Pre-mortem

What it is

Imagine it failed, then ask why. Your mentee pictures the plan failed a year from now and lists the reasons.

When to send it

Send it before the plan starts. It helps most while the plan can still change.

• Before a launchwhile there is time to adjust
• Before a big commitmenta hire, a lease, a raise
• When everyone is suremake doubts easy to say

Filling it in

Fifteen minutes, in four steps. Write the plan and the reasons, rate them, then plan for three.

1. Write why it failedWrite as if it already happened, one reason per line.
2. Rate and place each reasonTop right on the grid means likely and damaging.
3. Plan for the top threeSay what you will do and the early warning sign.

Reading the answers

Start in the top-right corner. Risks that are both likely and damaging need a plan before anything else.

• Top riskthe highest likelihood times damage
• High risksa score of 16 or more out of 25
• Early warning signswhat they will watch for

Questions to ask

Ask, then ask once more. People who ask follow-up questions are liked more (Huang and others, 2017).

• Which reason was hardest to write down?then: why that one?
• Which risks are in your hands?then: and which are not?
• Which warning sign will you check first?then: and when?

Why it works

The idea is simple: once failure is treated as a fact, its reasons are easier to say out loud. It is a reflection exercise, not a guarantee.

Sources

• Klein, G. (2007). Performing a project premortem. Harvard Business Review 85(9):18–19.
• Mitchell, Russo & Pennington (1989). Back to the future: Temporal perspective in the explanation of events. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 2(1):25–38.

How a tool works on Mentornity

1. 1The mentor picks a tool from the library and sends it with a short message.
2. 2The mentee fills it in step by step; the answers are saved as they go.
3. 3Both see the answers, comment on any part and agree the next steps.
4. 4Only the two of them see the answers, not the program admins.

Guides for both sides

• Pre-mortem for MentorsFor mentors and coaches: when to send the Pre-mortem, how to read the risks, which questions to ask and how to agree a warning sign to watch.
• Pre-mortem for MenteesFor mentees and founders: what the Pre-mortem is, how to fill it in, where to find it and what your mentor does with it.

More tools: Venture

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All tools →