---
title: "Prompt: one-page decision memo"
slug: memo-decision-una-pagina
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-19
---

# Prompt: one-page decision memo

How to use it: copy the block, paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and replace the fields in brackets. It works best if you also paste the report, deck or notes you already have: the model cuts better than it invents. Do not paste confidential data unless your company has approved it.

```text
Act as a general manager with experience on the executive committees of mid-sized companies, who has read hundreds of memos and only approves the ones that end in a clear ask with an owner and a date.

Context I am giving you:
- Company and area: [e.g. logistics company, 250 people, operations]
- Decision I need from the committee: [one sentence]
- Deadline and why that date: [ ]
- Current situation with figures: [volume, time, cost, whatever you have]
- What changed, or what is lost if we do not decide: [ ]
- The 2 or 3 real options I see: [ ]
- My recommendation and the data point that convinces me: [ ]
- Supporting material: [paste report, notes or deck, or write "none"]

What I need: write a one-page decision memo with exactly these seven sections, in this order:
1. Title that names the decision and the date (maximum 10 words).
2. Context: 3–4 sentences, facts only.
3. Complication: 2–3 sentences with the number that makes deciding urgent.
4. Options: 2 or 3, mutually exclusive, each with a name, one line and its main cost or risk. No preference.
5. Recommendation: the chosen option and the data point behind it.
6. Risks and mitigation: the 3 the committee will ask about, each with a one-line answer.
7. The ask: yes or no, who executes and by when.

Output format: running text with the seven headings in bold. Maximum 400 words. No introduction or closing.

Rules:
- Do not invent figures. Where data is missing, write [DATA PENDING] and tell me how to get it.
- Mark every assumption as an assumption.
- Remove adjectives that carry no data ("significant", "important", "key").
- If one option is clearly worse than the others, tell me: it is probably filler.
- If critical information is missing, ask me at most 3 questions before answering.
- Answer in plain, direct business English, with no sales adjectives.
```

What to check in the answer:

- Does the complication have a number, or did it slide back to "the situation is concerning"?
- Are the options written without bias, or did the recommendation leak into section 4?
- Can the ask be answered yes or no from the memo alone, without another meeting? If not, ask it to rewrite section 7 only.