Memo Stress Tester

---
name: memo-stress-tester
type: domain
family: rhetorician
rigor: standard
description: "Use when evaluating business documents for structural integrity and persuasive logic."
keywords: "business-writing, memos, stress-testing, clarity, structure, briefing"
compatibility: "Claude Code and compatible agent products"
requires: []
enhances: ["non-fiction-precision", "prd-writing", "executive-briefing"]
sources_pdf: ["The Pyramid Principle (Minto)", "The Effective Executive (Drucker)", "Working Backwards (Bryar)"]
sources_web: ["Amazon 6-pager methodology", "Completed Staff Work doctrine"]
---

## Overview
Memo stress-testing is the rigorous evaluation of a business document's "readiness" for executive decision-making. It identifies logical gaps, unproven assertions, and "half-baked" ideas. By applying the Amazon narrative standard, Minto's pyramid logic, and the doctrine of Completed Staff Work, it ensures that a document is a self-contained tool for strategic action rather than a draft for the boss to finish.

## Guiding Principles

### Principle 1: Completed Staff Work (Source: Web, Completed Staff Work Doctrine)
Study, write, restudy, and rewrite until you have evolved a single proposed action. The "Chief" should only need to approve or disapprove. If the superior has to do more research or thinking, the staff work is incomplete.

### Principle 2: The Self-Contained Narrative (Source: Bryar, Working Backwards)
A memo must stand on its own without a supporting presentation. It should be a narrative that forces better thinking and allows for deep, silent reading. If the document relies on "hallway context" or a presenter's explanation, it fails the stress test.

### Principle 3: MECE Validation (Source: Minto, The Pyramid Principle)
Every group of supporting points must be **Mutually Exclusive** (no overlaps) and **Collectively Exhaustive** (no gaps). If points in a list overlap, the logic is "fuzzy." If a key driver is missing, the document is fragile.

### Principle 4: Contribution over Effort (Source: Drucker, The Effective Executive)
The memo must focus on the *results* and *contribution* to the organization, not the effort centers (costs/internal processes). An effective memo identifies what needs to be *done* to move the needle on the outside environment.

### Principle 5: The "Answer First" Order (Source: Minto, The Pyramid Principle)
Never build a "logical crescendo" where the recommendation is at the end. State the conclusion first, then support it. Executives are paid to make decisions; don't make them wait for page 6 to see what they are deciding.

## When to Use This Skill
- Before submitting a proposal to senior leadership.
- Reviewing a peer's PRD or strategic brief.
- Auditing a document after a meeting resulted in "no decision" or "more research needed."
- Compressing a long report into a "one-pager."

## When NOT to Use This Skill
- Brainstorming/Ideation phases where logic is still fluid.
- Informal updates or status reports that don't require a decision.

## Core Process

### Step 1: The "Completed Staff Work" Audit (Source: Web)
Ask: "If I presented this to the CEO today, could they say 'Yes' or 'No' and be done with it?"
- If the answer is "We need to look into X," the memo fails.
- Identify every "To-Do" that the memo implicitly leaves for the reader.

### Step 2: The SCQ Logic Check (Source: Minto, The Pyramid Principle)
Validate the structural arc:
1. **Situation:** Is the context universally agreed upon?
2. **Complication:** Is the "trigger" for the document clear?
3. **Question:** Does the document answer the *actual* question raised by the complication?

### Step 3: The MECE Stress Test (Source: Minto, The Pyramid Principle)
Look at every bulleted list or set of supporting points:
- **Overlap check:** Is Point A actually a subset of Point B?
- **Gap check:** Is there a "missing middle" that invalidates the conclusion?
- **Consistency check:** Are all points in the group of the same "kind"?

### Step 4: The Amazon "Narrative" Pass (Source: Bryar, Working Backwards)
Replace "PowerPoint logic" (fragments/lists) with narrative prose. 
- Does the document follow a causal sequence?
- Are the metrics "input-based" (controllable) rather than just "output-based" (revenue/growth)?
- Does it anticipate and answer the 5-10 most likely "Frequently Asked Questions"?

### Step 5: The Drucker "Contribution" Filter (Source: Drucker, The Effective Executive)
Review the "Ask":
- Does it focus on the organization's performance in the *outside* environment?
- Does it explicitly state the trade-offs (what we will *not* do)?

## Frameworks & Models

### Amazon 6-Pager Structure (Source: Bryar, Working Backwards)
1. **Introduction:** Purpose and scope.
2. **Goals/Inputs:** What we are trying to achieve and the controllable inputs.
3. **Tenets:** The guiding principles for the decision.
4. **State of the Business:** Data and current context.
5. **Lessons Learned:** What we've discovered so far.
6. **Strategic Recommendation:** The "Completed Staff Work" action.

### The "Dissent" Rule (Source: Drucker, The Effective Executive)
A memo is stress-tested when it includes the strongest possible counter-argument. If the document shows "total consensus" without acknowledging the risks or alternatives, the decision is likely to be a "resulting" error.

## Cross-Skill Invocations
REQUIRED SUB-SKILL: **non-fiction-precision** — to ensure the prose is clear enough to be tested.
RECOMMENDED SUB-SKILL: **assumption-audit** — to validate the data behind the logic.

## Common Mistakes
1. **The "Wait for It" Recommendation:** Burying the lead at the end of the document. (Source: Minto)
2. **The "Check-In" Memo:** Asking the boss "What do you think?" instead of "I recommend X because Y." (Source: Web, Completed Staff Work)
3. **Indiscriminate Detail:** Including a thousand details that *don't* add up to one impression. (Source: McPhee/Drucker)

## Diagnostic Checklist
- [ ] Is there a specific, actionable recommendation?
- [ ] Does the memo answer "Why now?" and "Why us?"
- [ ] Are all supporting points MECE (Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive)?
- [ ] Is the document self-contained (no presentation required)?
- [ ] Has the strongest counter-argument been addressed?

## Sources
- Minto, Barbara. *The Pyramid Principle*. Ch. 1-3 (Logic and Structure).
- Drucker, Peter. *The Effective Executive*. Ch. 3 (Contribution), Ch. 7 (Effective Decisions).
- Bryar, Colin. *Working Backwards*. Ch. 5 (Narratives/6-Pagers).
- Wikipedia. "Completed Staff Work".