost, ROI), strategic (e.g., goal alignment), risk-based (e.g., operational or market risks), timeline-related (e.g., time to value), resource-related (e.g., skills or tech needed), stakeholder-related (e.g., customer or employee impact), and quality-related (e.g., scalability or reliability).
Make a table evaluating the alternatives based on the criteria
- Prompt: I need to create a comparison table for a decision. My alternatives are: [LIST ALTERNATIVES], and the criteria are: [LIST CRITERIA]. Please build a table with criteria as columns and alternatives as rows. For each criteria, make two columns, one with a text explanation, and one with a rating. Rate each alternative consistently from 1 to 5 with 5 being good and 1 being weak. Highlight the best performer per criterion, and identify clear winners or weak options.
Your team prioritizes the alternatives directly or develop a scoring mechanism
- Prompt: Please help me create a scoring mechanism that assigns appropriate weights to each criterion based on its importance, defines a consistent scoring scale (e.g., 1–5 or 1–10), and applies it across all alternatives. Then calculate total weighted scores for each option, rank them from highest to lowest, and identify any close calls or ties that might require further consideration. Also include a brief explanation of how each score was derived and any insights about the strongest or weakest options.

If a go / no go decision:
- List pros/cons of the decision.
- Turn the pros/cons into list of reasons to go and not go
  - Prompt: I’ve listed pros and cons for this decision: [INSERT DECISION]. Please convert these into more actionable and specific lists: "Reasons to proceed" (benefits and positive outcomes) and "Reasons not to proceed" (risks and downsides). Add any reasons I may have missed, group similar points, and make them measurable where possible.
- Rank the reasons to go by importance (Critical, Essential, Important, Unimportant)
- Generate a Go / No Go comparison
  - Prompt: I'm considering a Go / No Go decision: [INSERT DECISION DESCRIPTION]. Please help me generate a structured comparison by organizing the reasons to proceed ("Go") and the reasons to hold back ("No Go") into four priority levels: Critical, Essential, Important, and Unimportant. For each side, group and label the reasons accordingly, making sure they reflect both the strength of the argument and the potential impact on the outcome. Where possible, make each reason specific, measurable, and actionable. This breakdown should help clarify the weight of each consideration and guide a more confident decision.

3. Make the Decision

Ask team members to write down their gut for the decision and share it
Consider a potential decision and write it down
Get people on the team's feedback.
- And/Or use AI to simulate the feedback of a variety of roles, stakeholders
- Prompt: I'm considering this decision: [INSERT DECISION DESCRIPTION] and would like simulated stakeholder feedback. Please think through the right set of roles that should provide feedback for this decision given our context. For each, offer both supportive and critical feedback. Optionally, add a specific role and their perspective if I insert one.
Play devil's advocate on the decision and tell you why it's a bad idea
- Prompt: I'm considering this decision: [INSERT DECISION] and want you to play devil’s advocate. Please argue against the decision by highlighting risks, questioning assumptions, identifying what could go wrong, flagging resource or timing issues, and challenging whether it aligns with my goals. Provide strong critical reasoning to stress-test my thinking.
Do a pre-mortem or write a press release on the decision
- Prompt: I'm about to make this decision: [INSERT DECISION] and want to conduct a pre-mortem. Please imagine the decision failed badly and write a scenario describing what went wrong, when it started, who was affected, what was missed, and the root causes. Then outline preventive steps I can take. Afterward, write a “press release” describing the successful outcome of this decision to help me visualize a positive future.
Check the decision against your values and your goals
- Prompt: Please evaluate this decision: [INSERT DECISION] in relation to my values and goals. My values are: [LIST VALUES], and my goals are: [LIST GOALS]. Provide an alignment score for each value/goal (1–10), highlight conflicts, identify opportunities to strengthen alignment, suggest adjustments, and assess overall consistency with who I want to be and what I aim to achieve.
Expand on possible second and third order effects of the decision
- Prompt: I’m considering this decision: [INSERT DECISION] and want an analysis of its ripple effects. Please identify second-order effects like team or process impacts, third-order effects like culture or market responses, and fourth-order or beyond effects such as unintended consequences or systemic changes. Include both positive and negative potential impacts across short- and long-term horizons.
Have team members express their ideas and their emotions about the potential decision. Encourage honesty and take the emotions seriously.
Iterate on this step and working on the decision until you are satisfied or time is up.
Make the decision tentatively, take it to superiors, stakeholders etc...

4. Record, Act on, and Learn from the Decision

Record the decision and the reasons for it
- Prompt: Please create a decision record for this decision: [INSERT DECISION]. Include the decision made, date, decision makers, and stakeholders consulted. For context, explain the problem or opportunity, alternatives considered, evaluation criteria, and key decision factors. For implementation, list next steps, timeline, resources needed, and success metrics. Finally, outline a review plan with a future review date, evaluation focus, and triggers for revisiting the decision.
Write down what success will look like and how you will measure it
Write down when you will revisit the decision or do a retro and do so

Next Steps

Try this framework on a team decision using an AI
Or, even better, sign up for Stravu's Beta to collaborate together with your team members and AI on your decisions.