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Build a pre-mortem checklist before opening a second location

  • For Small business owners
  • You practice Giving the right context
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Beginner

About this exercise

You are opening a second bakery location on March 1. List the 5 ways it could fail that you can still prevent, as a plain-text checklist. Each line starts with [ ], names the failure, and ends with the action and the date in the notes. Use only dates from the notes and skip risks you cannot control.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Including risks you can't control. The AI adds the competitor and the weather. Try: Say: "Only risks I can still prevent."
  • No dates. The AI writes general advice like 'prepare early'. Try: Say: "End each line with the action and the date from the notes."
  • Wrong number of lines. The AI lists 8 items. Try: Say: "Exactly 5 lines, each starting with [ ]."
  • Markdown. The AI uses bold and dashes. Try: Say: "Plain text."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it. Try: Cap each line: "each line under 22 words."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it. Try: Cap each part instead, for example: "each line under 12 words."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Asks for a checklist
  • Exactly five
  • Uses dates from notes
  • Skips uncontrollables
  • Plain text

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