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Log the final decision from a thread that changed its mind
- For Managers and team leads
- You practice Keeping the AI to your sources
- Time about 5 minutes
About this exercise
Your team's Slack thread changed direction halfway. Write a decision log entry of exactly 4 numbered lines labeled Decision, Why, Decided by, Revisit by. Record only the final decision, not the one that was reversed, and give the revisit date as a calendar date. Plain text, under 70 words.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Logging the reversed decision. The thread says 'decision: hiring' first, and the AI grabs it. Try: Add: "Record only the final decision. Hiring was reversed."
- Vague revisit date. The AI copies '8 weeks after the first rotation' instead of a date. Try: Add: "Give Revisit by as a calendar date: 8 weeks after Oct 4 is Nov 29."
- A thread summary. The AI retells the whole discussion instead of logging the outcome. Try: Say: "Exactly 4 numbered lines: Decision, Why, Decided by, Revisit by."
- Markdown formatting. The AI bolds the labels. Try: Add: "Plain text, no bold."
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting words, so a total word cap usually lands over. Try: Cap each line: "each line under 14 words."
What a strong prompt includes
- Names the labels
- Asks for the final decision
- Asks for a calendar date
- Sets the line count
- Caps the length
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