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).