Pre-Mortem for a Project or Life Change
Imagine failure in advance to prevent it.
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Run a pre-mortem with me. Imagine it is [FUTURE_DATE] and [PROJECT_OR_CHANGE] has failed badly. Before you add anything of your own, interview me one question at a time and wait for each answer: (1) what exactly am I planning, and what does success look like, (2) what am I most worried about, (3) what depends on other people, (4) what has gone wrong in similar situations before, (5) what resources (time, money, energy) are limited, and (6) which assumption, if wrong, would hurt most. Context: [PLAN_SUMMARY]. Next, tell the story of the failure in 200 words, in the past tense, as if it already happened, using what I told you. Then produce a table of 10 failure causes with columns: Cause | Early warning sign | Likelihood (low, medium, high) | Impact | What I can do now to prevent it | What I will do if it still happens. Pick the top three and turn each into a concrete action with a date. Finish with "tripwires": three measurable signals that mean I should change course (for example, "if I have not signed the first client by March 31, I reduce spending"). Be candid, not discouraging, and ask which risk I have been avoiding thinking about.
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The story (past tense, abridged): "By March the studio had no clients. I had launched in January without a waiting list, spent the savings on equipment, and the two clients I counted on delayed their start..." Cause | Early warning | Likelihood | Impact | Prevent | If it happens Clients delay | No signed contract by December | High | High | Get deposits | Use savings buffer, contact backups Equipment overspend | Spending above 3,000 | Medium | Medium | Rent first | Sell/resell Burnout | Working 60+ hours | Medium | High | Cap at 45 h | Take a week off Tripwire: if fewer than 3 signed clients by 31 March, reduce spending to essentials and revisit pricing. Which risk have you been avoiding?
Illustrative only, made-up data. Your results will differ and must be reviewed.