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8 prompts that pressure-test calls
Most people use ChatGPT for answers, the sharp ones use it to decide
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For a long time I treated ChatGPT like a smarter Google. Ask, grab the answer, move on. Then I came across a post from a founder running an AI startup, and one line stuck: most people use it to get answers, but the sharpest founders use it to make better decisions.
I read that twice. The gap between those two uses is bigger than it looks, and I'd been living on the wrong side of it.
What I liked most about the breakdown was the honesty. The author admitted that for years, the thing slowing their company down wasn't execution or the team. It was the quality of the thinking going into big calls. Sitting in rooms, going back and forth, then walking out with a gut decision dressed up as a strategic one. I've done exactly that more times than I want to admit.
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The reframe that changed how I open the app
The core idea is simple, and it's the part I keep coming back to. ChatGPT isn't a search engine, it's a thinking partner. But only if you use it like one.
Most of us never give it the structure to push back, so it just agrees with us and hands over a tidy answer. That's the trap. A model that nods along is worse than useless on a hard call, because it makes a gut feeling look researched. The prompts below force structure, and structure is what turns a chat into actual reasoning.
The 8 decision frameworks worth stealing
The author shared 20 prompts. These are the eight they reach for most, and the ones I've started running myself.
Strategic Decision Matrix. Compare your options across goals, risks, costs, effort, and probability of success. It stops you from trusting your gut before you've done the homework. Think of it as a scorecard for any tough call.
First Principles Decision. Strip the choice down to plain facts, real uncertainties, and the assumptions you're carrying, then rebuild from scratch. This kills most bad choices early, because you stop copying what everyone else does.
Devil's Advocate. Point the model at your own reasoning and tell it to challenge you. It surfaces your biases, weak assumptions, and the information you're missing. Running this before committing is the single habit I'd steal first.
Multi-Scenario Future Simulation. Build the optimistic, realistic, and pessimistic paths side by side and compare them. Instead of betting on one rosy outcome, you see the full spread before you choose.
Regret Minimization. Judge each option from a future lens. Which path leaves the least regret at 1 year, 3 years, and 10 years out? It cuts through short-term noise and points you at what you'll actually be glad you did.
Risk vs Reward Mapping. Sort the possible outcomes into risk and reward buckets, then weigh the probabilities, the worst case, and the real upside. It turns a fuzzy "this feels risky" into something you can actually look at.
Founder-Style Strategic Choice. Weigh the decision the way a sharp founder would: market potential, competitive advantage, how it makes money, and long-term defensibility. Great for product and business bets, not just personal ones.
Ultimate Decision Copilot. The heavyweight. One prompt that clarifies your goals, assumptions, tradeoffs, opportunity costs, future scenarios, and biases in a single pass. Save it for when the stakes are highest.
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You don't need all eight at once
That list can feel like a lot. It isn't, because you rarely need more than one at a time. Here's the simple way I'd start.
For everyday calls, run the Strategic Decision Matrix to lay your options out cleanly.
Before you commit, hit it with the Devil's Advocate prompt to catch your own blind spots.
For long-term moves, use Regret Minimization so you're optimizing for the version of you a decade from now.
When the stakes are huge, bring out the Ultimate Decision Copilot and let it stress-test everything in one pass.
The part that actually convinced me
The author pointed out something I see all the time: people make big calls every week on thin reasoning. I've been that person. The fix isn't more meetings or more gut instinct. It's better inputs into the thinking itself.
What got me was how cheap this is. You already have the tool open. The only thing changing is the quality of the question you bring to it. That's a tiny cost for a much sharper outcome.
Where I'd start tonight
Pick the next real decision sitting on your desk, the one you've been circling without committing. Open a fresh chat and run the Devil's Advocate prompt on your current leaning. Tell the model to challenge your reasoning, name your biases, and find the information you're skipping.
Then sit with the question the author closed with, because it's a good one: what framework do you actually rely on when a decision genuinely matters? If the honest answer is "my gut in a suit," you already know which prompt to run first.
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