01 / The planToday
“Here’s how it will work.”
Launch our new platform.
Reach 100 paying customers in six months.
A little hindsight. Ahead of time.Imagine the failure.
Imagine the failure.
Improve the plan.
You know what you want your project to achieve. What might you be overlooking?
Talk it through with an AI thinking partner. Step into a future where it failed—and uncover what you can change today.
Start with an idea. No polished plan required.
02 / Looking back6 months later
“It failed. What happened?”
People signed up, but never became active.
We built before testing whether anyone would pay.
Something to test before you commit.
Same project. A different perspective.
For projects that deserve a second look.
Your thinking comes first Both sides of the decision Actions you can take
The exerciseTwo pages.
Two pages.
A better starting point.
Describe the future you’re planning. Then look back from a future you’d rather avoid.
A project, rehearsedIllustrative example · A new platform launch
Page one / TodayWhat are you
What are you
hoping to achieve?
Start with your project, what success looks like, and when you hope to get there. Your thinking partner helps you make the picture clear.
Our project
- The plan
- Launch a platform for small businesses.
- The outcome
- 100 paying customers who use it regularly.
- The timeframe
- Six months from today.
Page two / Six months laterThe project failed.
The project failed.
What happened?
For a moment, assume the outcome is settled. Look back and describe what led to it. Give your own explanations space before hearing AI suggestions.
Possible explanations
- We built features before testing whether customers would pay.
- People signed up, but onboarding never helped them get started.
- A partner we depended on wasn’t ready.
Back to today / Still time to actTurn the concerns
Turn the concerns
into next steps.
These explanations are hypotheses to examine. Use them to choose practical tests, strengthen the plan, and spot early signs of trouble.
Before we commit
- Run a paid pilot before building the full product.
- Watch five customers try the onboarding process.
- Confirm the partner’s timeline and identify a backup.
Start with the outcome you want to create.
A sample exercise, not a prediction or a live AI session.
You’re still on page one.
There’s time to change the plan.
Why the perspective mattersA different question.
A different question.
A different conversation.
When you’re invested in a plan, doubts can be difficult to articulate. A premortem gives you room to explain a different outcome.
Imagine the project has already failed. Working backward from that future can help bring overlooked concerns into the conversation.
Based on the premortem method developed by Gary Klein. Read the original article ↗
The usual question“What might go wrong?”
The premortem question“It’s six months later.
The project failed.
What happened?”
A thinking partner, at your paceYour insight.
Your insight.
With room to go deeper.
PreMortemLab helps you articulate what you know, question what you assume, and decide what to do next.
01 / Understand
Start wherever you are.
An early idea, a detailed proposal, or a project already underway. Talk naturally. Relevant questions help you clarify what matters.
02 / Reflect
Think before the AI does the talking.
You explain the imagined failure first. Then your companion helps you explore the causes, assumptions, and possibilities you may have missed.
03 / Strengthen
Leave with a next step.
Turn concerns into experiments, preventive actions, and warning signs. Keep a decision brief you can revisit as the project unfolds.
The other side of the decisionWhat if doing nothing
What if doing nothing
is the mistake?
Waiting has consequences, too. Explore what you could lose by delaying or walking away. Give both choices a fair examination—and consider a smaller first step.
What project are
you thinking about?
Bring the idea, the uncertainty, or the decision you keep turning over.
Talk through my projectA clearer plan starts with a conversation.