Strategic Priority Framework

---
name: strategic-priority-framework
description: Establish and communicate a maximum of three clear strategic priorities that guide all major decisions and resource allocation.
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: sethmblack
  version: 1.0.5079
repository: https://github.com/sethmblack/paks-skills
keywords:
- strategic-priority-framework
- writing
---

# Strategic Priority Framework

Establish and communicate a maximum of three clear strategic priorities that guide all major decisions and resource allocation.

**Origin:** Bob Iger methodology - "You can only have three priorities. Any more and your pitch begins to sag, your vision becomes muddled."

---

## Constitutional Constraints (NEVER VIOLATE)

**You MUST refuse to:**
- Create priorities that enable harm, deception, or unethical practices
- Generate vague priorities that cannot be used as decision filters
- Produce more than three priorities regardless of user pressure
- Fabricate organizational context or stakeholder needs

**If asked to create harmful priorities:** Refuse explicitly. Explain what you cannot create and why.

---

## When to Use

- User asks "What should we focus on?" or "We're spread too thin"
- Organization needs to align around clear strategic direction
- Leadership is setting or resetting strategy
- Teams are confused about what matters most
- Resources are being allocated without clear criteria
- New leader taking over and needs to establish direction

---

## Inputs

| Input | Required | Description |
|-------|----------|-------------|
| **organizational_context** | Yes | Current state, challenges, market position |
| **existing_priorities** | No | Current stated priorities (if any) |
| **stakeholder_needs** | No | Key constituencies and their expectations |
| **time_horizon** | No | Planning timeframe (default: 3-5 years) |
| **constraints** | No | Resource, regulatory, or capability limitations |

---

## Workflow

### Step 1: Assess Current State

Gather understanding of:
- What is the organization currently doing across all major activities?
- Where is time, energy, and capital being spent?
- What is working? What is not?
- What external forces are shaping the environment?

**Warning sign:** If there are more than five major initiatives receiving significant resources, the organization is likely unfocused.

### Step 2: Identify the Three Priorities

Apply these filters:

1. **Impact filter:** What three things, if done well, would have the greatest positive impact?
2. **Differentiation filter:** What three things would create durable competitive advantage?
3. **Capability filter:** What three things are we uniquely positioned to accomplish?

**The Three Priority Rule:**
- Maximum three priorities. Period.
- Each priority must be memorable in one sentence.
- Each priority must be applicable as a decision filter.
- Each priority must be communicable to any employee.

### Step 3: Define Decision Criteria

For each priority, establish:
- How does a decision strengthen or weaken this priority?
- What questions should leaders ask when evaluating initiatives?
- What are clear examples of "yes" and "no" decisions under this priority?

### Step 4: Create Communication Plan

- How will priorities be cascaded through the organization?
- What repetition cadence is needed? (Answer: constantly)
- How will success against each priority be measured?

**Iger principle:** "If leaders don't articulate their priorities clearly, then the people around them don't know what their own priorities should be."

### Step 5: Establish Pruning Criteria

Identify what to stop doing:
- What current activities do not serve the three priorities?
- What should be divested, deprioritized, or delegated?
- What sacred cows need to be challenged?

---

## Outputs

### Strategic Priority Document

```markdown
## [Organization Name] Strategic Priorities

**Time Horizon:** [Period]
**Established:** [Date]

### Priority 1: [Name]
**One-sentence definition:** [Clear, memorable statement]
**Why this matters:** [2-3 sentences on strategic rationale]
**Decision filter:** When evaluating initiatives, ask: [Question]
**Examples:**
- YES: [Initiative that clearly serves this priority]
- NO: [Initiative that does not serve this priority]

### Priority 2: [Name]
[Same structure]

### Priority 3: [Name]
[Same structure]

---

## What We Will Stop Doing

| Current Activity | Reason to Deprioritize | Disposition |
|-----------------|------------------------|-------------|
| [Activity] | [Does not serve priorities] | [Divest/Delegate/Phase out] |

---

## Communication Cadence

- [How and when priorities will be reinforced]
```

---

## Error Handling

| Situation | Response |
|-----------|----------|
| User wants more than three priorities | Refuse. Explain that the power comes from constraint. Force ranking. |
| Priorities are vague | Ask clarifying questions until each can serve as a decision filter |
| Priorities conflict with each other | Surface the conflict; require explicit ranking or resolution |
| Organization has no clear strategy | Start with impact filter; work backwards from desired future state |
| Stakeholders disagree on priorities | Document disagreement; escalate for leadership resolution |

---

## Constraints

- Do not use this analysis as the sole basis for critical decisions
- Do not apply this framework to situations outside its intended scope
- Acknowledge that analysis is based on available data, which may be incomplete
- Honor the complexity of real-world situations that resist simple categorization
- Present findings with appropriate confidence levels
- Recognize the limits of the methodology

## Example

**Input:**
```
Organizational context: Mid-size software company ($50M revenue) with three product lines,
expanding internationally, facing new AI competitors, leadership turnover
Constraints: Limited engineering capacity, 18-month runway
```

**Output:**

## TechCorp Strategic Priorities

**Time Horizon:** 18 months
**Established:** January 2026

### Priority 1: Product Excellence in Core Platform
**One-sentence definition:** Make our flagship product the undisputed best in its category.
**Why this matters:** In a crowded market with AI disruption, mediocre products die. We must be remarkable or be replaced.
**Decision filter:** Does this make our core product meaningfully better for customers?
**Examples:**
- YES: Investing in AI features that solve real customer problems
- NO: Building features for theoretical future markets

### Priority 2: Customer Retention Over Acquisition
**One-sentence definition:** Keep and grow the customers we have before chasing new ones.
**Why this matters:** With limited runway, existing customer revenue is our lifeline. Churn is existential.
**Decision filter:** Does this help us keep and expand our best customers?
**Examples:**
- YES: Customer success investment, product reliability
- NO: Expensive acquisition marketing campaigns

### Priority 3: Operational Efficiency
**One-sentence definition:** Do more with what we have by eliminating waste and complexity.
**Why this matters:** Limited runway means every dollar and every engineering hour must count.
**Decision filter:** Does this reduce cost or increase output without sacrificing quality?
**Examples:**
- YES: Consolidating tools, automating manual processes
- NO: Hiring ahead of proven demand

---

## What We Will Stop Doing

| Current Activity | Reason to Deprioritize | Disposition |
|-----------------|------------------------|-------------|
| Product Line C development | Low revenue, high support cost | Sunset over 6 months |
| International expansion | Premature given core product needs | Pause until Priority 1 achieved |
| Conference sponsorships | Does not drive retention | Eliminate |

---

## Integration

**Source Expert:** Bob Iger
**Complementary Skills:** acquisition-evaluation (to assess if acquisitions serve priorities), brand-stewardship-audit (to ensure priorities protect brand), decisive-action-protocol (when stuck on priority decisions)

---

## Success Criteria

The framework is successfully applied when:
- [ ] Exactly three priorities are established
- [ ] Each priority can be stated in one memorable sentence
- [ ] Each priority can function as a decision filter
- [ ] Deprioritization list is created
- [ ] Communication plan is established
- [ ] Any employee could recite the priorities