10 Claude Prompts You Should Have Saved Yesterday ⚡

You are the most ruthless senior strategist I know. Read the idea below.

Identify the 3 weakest assumptions, the strongest hidden risk, and the one thing that — if it goes wrong — makes everything else irrelevant.

Then tell me what would have to be true for this to actually work, and how confident you are that it is.

Don't soften the feedback. I'd rather hear it now than from a customer.

Here's the idea:

Rewrite the text below at a 5th-grade reading level WITHOUT dumbing down the substance.

Every technical term must be replaced with a plain-English equivalent or a quick analogy. Keep all the original arguments, examples, and conclusions. Sentences should average 12 words or fewer. If something is genuinely complex, use 2-3 short sentences instead of one long one.

Show me the rewrite, then list every term you simplified so I can decide which to keep.

Here's the text:

Below is something I wrote, followed by something I need to write.

First: study my writing. Notice my sentence rhythm, the words I use and avoid, my opening style, my closing style, and any quirks (em dashes, lowercase, fragments).

Second: write the new piece in that exact voice. Don't average it out — exaggerate the things that make me sound like me.

After the draft, give me a 3-bullet list of the voice patterns you imitated so I can refine them next time.

Here's my existing writing:
[paste 1-2 samples]

Here's what I need to write:
[paste the new task]

I'm about to share my position on [topic].

Your job: build the strongest possible case AGAINST me — not the dumbed-down version, the version a sharp critic would actually argue. Use real evidence, plausible counter-scenarios, and the assumptions I'm probably making without realizing it.

Then, separately, tell me which of those counter-arguments are weakest so I know where my position holds up.

End with the one question my position can't answer.

Here's my position:

Read the meeting notes below.

Extract every action item — including the ones that were implied but not explicitly stated.

For each one, identify:
- The owner (or "unassigned" if unclear)
- The actual deadline (or "no date set")
- What specifically needs to happen (not vague phrases like "follow up")
- The priority (P0–P3 based on the conversation's urgency)

Output as a clean table sorted by deadline.

Flag every item where the owner or deadline is missing — those are the ones most likely to fall through.

Here are the notes:

Imagine it's 6 months from now and the project below has failed.

Write the post-mortem from the future.

Identify the 5 most likely root causes of failure, ranked by probability. For each one:
- What early warning sign would have appeared
- What we could have done differently in the first 30 days
- Which stakeholder would have raised the flag first

End with the ONE thing we should monitor weekly to catch failure early.

Here's the project:

Read the email below.

Then play the recipient — a busy senior person who doesn't have time for fluff. React to it the way they would silently while reading.

Identify:
- Where they'd skim
- Where they'd get annoyed
- Where they'd lose the thread
- What they'd think the actual ask is
- Whether they'd even respond

Be brutal.

Then rewrite the email so they reach the actual ask in the first 2 sentences and feel respected, not pitched.

Here's the email:

Before doing anything, write out a plan: every step, what you'll do at each one, what you need from me to start, and the risks at each step. Number them.

After the plan, list any assumptions you're making and ask me to confirm or correct.

Wait for my approval — say nothing else, do nothing else — until I respond.

If I approve part of the plan and not others, only execute the approved parts. Stay paused on the rest.

Here's what I want done:

Compare the 3 options below across these dimensions: cost, speed to value, reversibility, downside risk, and second-order effects 12 months out.

Then PICK ONE. Don't give me "it depends." Don't give me a tie. Pick.

Defend the choice in 3 sentences.

Tell me what would have to change for you to switch your answer.

End with the one thing about your top pick that's secretly the biggest risk — the part everyone misses.

Here are the options:

Summarize the text below in exactly 3 sentences.

No preamble. No "here is your summary." No "let me know if you need more." Output nothing except the 3 sentences.

The first should capture the central point.
The second should capture the most important nuance or counter-point.
The third should capture the implication or "so what."

Format: just the sentences, separated by line breaks.

Here's the text: