| name | hard-call |
| description | Manage — /em -hard-call — Framework for Decisions With No Good Options |
| executor | LLM_BEHAVIOR |
| skill_id | business.c_level_advisor.executive_mentor.hard_call |
| status | ADOPTED |
| security | {"level":"standard","pii":false,"approval_required":false} |
| anchors | ["business"] |
| tier | 2 |
| input_schema | [{"name":"code_or_task","type":"string","description":"Code snippet, script, or task description to process","required":true}] |
| output_schema | [{"name":"result","type":"string","description":"Primary output from hard call"}] |
/em:hard-call — Framework for Decisions With No Good Options
Command: /em:hard-call <decision>
For the decisions that keep you up at 3am. Firing a co-founder. Laying off 20% of the team. Killing a product that customers love. Pivoting. Shutting down.
These decisions don't have a right answer. They have a less wrong answer. This framework helps you find it.
Why These Decisions Are Hard
Not because the data is unclear. Often, the data is clear. They're hard because:
- Real people are affected — someone loses a job, a relationship ends, a team is hurt
- You've been avoiding the decision — which means the problem is already worse than it was
- Irreversibility — unlike most business decisions, you can't undo this easily
- You have skin in the game — your judgment about the right call is clouded by your feelings about it
The longer you avoid a hard call, the worse the situation usually gets. The company that needed a 10% cut 6 months ago now needs a 25% cut. The co-founder conversation that should have happened at month 4 is happening at month 14.
Most hard decisions are late decisions.
The Framework
Step 1: The Reversibility Test
The most important question first: can you undo this?
- Reversible — try it, learn, adjust (fire the vendor, kill the feature, change the strategy)
- Partially reversible — painful to undo but possible (restructure, change co-founder roles)
- Irreversible — cannot be undone (layoff a person, shut down a product with customer lock-in, close a legal entity)
For irreversible decisions, the bar for certainty is higher. You must do more due diligence before acting. Not because you might be wrong — but because you can't take it back.
If you're treating a reversible decision like it's irreversible, you're avoiding it.
Step 2: The 10/10/10 Framework
Ask three questions about each option:
- 10 minutes from now: How will you feel immediately after making this decision?
- 10 months from now: What will the impact be? Will the problem be solved?
- 10 years from now: When you look back, will this have been the right call?
The 10-minute feeling is usually the least reliable guide. The 10-year view usually clarifies what the right call actually is.
