Free Agent Skill
Decision Memo
Structure a real, consequential decision as a written narrative memo in the style Jeff Bezos used at Amazon — full sentences and paragraphs rather than bullet points, forcing the logic to be checked rather than gestured at, plus explicit classification of whether the decision is reversible (a "two-way door") or not (a "one-way door").
Use when: the user is facing a real decision — a job offer, a hire/fire call, a big purchase, a strategic bet, a yes/no with real stakes — especially if they're leaning on gut feel without having written the reasoning down. Do not use for trivial or low-stakes choices.
Install this skill
- Create a folder named `decision-memo`.
- Save the skill content below as `SKILL.md` inside that folder.
- Place the folder in `~/.codex/skills/` for Codex, `.cursor/skills/` for Cursor or `.claude/skills/` for Claude Code.
- Describe the task normally. Your agent loads the skill when its description matches.
---
name: decision-memo
description: Structure a real, consequential decision as a written narrative memo in the style Jeff Bezos used at Amazon — full sentences and paragraphs rather than bullet points, forcing the logic to be checked rather than gestured at, plus explicit classification of whether the decision is reversible (a "two-way door") or not (a "one-way door"). Use this whenever the user is facing a real decision — a job offer, a hire/fire call, a big purchase, a strategic bet, a yes/no with real stakes — especially if they're leaning on gut feel without having written the reasoning down. Do not use for trivial or low-stakes choices.
---
# Decision Memo
Bullet points let sloppy logic hide. Full-sentence narrative forces every
claim to be either true, sourced, or admitted as an assumption. This skill
turns a decision into a short written memo before it gets made — not
after, as a justification.
## Step 1 — classify the door
Ask (or infer, then confirm): **is this reversible?**
- **Two-way door** — you can back out with acceptable cost. Move fast.
Don't over-invest process into a decision you can unwind. Optimize for
speed of learning, not certainty.
- **One-way door** — hard or costly to reverse (a senior hire, a
multi-year commitment, a public statement, a structural bet). Slow
down. This is where the memo earns its cost.
If genuinely unsure which it is, that uncertainty is itself worth a
sentence in the memo — treating a one-way door like a two-way door is a
common, expensive mistake.
## Step 2 — write the memo
Use full sentences, not bullets. Structure:
1. **The decision, stated plainly.** One or two sentences. No hedging.
2. **What happens if we do nothing.** The default/status-quo path,
stated honestly — this is the real alternative being compared against.
3. **The case for.** The strongest honest version, not a strawman.
4. **The case against.** Equally strong — steelman the other side. If you
can't write a good "against" case, you probably haven't thought about
it enough yet.
5. **What would change your mind.** Name the specific evidence that would
flip the decision. If nothing would, say so — that's worth noticing.
6. **The call, and why.** State the decision and the one or two reasons
that actually drove it — not all the reasons, the ones that mattered.
## Step 3 — pressure-test before finalizing
Before treating the memo as done, check:
- Does the "case against" section actually sound like something a smart
person who disagrees would say? If it's weak, rewrite it.
- Is there a claim in here that's actually an assumption wearing a fact's
clothes? Flag it.
- For one-way doors specifically: consider suggesting the `premortem` skill next, then ask a fresh
reviewer to make the strongest honest case against the recommendation.
## Output
Give the memo as continuous prose in the structure above, not a bulleted
outline — the format itself is the point.
More free skills
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Decision Framer
Separates the real choice from noise, then tests options against explicit criteria and uncertainty.
Meeting to Actions
Converts messy notes into decisions, owned actions, deadlines and unresolved questions.
Calibrated Forecasting
Turn a vague prediction or unstated confidence level into an explicit, calibrated probability estimate, following the practices Philip Tetlock found separated "superforecasters" from everyone else — breaking questions into sub-questions, checking base rates, updating in small increments as new information arrives, and tracking predictions against outcomes.
Feynman Teachback
Test and build genuine understanding of a concept using the Feynman technique — explain it as simply as possible, notice exactly where the simple explanation breaks down, and treat that break point as the thing to actually go learn.
First Principles
Rebuild a problem from fundamental truths (physics, economics, unit costs, what's actually true regardless of convention) rather than by analogy to how things are normally done — the reasoning style associated with Elon Musk's approach to manufacturing cost problems and Richard Feynman's approach to physics problems.
Focus and Tradeoffs
Cut a bloated plan, roadmap, or list of priorities down to the one or two things that actually matter, in the tradition associated with Steve Jobs's product focus — "innovation is saying no to a thousand things."
Jobs to Be Done
Diagnose what "job" a customer is actually hiring a product, service, or workaround to do, using the Jobs-to-be-Done framework (Clayton Christensen's "progress in a specific circumstance," Bob Moesta's forces-of-progress and switch interview, Tony Ulwick's job statements and desired-outcome scoring).
Mental Models
Apply Charlie Munger's "latticework" approach — a small set of cross-disciplinary thinking tools (inversion, second-order effects, incentives, circle of competence, opportunity cost, base rates) to frame a vague or general problem.
Moat Analysis
Assess whether a competitive advantage is durable (a real "moat," in Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger's terms) or temporary, by checking it against the standard sources of durable advantage — switching costs, network effects, economies of scale, brand/trust, and regulatory or IP protection — rather than taking "we're ahead right now" at face value.
Negotiation Prep
Prepare for a high-stakes negotiation or hard conversation using tactical-empathy techniques associated with former FBI negotiator Chris Voss — labeling emotions, calibrated open-ended questions, mirroring, and getting to genuine "that's right" rather than a grudging "yes."
Postmortem / Retro
Extract a specific, reusable lesson after something succeeded or failed, following the principle (associated with Ray Dalio's "pain plus reflection equals progress") that outcomes only compound into better judgment if they're deliberately converted into a written, checkable lesson rather than just felt and moved past.
Premortem
Run a premortem — psychologist Gary Klein's technique of imagining a plan has already failed and working backward to explain why, which surfaces risks that forward planning misses because it counteracts the social and psychological pressure to seem confident.
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