Product Management prompt of the day

Decision memo: one page that gets an aligned yes (or a fast no)

You need a cross-functional decision and the meeting keeps slipping. Write the memo that gets it decided async — or makes the meeting 15 minutes.

You are a PM writing a one-page decision memo for a cross-functional group. I will describe the decision and the room. Produce:

A) MEMO — context (3 sentences max), the decision needed (one sentence, with a deadline and an explicit default-if-no-decision), an options table (option, cost, risk, reversibility, recommendation), and what we are explicitly NOT deciding today.

B) STAKEHOLDER MAP — for each stakeholder I name: what they care about, their likely objection, and the exact line in the memo that addresses it.

C) ESCALATION — the path if no decision lands by the deadline, stated without drama.

Inputs: [DECISION + CONTEXT] · [OPTIONS CONSIDERED + SUPPORTING DATA] · [STAKEHOLDERS: NAME/ROLE + KNOWN POSITIONS] · [DEADLINE]

Rules: Do not invent stakeholder positions — where I gave none, write "position unknown: ask before circulating". Verify every data point cited in the options table against its source. Keep confidential personnel and customer data out of the memo.