Coaching practices for How to Identify Risks Before Deciding
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For How to Identify Risks Before Deciding, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I’m excited about this plan and so committed to it that I can’t honestly see what might sink it
- I’ve ended up with this huge list of everything that could go wrong and now I’m just frozen by it
- Whenever my team sits down to spot risks, the most senior or loudest person says the first thing and suddenly everyone’s nodding along to the same two concerns
- I’m about to commit to this plan and on paper it looks solid, but a quiet part of me suspects I’m too sold on it to see the holes
- I always seem to realize a thing is going off the rails only once I’m in way too deep to back out
Practices that may help
- Run a premortem before committing
Imagine the decision has already failed — then ask why.
Thinking in Bets - Rate each failure by likelihood and impact
Turn the raw failure list into a prioritized set of risks to mitigate.
The Pre-Mortem: Imagine It Already Failed - Write reasons independently before discussing
Everyone records failure causes alone first, so the room doesn’t converge too soon.
The Pre-Mortem: Imagine It Already Failed - The premortem (imagine the project already failed)
Before starting, assume the plan has already failed and ask why — then fix it now.
Premeditatio Malorum, in Depth - Turn top risks into tripwires
Set a specific signal that tells you a feared failure is starting to happen.
The Pre-Mortem: Imagine It Already Failed - Run a mental simulation before committing to a course of action
Before acting on a recognized situation, mentally run through how your intended response plays out.
Recognition-Primed Decision Making - Run a pre-mortem before committing to a plan
Imagine the plan has already failed and ask what went wrong.
Confirmation Bias: Seeing What You Expect to See - Ask 'What am I missing?' before major decisions
Treat a confident feeling before a high-stakes decision as a cue to check what your competence map is omitting.
Circle of Competence - Fear-setting — define the downside before deciding
Write out the worst case, the probability of each item, and the recovery plan before any big decision.
Lifestyle Design, Made Practical - Distinguish risk from ambiguity before reacting
Label whether you’re facing known odds or genuinely unknown odds — the right tool depends on the answer.
Ambiguity Aversion — Why Unknown Odds Feel Worse Than Bad Odds
Related concerns
- Failure Modes Planning
Imagine the project has failed — then ask which base-rate failure type caused it.
Run a pre-mortem from the outside-view perspective
- When Pre Mortem Pair With Positive Vision
Balance failure analysis with an equally concrete picture of what success requires.
Pair the pre-mortem with a clear success vision
- When Recognition Primed Decision Mental Simulation Before Acting
Before acting on a recognized situation, mentally run through how your intended response plays out.
Run a mental simulation before committing to a course of action
- Forethought Phase Srl
Before starting, assume the plan has already failed and ask why — then fix it now.
The premortem (imagine the project already failed)
- How To Reduce Risk Of Failure
Turn the raw failure list into a prioritized set of risks to mitigate.
Rate each failure by likelihood and impact
- Pre Decision Research Checklist
Before acting on a recognized situation, mentally run through how your intended response plays out.
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