Strategy Brainstorming Assistant

1. Overview

The Strategy Brainstorming Assistant helps a consultant produce a set of strategic options and the associated risk factors for a client‑driven business challenge. It uses well‑known strategic frameworks to ensure the ideas are thorough, balanced, and documented in a ready‑to‑share format.

2. Business Value

• Accelerates ideation – provides a structured way to generate multiple options quickly.
• Ensures coverage – applying proven frameworks reduces the chance of overlooking important dimensions.
• Highlights risk – each option includes identified risk factors, helping the consultant anticipate challenges early.
• Delivers clear output – a concise report that can be shared directly with the client or internal team.

3. Operational Context

4. Inputs

4.1 Problem Statement

• Type: Text
• Details Provided: A clear, concise description of the business challenge, opportunity, or decision that requires strategic options.

4.2 Context Summary

• Type: Text
• Details Provided: Any relevant background such as industry trends, company size, recent changes, competitive landscape, or constraints that affect the decision.

4.3 Desired Frameworks (Optional)

• Type: List of text strings
• Details Provided: Names of strategic frameworks to be applied (e.g., “SWOT”, “PESTLE”, “Porter’s Five Forces”). If none are provided, the default set SWOT, PESTLE, and Porter’s Five Forces will be used.

4.4 Stakeholder List (Optional)

• Type: List of stakeholder entries

(Add one row for each stakeholder you wish the assistant to consider when identifying risks.)

4.5 Desired Output Format (Optional)

• Type: Text
• Possible Values: “Table” or “Bullet List”.
• Default: “Table”.

5. Outputs

5.1 Strategic Options Report

• Name/Label: Strategic Options Report

• Contents: For each strategic option generated, the report includes:

  • Option Name – a short, descriptive title.
  • Framework Used – the strategic framework that produced the option.
  • Rationale – why the option addresses the problem.
  • Advantages – key benefits of pursuing the option.
  • Disadvantages – key downsides or constraints.
  • Key Risks – a list of risk factors identified (each risk includes a brief description).

• Formatting Rules: Present each option as a row in a table (see “Table format” in Appendix C).

5.2 Risk Summary

• Name/Label: Risk Summary

• Contents: Consolidated list of the most significant risks across all options, grouped by risk category.

• Formatting Rules: Use a table with one row per risk category.

6. Detailed Plan & Execution Steps

1. Receive all inputs. Verify the presence of a Problem Statement. If missing, stop and flag for manual review.

2. Determine the framework set:

   a. If a Desired Frameworks list is provided, use those.

   b. If the list is empty or missing, default to SWOT, PESTLE, and Porter’s Five Forces.

3. Perform framework analysis (use the step‑by‑step guides in Appendix C):

   a. SWOT – list internal Strengths / Weaknesses and external Opportunities / Threats.

   b. PESTLE – examine Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental factors.

   c. Porter’s Five Forces – evaluate Supplier Power, Buyer Power, Threat of New entrants, Threat of Substitutes, and Competitive Rivalry.

4. Generate strategic options for each framework:

   a. Draft up to three (3) distinct options per framework (max nine total).

   b. For each option, write a concise Rationale, list Advantages and Disadvantages, and note Key Risks.

   c. Reference the Stakeholder List when identifying risks (e.g., “Finance” stakeholder is concerned about cash‑flow).

5. Consolidate and de‑duplicate:

   a. Combine all options into a single list.

   b. If two options are essentially the same (e.g., “Launch mobile app” vs. “Develop a mobile app”), merge them and keep the richer description.

6. Prioritize options (simple scoring):

   • Alignment with Problem Statement (High/Medium/Low).
   • Resource intensity (High/Medium/Low).
   • Risk level (sum of impact scores).

   Provide a ranking (1‑N) based on the highest alignment and lowest combined risk and resource intensity.

7. Create the Risk Summary:

   a. Review all Key Risks across options.

   b. Group them into the categories shown in the Risk Summary table.

   c. Assign an Impact rating (High/Medium/Low) based on the potential effect on the client’s goals.

   d. Suggest one mitigation for each.

8. Format output:

   • If Desired Output Format is “Table”, produce the tables exactly as shown in sections 5.1 and 5.2.

   • If “Bullet List”, convert each row into a bullet‑point block with the same information.

9. Deliver the Strategic Options Report and Risk Summary to the requesting consultant.

7. Validation & Quality Checks

If any check fails, mark the entire output as “Error – Validation Failure” and provide a brief description of the failing condition. No further output should be generated until the issue is resolved.

8. Special Rules / Edge Cases

9. Example

Input

• Problem Statement: Our client, a regional coffee chain with 10 stores, wants to increase market share by 15 % within the next 24 months.

• Context Summary: The chain operates in mid‑size towns, faces rising competition from specialty coffee shops, has moderate cash reserves, and is considering a digital transformation.

• Desired Frameworks: SWOT, PESTLE

• Stakeholder List:

  Name	Role
  Alice Johnson	Owner / Executive
  Carlos Ramirez	Store Operations Manager
  Priya Patel	Finance Director
  Maya Liu	Marketing Lead

• Desired Output Format: Table

Output

Strategic Options Report

Risk Summary

Appendix A – FAQ

Q1: What if the client wants more than three options per framework? A: The SOP caps at three per framework to keep the output digestible. If more options are needed, run the process again with a different focus (e.g., “focus on cost‑reduction” or “focus on growth”).

Q2: How do I handle a missing stakeholder list? A: The assistant will use generic stakeholder categories (Executive, Operations, Finance, Marketing) and note that the list is assumed. You can later replace the generic entries with actual names.

Q3: What if the client wants a “Bullet List” instead of a table? A: The assistant will re‑format each row as a bullet‑point block but retain all fields (option name, rationale, etc.) in the same order.

Q4: The client wants to prioritize “low‑risk” options. How should I interpret the “Impact” rating? A: Use the “Impact” column in the Risk Summary. Options with only Low or Medium impact across most categories can be flagged as “low‑risk”.

Q5: The client asks for a timeline for each option. A: The SOP does not generate a timeline. Add a “Timeline” column manually after receiving the report if needed.

Q6: What if a framework produces duplicate options? A: The SOP merges duplicates during Step 5. The merged entry retains the most comprehensive rationale and risk list.

Q7: How are the impact ratings decided? A: The assistant follows the guidelines in Appendix C (Risk Impact Guidelines). Use the scale: High (potential to derail the project), Medium (manageable but needs mitigation), Low (minimal effect).

Q8: I need the report in a PDF for the client. A: The SOP produces a table (or bullet list) as plain text. Convert it to a PDF using your standard document‑creation tool; the SOP does not generate files directly.

Q9: What if the problem statement is too vague? A: The assistant will flag it as “Insufficient detail” and request clarification before proceeding.

Q10: Can I add a new framework (e.g., “Blue Ocean”) to the process? A: Yes. Add the framework name to Desired Frameworks. The assistant will treat it as a “custom” framework and generate options using the generic approach described in Appendix C (Step‑by‑Step Guidance). If the framework is not recognized, it will be omitted and noted.

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Appendix B – Glossary

• Strategic Option: A distinct course of action that could help the client achieve a goal or address a problem.
• Risk Factor: A condition or event that could negatively affect the success of an option (e.g., financial loss, operational disruption).
• Framework: A structured method for analyzing a situation (e.g., SWOT, PESTLE).
• SWOT: Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.
• PESTLE: Evaluation of Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental factors.
• Porter’s Five Forces: Assessment of Supplier Power, Buyer Power, Threat of New Entrants, Threat of Substitutes, and Competitive Rivalry.
• Impact Rating: A qualitative rating (High, Medium, Low) indicating the potential severity of a risk.
• Stakeholder: Any person or group who can influence or be impacted by the strategic options.

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Appendix C – Reference Material

C1. Framework Summaries

C2. Step‑by‑Step Guidance for Each Framework

1. SWOT

1. List Strengths (e.g., strong brand, loyal customers).

2. List Weaknesses (e.g., limited digital presence).

3. List Opportunities (e.g., growing demand for specialty coffee).

4. List Threats (e.g., new competitor entering).

5. Generate options:

   • Leverage Strength + Opportunity → New option.
   • Mitigate Weakness → improvement option.
   • Counter Threat → defensive option.

2. PESTLE

1. Capture Political (e.g., upcoming regulation).

2. Capture Economic (e.g., recession risk).

3. Capture Social (e.g., rising health consciousness).

4. Capture Technological (e.g., rise of mobile ordering).

5. Capture Legal (e.g., new food safety laws).

6. Capture Environmental (e.g., sustainability expectations).

7. Generate options: For each factor that offers an opportunity, create an action; for each threat, create a mitigation or adaptation option.

3. Porter’s Five Forces

1. Supplier Power: Evaluate supplier concentration, switching cost.

2. Buyer Power: Evaluate customer price sensitivity.

3. Threat of New Entrants: Examine barriers (capital, regulation).

4. Threat of Substitutes: Identify alternative solutions.

5. Competitive Rivalry: Assess number and intensity of competitors.

6. Generate options:

   • Reduce Supplier Power → “Diversify supplier base”.
   • Increase Buyer Power → “Loyalty program”.
   • Mitigate New Entrants → “Strengthen brand”.
   • Counter Substitutes → “Innovate product”.

C3. Risk Identification Guidelines

How to assign Impact rating

C4. Output Formatting Guidelines

• Table Format: Use plain‑text tables with vertical bars (|) as shown in the examples. Ensure each column header appears exactly once and is separated by a row of hyphens (---).
• Bullet List Format: Use hyphens (-) for each bullet. Indent sub‑items with two spaces.
• Styling: Keep language neutral, professional, and concise. Avoid marketing hyperbole.
• Length: Aim for 3‑5 strategic options and 4‑6 risk entries, unless the problem scope explicitly requires more.

C5. Example Template for Report (Table)

C6. Example Template for Risk Summary (Table)

C7. Frequently Used Phrases (for consistency)

• “Potential” – used to denote a possible but not guaranteed effect.
• “Mitigation” – recommended action to reduce risk severity.
• “Rationale” – why an option is considered relevant.
• “Key” – indicates the most important element of a list (e.g., “Key Risks”).
• “Leverage” – to use an asset or advantage.
• “Address**” – to confront or solve a problem.

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