decision-advocacy

name	decision-advocacy
description	Generate compelling cases FOR a decision - advocacy grounded in rigorous analysis

Decision Advocacy

Purpose: Create persuasive, well-structured arguments supporting a decision that has passed through the Decision Gate.

Announce: "Using decision-advocacy to create the business case."

Prerequisites

• Decision Gate completed
• Decision artifact exists with documented rationale
• Human has explicitly decided (not just recommended)

Principle

"Persuasion grounded in rigor" - Advocacy is compelling because it survived the gauntlet.

The decision has already been stress-tested through:

• Pre-mortem analysis
• Steel-manned alternatives
• Bias audits
• Contrarian challenges

This isn't spin. It's communicating a well-examined choice to those who weren't in the room.

Process

Step 1: Identify Audience

Before writing anything, understand who you're persuading.

Questions to answer:

Aspect	Details
Who?	Role, seniority, relationship to decision
What do they care about?	Their metrics, priorities, concerns
What's their context?	What do they already know? What's their time horizon?
Likely objections?	What pushback will they raise?
Decision needed from them?	Approval, resources, support, awareness

Audience archetypes:

• Executive sponsor - Cares about: strategic alignment, ROI, risk exposure
• Finance stakeholder - Cares about: numbers, payback period, budget impact
• Technical stakeholder - Cares about: feasibility, integration, maintenance burden
• Operations stakeholder - Cares about: implementation, disruption, training
• Peer/team - Cares about: workload impact, clarity, rationale

Step 2: Choose Format

Match format to audience and context.

Format	Best For	Length	Tone
Executive briefing	C-suite, board, time-constrained leaders	1 page max	Direct, strategic, bottom-line
Business case	Formal approval processes, investment decisions	3-5 pages	Structured, comprehensive, evidence-based
Team communication	Internal alignment, team buy-in	1-2 pages	Inclusive, rationale-focused, action-oriented
Presentation narrative	All-hands, stakeholder meetings	Slide-ready bullets	Story arc, visual-friendly, memorable

Step 3: Structure the Argument

Every persuasive case follows this arc:

Opening (Hook)

• Lead with the most compelling point
• State what's at stake
• Signal the ask upfront

Context (Why Now)

• What problem or opportunity triggered this?
• Why is the status quo insufficient?
• What happens if we don't act?

The Case (Why This)

• The decision in clear terms
• Key benefits (prioritized for audience)
• Evidence from the decision process
• Alignment with stated priorities/strategy

Addressing Concerns (Why Not Worry)

• Acknowledge the strongest objections
• Provide mitigations from the decision process
• Reference stress-testing already completed
• Be honest about residual risks and how they'll be managed

Call to Action (What Next)

• Specific ask: approval, resources, support
• Clear timeline
• Next steps if approved

Step 4: Apply Persuasion Principles

Lead with your strongest point. Don't bury it. Executives read the first paragraph; make it count.

Acknowledge counterarguments. Addressing objections before they're raised builds credibility. Use the contrarian analysis.

Use concrete specifics. "30% cost reduction" beats "significant savings." Pull from calibrated estimates.

Show your work (briefly). Reference the rigor: "After evaluating 4 alternatives and stress-testing against 12 failure scenarios..."

Match their language. Use the stakeholder's vocabulary and frame benefits in their terms.

Anticipate the "and then what?" Include implementation path to show you've thought beyond the decision.

Make the ask clear and specific. Vague asks get vague responses. State exactly what you need.

Step 5: Quality Check

Before finalizing, verify:

Check	Question
Accuracy	Does this faithfully represent the decision and rationale?
Audience fit	Would this land with the intended reader?
Objection coverage	Are likely pushbacks addressed?
Evidence grounded	Are claims supported by the decision process?
Ask clarity	Is it obvious what you want the reader to do?
Tone calibration	Confident without overselling? Honest about uncertainties?
Length appropriate	Respects the audience's time?

Output Template

# [Decision Title]: Business Case

## Executive Summary

[2-3 sentences: What we're recommending, why it matters, what we need]

**Recommendation:** [One clear sentence]
**Ask:** [Specific approval/resources/support needed]
**Timeline:** [When decision needed, implementation horizon]

---

## Background

### The Problem/Opportunity
[What triggered this decision? What's at stake?]

### Why Now
[Urgency drivers, window of opportunity, cost of delay]

---

## The Opportunity

### Proposed Approach
[Clear description of the decision]

### Key Benefits
1. **[Benefit 1]** - [Specific, quantified where possible]
2. **[Benefit 2]** - [Specific, quantified where possible]
3. **[Benefit 3]** - [Specific, quantified where possible]

### Strategic Alignment
[How this connects to stated priorities, strategy, OKRs]

---

## Alternatives Considered

| Option | Pros | Cons | Why Not Selected |
|--------|------|------|------------------|
| [Alternative 1] | [Key pros] | [Key cons] | [Reason] |
| [Alternative 2] | [Key pros] | [Key cons] | [Reason] |
| Status Quo | [Key pros] | [Key cons] | [Reason] |

---

## Risk Assessment

### Key Risks and Mitigations

| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation |
|------|------------|--------|------------|
| [Risk 1] | [L/M/H] | [L/M/H] | [How we'll address it] |
| [Risk 2] | [L/M/H] | [L/M/H] | [How we'll address it] |

### What We've Stress-Tested
- Pre-mortem analysis: [X] failure scenarios examined
- Alternatives evaluation: [Y] options rigorously compared
- Assumption validation: [Key assumptions verified]

### Exit Criteria
If the following occur, we will revisit this decision:
- [Trigger 1]
- [Trigger 2]

---

## Success Metrics

| Metric | Current State | Target | Timeline |
|--------|---------------|--------|----------|
| [Metric 1] | [Baseline] | [Goal] | [When] |
| [Metric 2] | [Baseline] | [Goal] | [When] |

### How We'll Know It's Working
[Leading indicators, checkpoints, review schedule]

---

## The Ask

**Decision needed:** [Specific approval requested]

**Resources required:**
- [Resource 1]: [Amount/duration]
- [Resource 2]: [Amount/duration]

**Timeline:**
- Decision needed by: [Date]
- Implementation start: [Date]
- First checkpoint: [Date]

**Next steps if approved:**
1. [Immediate action 1]
2. [Immediate action 2]
3. [Immediate action 3]

---

*This business case was developed through a structured decision process including problem framing, option exploration, assumption testing, contrarian analysis, and synthesis. Full decision documentation available at: [link to decision artifact]*

Save Location

docs/decisions/YYYY-MM-DD-<decision-slug>/advocacy/business-case.md

Create the advocacy/ subdirectory within the decision folder to keep advocacy materials organized alongside the decision artifact.

Exit Criteria

• Audience clearly identified
• Format appropriate to audience and context
• Argument structured with all five components
• Persuasion principles applied
• Quality checklist passed
• Document saved to advocacy folder

Writing Style

Apply deliberate-decisions:writing-style throughout.

Artifact	Style
Executive briefing	Shortform - 1 page, front-load decision, clear CTA
Business case	Longform - structured sections, tables, evidence-based
Team communication	Shortform - bullets, rationale-focused

Key principles:

• Active voice, strong verbs
• Quantify claims with concrete numbers
• Tables for comparisons, bullets for lists
• End every section with clear next steps

Related Skills

• writing-style - Apply to all output artifacts
• decision-capture - Must be completed before advocacy
• decision-detraction - Counter-skill for generating challenges
• contrarian-analysis - Source material for addressing objections

Usage Notes

This is not about winning arguments. It's about clearly communicating a well-made decision to stakeholders who need to understand or approve it.

Draw from the decision process. The rigor is your credibility. Reference the alternatives considered, the risks assessed, the assumptions tested.

Tailor relentlessly. A business case for the CFO looks different from a team announcement. Rewrite, don't just reformat.

Be honest about uncertainties. Overselling undermines trust. Acknowledge what you don't know while expressing confidence in the process.