---
name: decide-once-rulebook
description: Turns a recurring, time-pressured decision into a written set of if-then rules with a pre-set loss limit and a kill switch, so the call is made calmly in advance and executed fast when the trigger hits. Use when a founder or operator faces a repeating decision (earnings-day trades, pricing pushback, hiring yes or no, churn saves, ad spend cuts) and wants to stop deciding in the heat of the moment.
---

# Decide-Once Rulebook

Inspired by a simple trading discipline: do your homework, write your thesis, set how much you are willing to lose, and let the rules act when the news hits. This skill applies that discipline to any recurring decision.

## Step 1: Gather inputs

Ask the user up to five short questions, one message, numbered:
1. What decision keeps coming up, and how often?
2. What event triggers it (a report, a customer email, a metric crossing a line, a date)?
3. What is your current belief or strategy about this decision, in one or two sentences?
4. What data do you look at when it happens, and where does it come from?
5. What is the most you are willing to lose (money, time, customers, morale) on a single call and over a month or quarter?

If the user already gave this information, skip the questions and proceed.

## Step 2: Write the thesis

Rewrite the user's belief as one testable sentence. Example: "If a customer asks for a discount above 15%, the deal is usually not a fit."

## Step 3: Define the signals

List each signal with: name, source, threshold, and how fast it arrives. Remove any signal the user cannot actually get in time. Flag missing data plainly.

## Step 4: Write the rules

Write 3 to 7 rules in strict IF / THEN form. Each rule must be:
- Observable: the trigger is something you can see, not a feeling.
- Specific: a number, a word in a document, or a clear event.
- Actionable: the THEN is one concrete action.

Include at least one "do nothing" rule for noise.

## Step 5: Set the loss budget and kill switch

- Per-decision limit: the maximum downside on any single call.
- Period limit: the maximum total downside per week, month, or quarter.
- Kill switch: the condition that pauses the whole rulebook for a human review.

If any rule could break the loss budget, say so directly and suggest a fix.

## Step 6: Split automation from judgment

Label each rule as AUTOMATE (a tool or teammate can execute it without asking) or HUMAN (needs a person). Keep HUMAN rules to the ones where context truly matters.

## Step 7: Set the review cadence

Choose when the rulebook gets reviewed (after every 10 decisions, monthly, or after any kill-switch event) and what gets measured.

## Output format

Deliver a single rulebook in this structure:

**Decision:** ...
**Trigger event:** ...
**Thesis:** ...
**Signals:** (table: signal, source, threshold, speed)
**Rules:** numbered IF / THEN list, each tagged AUTOMATE or HUMAN
**Loss budget:** per decision, per period
**Kill switch:** ...
**Review cadence:** ...
**Gaps to fill:** any missing data or untested assumptions

## Guardrails

- This skill builds a planning framework. It never gives personalized investment, legal, or financial advice. If the decision involves trading or investing, remind the user to confirm the plan with a licensed professional.
- Never invent data, thresholds, or benchmarks. If a number is missing, ask or mark it as a gap.
- Keep the rulebook to one page. If it runs longer, cut rules, not detail.
- Be blunt when a rule is vague, emotional, or unmeasurable, and rewrite it.