The Prompt Deck
What does your business look like when every priority aligns across every dimension?
Five priorities. Five dimensions. Twenty-five cells. Fill them in and the gaps become your strategy. Leave them empty and the gaps become your blind spots.
The Game
This is the business development game board. Each column is a priority. Each row is a lens. The intersection forces a question you can't dodge.
| Row | Lens | What It Forces |
|---|---|---|
| Numbers | What must be true financially? | Revenue, margin, runway per priority |
| Activities | What work actually matters? | The vital few vs the trivial many |
| Tech | What technology creates leverage? | Build, buy, or agent |
| Forces | What external pressure shapes this? | Regulation, competition, timing |
| Data | What do you need to know? | The question that unlocks the decision |
How to Play
- Name five priorities across the top. Not twenty. Five. If you can't narrow it, you don't have a strategy — you have a list.
- Fill each cell with the most important answer for that intersection. One sentence max. If it takes more, you don't understand it yet.
- Read down columns — does each priority have numbers, activities, tech, forces, and data aligned? If not, it's a wish.
- Read across rows — are your numbers consistent? Do your activities match your tech investments? Do your forces inform your data needs?
- Find the empty cells — that's where the risk lives. Every blank is an unasked question.
The Alignment Test
A filled deck reveals three things:
| Signal | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Columns align | Priority has a coherent plan |
| Rows contradict | Priorities compete for the same resources |
| Cells are empty | You haven't done the thinking yet |
The deck isn't a plan. It's a prompt that forces clarity. Fill it in before writing the business plan. Revisit it when the scoreboard says something isn't working.
Context
- Business Development — The plan this deck informs
- The Tight Five — The rugby scrum that grounds the five-position pattern
- Mycelium — Ventures playing the game
- Scoreboard — Is the alignment producing results?
- Matrix Thinking — The meta-tool: make invisible connections visible
- Questions — The Tight Five framework