Analyze a business problem strategically and recommend a direction
Frames a business problem, looks at it from market, customer, competitor, and capability angles, and recommends a direction with the trade-offs spelled out.
The prompt
Help me analyze a business problem from a strategic perspective, not just an operational one.
The problem: [DESCRIBE IT - e.g. "our largest product line has lost share for three quarters"]
Business context: [what we sell, to whom, size, business model]
What we know (facts and numbers): [PASTE DATA, notes, or findings]
What has been tried: [PAST FIXES and what happened]
Constraints: [budget, timeline, people, policies, things leadership won't change]
Decision I need to support: [e.g. "recommend whether to invest, fix, or exit"]
Work through it in this order:
1. Restate the problem in one sentence, and say whether it is a symptom or the underlying issue. Name the question leadership actually needs answered.
2. Look at it from five angles: customers (needs, behavior shifts), market (size, trends, regulation), competitors (moves, positioning), our capabilities (strengths, gaps), and economics (revenue, cost, margin effect).
3. List 2-3 plausible explanations, with the evidence for and against each, and what data would settle it.
4. Lay out 3 strategic options (including doing nothing). For each: what it involves, expected upside, cost, risks, time to impact, and what we would have to stop doing.
5. Recommend one option and the conditions under which I should change my mind.
Return: a one-paragraph summary, the analysis in the sections above, an options comparison table (Option | Upside | Cost | Risk | Time to impact | Fit with constraints), and the 3 next steps for the next 30 days.
Rules: use only the facts I gave. Mark assumptions as [ASSUMPTION] and missing data as [NEED DATA: ...]. Do not invent market figures or competitor facts. The recommendation is input for my judgment, not the final decision.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Business Strategy & Startups prompts
What to fill in
- what we sell, to whom, size, business model
- PASTE DATA, notes, or findings
- PAST FIXES and what happened
- e.g. "recommend whether to invest, fix, or exit"
- ASSUMPTION
- NEED DATA: ...
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the Few-Shot structure (Few-shot prompting). A few-shot prompt includes one or more worked examples of the input and the output you want, so the model can copy the pattern instead of guessing it.
Related prompts
- Research a company in depthA company profile: business model, financials, strategy, leadership, risks, and recent news.
- Screen a company I might acquire for strategic fitA structured first-pass screen of an acquisition target covering rationale, fit, valuation logic, integration risk, and deal-breakers.
- Decide how to respond to a competitor's new featureA calm assessment of a competitor launch with options from ignore to respond, and a recommendation.
- Condense our strategy into a strategy-on-a-page summaryTurns a long strategy document, deck, or notes into a single page with purpose, priorities, goals, initiatives, and what you will not do.