Pre-Mortems with Kill Criteria
Overview
An enhancement to the standard pre-mortem that moves beyond simply imagining failure to establishing pre-committed actions based on specific negative signals.
Core principle: Thinking about failure isn't enough; you must commit to actions BEFORE you see the signals.
The Process
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│ 1. MENTAL TIME TRAVEL │
│ Fast forward: Imagine the project has FAILED │
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│ 2. SIGNAL IDENTIFICATION │
│ "What early clues indicated the failure?" │
│ List specific, observable signals │
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│ 3. DEFINE KILL CRITERIA │
│ Convert clues into measurable thresholds │
│ Example: "CPA > $50" or "Customer won't demo" │
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│ 4. PRE-COMMITMENT │
│ Establish rule: "If [Criteria] occurs, we [Kill/Pivot]" │
│ Write it down and share with team │
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│ 5. ACTIVE MONITORING │
│ Scan for criteria during execution │
│ Act immediately when triggered │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Key Principles
| Principle | Description |
|---|---|
| Pre-commit | Lock in actions before rationalization kicks in |
| Signal focus | Identify correlates of failure, not just the failure itself |
| Prospective waste | Think about future waste, not sunk cost |
| Automatic triggers | When criteria hit, action is mandatory |
Common Mistakes
- Doing a pre-mortem but not changing the plan
- Identifying risks without setting a specific stop trigger
- Rationalizing signals when they appear ("it's different this time")
*Source: Annie Duke (First Round Capital, WSOP Champion) via Lenny's Podcast*