22 Recipes 6: Decisions & Analysis

Tom S
Updated

For the decisions and deep reads that deserve more than a gut call. This is one of the 6 Recipe categories. Each recipe below opens to reveal its full steps, an example, and a live demo you can run. Filter by effort if you want the quicker ones first.

RECIPES 6
Decisions & Analysis

Make calls you can defend, backed by evidence and more than one model

 

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What is a recipe?

A recipe is a short, numbered sequence that combines a few moves into a repeatable result. Each one below opens to reveal its purpose, when to use it, the full steps, an example, and a live demo. For single one-prompt moves, see the Playbook. Recipes are grouped into 6 categories; this article is one of them.

The Recipes

Each recipe is collapsed by default. Click one to expand its purpose, when to use it, the numbered steps, an example, and a demo you can run right there. The badge shows the effort.

Filter by effort: Showing all items
The multi-model decision a decision backed by three independent perspectives Few steps ▸

Purpose: Smith's signature move. For a call that matters, get two or three models to weigh in independently, then reconcile them. See the glossary for how multi-model works.

When to use this: Any decision important enough that one model's single opinion is not enough.

Steps
# What you do What you should see
1 Write one clear decision prompt with context A sharp question
2 Select two or three models (a deep reasoner plus a fast one) Multiple selected
3 Run the same prompt to all Parallel answers
4 "Where do these agree and disagree?" Consensus and splits
5 "Final recommendation accounting for all three" One defensible call
Example
Should we expand to a second office this year? Here is the context. Run this by three models, then tell me where they agree and disagree.
See it in action

You end up with: a decision backed by three independent perspectives.

Stress-test a plan before you commit a plan you've already pressure-tested Few steps ▸

Purpose: Find the holes in private, before a stakeholder finds them in public. Runs your plan through criticism and a pre-mortem. Uses your Devil's Advocate persona.

When to use this: Before you take any plan to stakeholders or commit resources.

Steps
# What you do What you should see
1 Paste your plan Smith has it
2 Devil's Advocate persona: "find every weak point" The holes
3 "What must be true for this to work, and how likely is each?" Hidden bets
4 "Assume this failed in 6 months, why?" Failure modes
5 "What would you change to fix the top 3 risks?" A stronger plan
Example
Here is my plan to launch the new service next quarter. Pressure-test it: find the weak points, the hidden assumptions, and how it might fail.
See it in action

You end up with: a plan you've already pressure-tested.

Compare options properly a defensible recommendation Few steps ▸

Purpose: Replace a gut call with a defensible one. Smith builds the criteria, scores each option, and tells you what would change the answer.

When to use this: Choosing between vendors, candidates, tools, or approaches.

Steps
# What you do What you should see
1 Paste the options (vendors, candidates, approaches) Smith has them
2 "What criteria should I judge these on?" A framework
3 "Score each against those criteria in a table" A decision matrix
4 "Which wins, and what would change the answer?" A pick with sensitivity
Example
Here are three vendors we are considering. What criteria should I judge them on, and how does each score?
See it in action

You end up with: a defensible recommendation.

Deep document analysis a brief you can defend Few steps ▸

Purpose: Go beyond a summary to a critical read, what the document says, what is weak, what is missing, and where every point came from.

When to use this: Contracts, reports, or proposals you need to understand critically, not just skim.

Steps
# What you do What you should see
1 Upload and select the document(s) Smith confirms
2 "Summarize and map the structure" An overview
3 "Expand on section X specifically" Targeted detail
4 "What is missing, weak, or risky?" A critical read
5 "Where exactly did each point come from?" Traceable
Example
Here is the vendor contract. Summarize it, then tell me what is missing, weak, or risky, and cite the clause for each point.
See it in action

You end up with: a brief you can defend.

Source-tracing across a stack an answer you can trace in a pile of dozens Few steps ▸

Purpose: When you have dropped dozens of files into one chat, prove where an answer came from. Uses citations and workspace grounding.

When to use this: Research or analysis across many documents where you must trust the source.

Steps
# What you do What you should see
1 Drop many files into one chat All loaded
2 Ask a question that spans them A synthesized answer
3 "Which specific file did that figure come from?" The exact source
4 Open it and confirm Verified
Example
I have dropped 30 research files in here. What does the evidence say about retention, and which file does each key figure come from?
See it in action

You end up with: an answer you can trace in a pile of dozens.

Explain something complex, fast understanding, fast Quick ▸

Purpose: Get to understanding without reading the whole dense thing. Plain English first, then why it matters to you, then depth only where you want it.

When to use this: Any dense document, technical topic, or report you need to grasp quickly.

Steps
# What you do What you should see
1 Paste the dense material Smith has it
2 "Explain like I have 5 minutes" The gist
3 "What does this mean for me specifically?" Relevance
4 "Go deeper on the part about X" Targeted depth
Example
Here is a dense technical standard. Explain it like I have 5 minutes, then tell me what it means for my team specifically.
See it in action

You end up with: understanding, fast.

See a Full Workflow in Action

These recipes stack into a decision pipeline. Here is a dense brief turned into a pressure-tested, multi-model recommendation.

⚖️Understand, compare, decide

Three analysis recipes into one decision

Go from a dense brief to a pressure-tested, multi-model recommendation.

Next Steps: Open one recipe and run it end to end today. For single one-prompt moves, browse the Playbook. Working through your first month? The First 30 Days plan tells you which recipes to use each week.

Recipes 5: Documents & Long-Form Content

The previous category of recipes.

The Playbook

Looking for single one-prompt moves instead?

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