🎯 Learning Objectives
- Use prompts for strategic analysis and market intelligence
- Craft executive-level communications with AI assistance
- Build decision trees and scenario planning with prompts
- Design SOPs, playbooks, and process documentation
- Create board-level content that is clear and authoritative
1. Strategic Analysis Prompts
You are a senior strategy consultant.
Conduct a SWOT analysis of: [context]
Requirements:
- Each quadrant: exactly 4 bullet points, max 15 words each
- Focus on market-facing implications, not internal processes
- Conclude: "The single most critical strategic priority is..."
Audience: Board of Directors
Other Strategic Frameworks to Prompt
- Porter's Five Forces — competitive landscape
- PESTLE — macro-environmental scanning
- BCG Matrix — portfolio positioning
- OKR Design — objective and key result creation
2. Executive Communication Prompts
You are a CXO writing a memo to the Board.
Structure (mandatory):
1. Headline conclusion (1 sentence — lead with what matters most)
2. Three key data points (numbers only)
3. Strategic implication (2 sentences)
4. Recommended action (1 sentence, owner named)
5. Risk if not actioned (1 sentence)
Tone: Direct, confident, no passive voice · Length: 250 words max
💡 Pyramid Principle
Lead with the conclusion, then provide supporting evidence. Prompt for this explicitly: "Lead with the recommendation, then justify it."
3. Decision Trees & Scenario Planning
Create a decision framework for: [choice]
For each option provide:
- Best case outcome (probability + description)
- Worst case outcome (probability + description)
- Most likely outcome (probability + description)
- Key assumptions that must hold
- Early warning signals the worst case is unfolding
Conclude: The option with the best risk-adjusted value is [X], because...
4. SOPs, Playbooks, and Process Design
You are a senior operations manager.
Create an SOP for: [Process Name]
Format:
1. Purpose (2 sentences)
2. Scope — who this applies to
3. Prerequisites — what must be in place before starting
4. Step-by-step procedure (action + owner + acceptance criteria)
5. Exception handling
6. Review frequency
💡 Pro Move
After generating the SOP, run: "You are a process auditor. Identify every step that is ambiguous, missing an owner, or lacks a clear success criterion."
5. Sales, Pitch, and Negotiation Prompts
Step 1 — Understand the buyer:
You are a sceptical procurement manager at a pharma company.
Top concerns: cost overruns, compliance risk, vendor reliability.
What are the 5 questions you'd ask before approving this proposal?
Step 2 — Build the counter:
Answer each question from the seller's perspective with specific evidence.
Step 3 — Stress-test:
What is the most likely reason this deal falls through?
How should the seller address this proactively?
✏️ Module 06 Exercise
Take a real strategic decision or process from your work. Use one prompt from this module to produce a first draft. Then apply a critique prompt — ask the AI to play the most critical stakeholder for that deliverable and identify weaknesses.
🔑 Key Takeaways
- Strategic prompts must specify the analytical framework, not just the topic
- Executive communications need explicit structure: conclusion first, evidence second
- Decision frameworks should include probabilities, assumptions, and early warning signals
- SOPs generated by AI need a critique pass to catch gaps
- Pitch preparation is most effective when you first prompt from the buyer's perspective
- Business strategy output quality scales directly with prompt specificity