20 Claude Prompts for Business That Think Like a Strategist

<context> My company: [name, industry, size, core offering] Main competitors: [list 3-5 competitors] Our key differentiator: [what we do that others don't] Time horizon: [short-term tactical vs. long-term strategic] </context> <task> Analyze our competitive landscape: 1. Competitor positioning map (where each player sits on key dimensions) 2. Strengths and vulnerabilities for each competitor (be specific, not generic) 3. Market gaps — where demand exists but no one's serving it well 4. Threats — what could disrupt our position in the next [timeframe] 5. Strategic recommendations — 3 specific moves we should make, with reasoning </task> <constraints> - Base analysis on publicly available information and market patterns - Don't just list features — analyze strategic positioning and business models - Recommendations must be actionable by a company of our size and stage - Flag assumptions you're making so I can validate them </constraints>

<context> Company: [name and what we do] Industry: [industry and current trends] Stage: [startup / growth / mature] Recent changes: [any recent developments — new product, market shift, team change] </context> <task> Create a SWOT analysis that goes beyond the obvious: 1. Strengths — with evidence for each (not just "great team") 2. Weaknesses — honest assessment, including ones leadership might not want to hear 3. Opportunities — ranked by feasibility and impact 4. Threats — including ones that aren't on our radar yet For each quadrant, add: - "So what?" — what this means strategically - "Now what?" — one specific action to take </task> <constraints> - No generic points like "innovative culture" or "market competition" - Every item must be specific to our company and industry - Include at least one uncomfortable truth in Weaknesses - Opportunities should consider our actual resources (not just "enter new market") </constraints>

<context> Our company: [current business, strengths, resources] Target market: [the market we want to enter] Why now: [what's changed that makes this viable] Budget: [range we can invest] Timeline: [when we need to see results] </context> <task> Build a market entry strategy: 1. Market sizing (TAM, SAM, SOM with reasoning) 2. Entry approach (build vs. partner vs. acquire — with recommendation) 3. Beachhead — the specific segment we should target first and why 4. Go-to-market plan — first 90 days with specific milestones 5. Risks and mitigation strategies 6. Kill criteria — what signals tell us to exit or pivot </task> <constraints> - Be realistic about our starting position (new entrant, no brand recognition) - Milestones must be measurable, not "build awareness" - Include specific customer acquisition channels with estimated CAC - Kill criteria must be specific and time-bound </constraints>

<context> Company/team: [name] Quarter: [Q1/Q2/Q3/Q4 YYYY] Audience: [who will see this — board, leadership, team] Key metrics this quarter: [paste your numbers — revenue, growth, churn, etc.] </context> <task> Prepare a QBR narrative that covers: 1. Executive summary (3 sentences — results, context, outlook) 2. Key metrics vs. targets (with honest assessment of misses) 3. Wins — what worked and why (be specific) 4. Misses — what didn't work, root cause analysis, and corrective actions 5. Initiatives for next quarter (tied to lessons learned) 6. Asks — what you need from leadership to hit next quarter's targets </task> <constraints> - Lead with the narrative, not the numbers (numbers support the story) - Don't hide bad news — address misses head-on with root causes - Every initiative must have a clear owner and success metric - Keep the whole thing presentable in 10 minutes </constraints>

<context> Audience: [who will read this — CEO, board, investors, department heads] Decision at stake: [what needs to be decided based on this data] </context> <task> Turn this raw data/information into an executive summary: [paste data, notes, findings, or analysis] Structure: 1. Bottom line (one sentence — what's the answer?) 2. Key findings (3-5 bullets, most important first) 3. Supporting evidence (brief — the highlights, not the full dataset) 4. Implications (what does this mean for the business?) 5. Recommended action (what should we do, with timeline) </task> <constraints> - Maximum 1 page (under 400 words) - Lead with the conclusion, not the methodology - Use numbers, not adjectives ("revenue grew 23%" not "revenue grew significantly") - If the data is ambiguous, say so — don't present uncertain conclusions as certain - Include one sentence on what data we're missing that would strengthen the analysis </constraints>

<context> Proposal: [what you want to do] Requester: [your name and role] Approver: [who decides] Budget needed: [amount or range] </context> <task> Build a business case document: 1. Problem statement — what's costing us money or opportunity today? 2. Proposed solution — what we want to do (brief) 3. Financial analysis — costs, expected returns, payback period 4. Risk assessment — what could go wrong and how we mitigate it 5. Alternatives considered — at least 2, with reasons for rejection 6. Implementation timeline — milestones and resource needs 7. Success metrics — how we'll know it worked </task> <constraints> - Financial projections must show assumptions clearly - Include a conservative, expected, and optimistic scenario - Alternatives must be genuinely considered (not strawmen) - Success metrics must be measurable within [timeframe] - Keep it under 2 pages — if the approver needs more detail, they'll ask </constraints>

<context> Meeting with: [person/company name and their role] Purpose: [what this meeting is about] My goal: [what I want to achieve] Background: [any relevant context — previous interactions, their company situation, our relationship] </context> <task> Prepare a meeting brief: 1. Their likely priorities and concerns (based on their role and situation) 2. 3 key points I should make (ordered by importance) 3. Questions I should ask (that show I've done my homework) 4. Potential objections and how to address them 5. Ideal outcome and a fallback position 6. One opening line that sets the right tone </task> <constraints> - Be specific to this person and situation, not generic meeting advice - Questions should surface useful information, not just fill silence - The fallback position should still advance my goals - Include one insight about their company/industry I can reference to build rapport </constraints>

<context> Company: [name, stage, sector] Board members: [brief description of who's on the board] Reporting period: [month/quarter] Key metrics: [paste the numbers] </context> <task> Write a monthly/quarterly board update email: 1. Opening — one sentence on the most important thing this period 2. Key metrics table — actuals vs. plan with color coding (🟢🟡🔴) 3. Highlights — 2-3 wins with context on why they matter 4. Challenges — honest assessment with what we're doing about it 5. Cash position and runway 6. Key hires or team updates 7. Asks from the board (introductions, advice, decisions) </task> <constraints> - Keep it under 500 words (board members are busy) - Metrics first, narrative second - Don't spin bad numbers — board members see through it - Every challenge must have an action plan attached - Asks must be specific: "I need an intro to [person] at [company]" not "please help with partnerships" </constraints>

<context> Decision to make: [describe the decision] Stakeholders: [who's affected] Timeline: [when this needs to be decided] Constraints: [budget, resources, political considerations] </context> <task> Help me think through this decision: 1. Frame the decision — what are we actually choosing between? 2. List the options (including "do nothing" if relevant) 3. For each option: pros, cons, risks, and second-order effects 4. Evaluation criteria — what matters most? (rank by importance) 5. Score each option against the criteria 6. Recommendation with reasoning 7. Pre-mortem: "If we choose [recommendation] and it fails, the most likely reason is..." </task> <constraints> - Don't present a fake balanced analysis — if one option is clearly better, say so - Second-order effects matter: what does each option make easier or harder in the future? - Include the emotional/political dimension, not just the rational one - The pre-mortem should be genuinely useful, not a throwaway </constraints>

<task> I'm planning to [describe your plan or decision]. I need you to be my devil's advocate. Here's the plan: [describe your plan in detail — the more detail, the better the critique] Challenge it: 1. What's the weakest assumption I'm making? 2. What's the most likely way this fails? 3. What am I not seeing because I'm too close to it? 4. What would a smart competitor do to counter this? 5. What does the "regret minimization" analysis say? (which failure mode would I regret most?) </task> <constraints> - Be genuinely challenging, not politely skeptical - Every criticism must be specific and actionable (not "you might want to think more about X") - Don't criticize just to criticize — if something is solid, say so - End with: "The plan is worth pursuing IF [conditions], but you should change [specific thing]" </constraints>

<context> What we need: [describe the problem we're solving] Options we're considering: [list 2-4 vendors/tools] Team size: [who will use this] Budget: [range] Must-haves: [non-negotiable requirements] Nice-to-haves: [important but flexible] </context> <task> Create a vendor evaluation matrix: 1. Evaluation criteria (weighted by importance) 2. Score each option on each criteria (1-5 with justification) 3. Total weighted scores 4. Hidden costs and gotchas for each option 5. Migration complexity for each (how hard to switch later?) 6. Recommendation with reasoning </task> <constraints> - Include vendor lock-in risk as a weighted criteria - Hidden costs should include: implementation time, training, integration, scaling costs - Don't just rank features — consider support quality, reliability, and company stability - If there's no clear winner, say so and explain what additional information would break the tie </constraints>

<context> Initiative: [describe what we're planning] Timeframe: [when this needs to be completed] Resources: [budget, team, tools] Stakeholders: [who's affected if this goes wrong] </context> <task> Conduct a risk assessment: 1. Identify risks across categories: technical, operational, financial, market, legal, people 2. For each risk: - Probability: Low / Medium / High - Impact: Low / Medium / High - Risk score (probability × impact) - Mitigation strategy - Early warning signals to monitor 3. Top 5 risks ranked by risk score 4. Contingency plan for the #1 risk (detailed) </task> <constraints> - Include risks we might be embarrassed to not have considered (not just obvious ones) - Mitigation strategies must be specific actions, not "monitor the situation" - Early warning signals must be measurable or observable - Don't catastrophize — focus on realistic risks, not theoretical worst cases </constraints> <format> Return as a table for items 1-3, then detailed narrative for items 4. </format>

<context> Project: [what you want to do] For: [who you're proposing to — client, leadership, stakeholder] Budget: [requested budget] Their priorities: [what they care most about] </context> <task> Write a project proposal: 1. Executive summary (3 sentences — problem, solution, expected outcome) 2. Problem statement — what's not working today and what it's costing 3. Proposed approach — what we'll do, broken into phases 4. Timeline — realistic milestones with deliverables 5. Budget breakdown — where the money goes 6. Expected outcomes — specific, measurable results 7. Why us — what makes us the right team for this (brief, not boastful) 8. Next steps — what you need from them to move forward </task> <constraints> - Lead with their problem, not our solution - Budget should be transparent (no hidden costs or vague "TBD" line items) - Timeline should include buffer for the unexpected - Outcomes must be measurable: "increase X by Y% within Z months" - Keep under 2 pages — this is a proposal, not a dissertation </constraints>

<context> Company/product: [what you offer] Target audience: [who you're pitching to in this context] Situation: [e.g. investor meeting, networking event, sales call] Key differentiator: [the one thing that makes you different] </context> <task> Write 3 elevator pitches (30 seconds each): 1. Problem-led: Start with the pain point 2. Result-led: Start with what customers achieve 3. Story-led: Start with a specific customer example (anonymized) For each, include: - The pitch (under 75 words) - The natural follow-up question it should provoke - How to answer that follow-up </task> <constraints> - No buzzwords: "leverage," "synergy," "disrupt," "innovative" - Must be speakable (write for the ear, not the eye) - The follow-up question should be one that leads to a deeper conversation - Each pitch should feel different, not just reorganized </constraints>

<context> Our company: [what we do and our strengths] Potential partner: [their company and what they do] Partnership idea: [what we want to do together] Mutual benefit: [why this is good for both sides] </context> <task> Write a partnership proposal: 1. Opening — why we're reaching out (specific, not "we love your company") 2. The opportunity — what we could build together 3. Why it works — what each side brings to the table 4. Proposed structure — roles, responsibilities, revenue/value split 5. Proof of concept — a small, low-risk first step to test the partnership 6. Next steps — specific meeting request with proposed agenda </task> <constraints> - Frame it as mutual benefit, not "we need you" - The proof of concept should be executable in under 30 days - Be specific about what we're asking them to commit - Include success metrics for the proof of concept - Keep it under 1 page — this is a conversation starter, not a contract </constraints>