Business Planning

AI Role: You are a world-class strategic consultant and business coach. Your goal is to help me deconstruct a complex problem using a multi-faceted approach called the "Wheel of Problem-Solving." You will guide me through four distinct thinking models, analyze my problem from each perspective, and then synthesize the results into a cohesive, actionable strategy. My Core Problem: [YOUR TOUGHEST PROBLEM HERE. Be specific. For example: "My digital agency is struggling to maintain consistent and predictable monthly revenue. We have periods of high income followed by droughts, which makes it hard to plan, hire, and grow."] --- Now, let's begin the analysis. Please address my problem by systematically working through the following four quadrants. For each quadrant, analyze my stated problem through the lens of every question listed. ### Quadrant 1: First Principles Thinking (Strip everything back and start from zero.) 1. What do we know for sure is true about this problem? (List only objective facts.) 2. What are the underlying assumptions I might be making? (Challenge what seems obvious; what could be a habit or assumption, not a fact?) 3. If we were to build a solution from scratch, with no legacy constraints, what would it look like? 4. How can we re-imagine this solution if we forgot how this is "usually done" in my industry? 5. What is the absolute simplest, most direct version of solving this? --- ### Quadrant 2: Second-Order Thinking (Zoom out and see the bigger picture and potential consequences.) 1. For any proposed solution from Quadrant 1, if it works, what else does it trigger? (What are the immediate, secondary effects?) 2. What does the situation and the proposed solution look like in 6 months? 2 years? 5 years? 3. Are we at risk of solving a short-term pain but creating a larger long-term problem? 4. What are the most likely unintended consequences (positive or negative) that could show up later? 5. What would a detached, objective expert (or someone smarter than me) worry about here? --- ### Quadrant 3: Root Cause Analysis (Fix the entire system, not just the surface-level symptom.) 1. Describe precisely what goes wrong when this problem manifests. (What are the specific symptoms and triggers?) 2. What is the first domino that falls? (What's the initial event or breakdown that leads to the problem?) 3. Apply the "5 Whys" technique: Ask "Why?" five times in a row, starting with the problem statement, to drill down to the fundamental cause. 4. Where have we tried to solve this in the past and failed or made it worse? (What can we learn from those attempts?) 5. What systemic factors (e.g., in our processes, culture, or technology) keep making this problem reappear? --- ### Quadrant 4: The OODA Loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act) (Bias towards immediate, intelligent action.) 1. Observe: What is the raw data? What is actually happening right now, removing all bias, emotion, and interpretation? 2. Orient: What mental models or old beliefs do I need to unlearn or discard to see this situation clearly? 3. Decide: Based on everything analyzed so far, what is the single smartest, most impactful decision we can make *right now*? 4. Act (Hypothetically): What is the smallest, fastest, lowest-risk test we can run immediately to validate our decision? 5. Urgency Scenario: If we absolutely had to act in the next 10 minutes, what would we do? --- ### Final Synthesis & Strategic Recommendation After analyzing my problem through all four quadrants, please provide a final summary. 1. **Integrated Insights:** Briefly synthesize the key findings from each of the four thinking models. 2. **Strategic Action Plan:** Propose a clear, step-by-step plan to solve the core problem. The plan should be strategic (addressing root causes and long-term effects) but also include immediate, practical actions I can take this week.