First Principles Thinking for Strategic Decisions
Apply first principles reasoning to deconstruct complex problems and find non-obvious solutions.
Use Elon Musk's/Aristotle's technique of decomposing a problem to its fundamental truths to make decisions based on facts, not analogies or conventions.
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Prompt objective
Use Elon Musk's/Aristotle's technique of decomposing a problem to its fundamental truths to make decisions based on facts, not analogies or conventions.
Real use case
The founder of an education technology startup is deciding whether to charge monthly subscriptions or sell individual courses. Every competitor sells individual courses, but they suspect there may be a better model that no one is trying.
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Prompt
Apply First Principles Reasoning to help me make a strategic decision. **The Decision/Problem:** - Decision: [DESCRIBE CLEARLY] - What the market/competitors are doing: [DESCRIBE THE CURRENT CONVENTION] - Why I'm questioning the convention: [EXPLAIN YOUR INTUITION] - Real constraints: [LIST — e.g., budget, time, technology, regulation] - Ideal outcome: [WHAT SUCCESS MEANS TO YOU] **Conduct the Analysis in 5 Steps:** 1) **Deconstruction (Break it down):** - Break the problem into its fundamental components - For each component, ask
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