AI Blocks › Think it through and decide
Problem-solving plan
Paste a problem that keeps coming back. Get it run through goal, problem, cause, design and doing.
Problem-solving plan is a free AI prompt for the job "Think it through and decide". Give the instructions to an AI assistant that supports the required files and tools, then review its output.
Free · No account · Made by AI Blocks · Level: beginner
What it does
Some problems come up in every meeting and never get solved, because each time the group starts from a different place: one person wants to fix the symptom, another wants to blame someone, a third is not sure what the goal was. Ray Dalio's public method is to walk the same five steps every time and write each one down. This prompt runs your problem through those steps. It fixes the goal in one line, states the problem as a repeated gap with your examples, and diagnoses the cause by going at least two levels past the first answer, naming roles doing or not doing things rather than people at fault. It designs the change that removes the cause, with the rule that would have prevented your examples, and lays out the doing with a person and date per step and a check for when the problem has stopped. It…
You give it
- The problem with two or three dated examples
- The goal it blocks
- What has been tried (advised)
- Who is involved, as roles (optional)
You get
- The five steps written out
- A root cause typed as step, skill, owner, incentive or design, with guesses marked
- A design with an owner and the rule that would have prevented it
- Doing steps with dates, a check, and a principle
Use it when
- The same problem is on the agenda for the third month.
- A fix was tried and the problem came back.
- You want to hand a problem to someone with a method, not a mood.
How to use it
- Copy the prompt, then paste it into Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini with the problem under it.
- Give dated examples. The diagnosis is only as good as they are.
- Read 3 DIAGNOSIS. If it is a guess you know is wrong, say so and run again.
- Put the DOING steps in your task tool and the PRINCIPLE in your team's rules.