Claude strategy skills that frame the right question first
Ten Claude strategy skills that force the question before the analysis. Each skill is a markdown file you upload to a Claude project once. Claude follows the embedded workflow on every engagement from that point forward, starting with the decision question rather than jumping to outputs.
Free skills and prompts for Claude and strategy work
Templates for Claude, ChatGPT and Perplexity — from diagnostics to board-ready decks.
Why the question comes before the analysis
The most common failure in strategy work is not analytical. It is definitional. Teams work hard on the wrong problem because no one forced the question before analysis began. A messy brief produces misaligned analysis. Misaligned analysis produces a presentation that cannot answer the question the decision-maker is actually holding.
A strategy deck fails in its first slide when the question it answers is not the question that needs answering. The framing error is invisible to the team because they were too close to the brief to notice the shift. The audience notices immediately.
The fix is upstream. Locking the decision question before any slide or model is built determines every choice that follows: which branches of the issue tree matter, which data to gather, which options to evaluate, and which objections to prepare for. No amount of analytical quality compensates for a wrongly framed question at the start.
Claude skills enforce this sequence. Each skill file contains a structured analytical workflow. Upload it to a Claude project once, and Claude reads the instruction set and follows it for every subsequent conversation in that context. The skill does not let Claude skip to outputs until the framing step is complete. You prompt with the brief, the data, and the decision at stake. Claude applies the framework, in order.
The ten skills below cover five moments in the sequence from raw brief to boardroom recommendation. The first moment is framing the right question. The rest depend on getting that first moment right.
Claude strategy skills that frame the right question first: 5 moments, 10 skills
The skills are organized into five moments that mirror the sequence of a structured strategy engagement. Each moment has two skills: one that produces the core analytical artifact and one that deepens or stress-tests it. Below is what each skill does and why it matters.
Lock the decision question
Problem Diagnosis
Takes the raw engagement brief and identifies the gap between the presenting problem and the real decision. Separates symptom from underlying cause. Produces a diagnosis the team can agree on before any analytical direction is set.
Decision Question Formulation
Converts the diagnosis into one precise, bounded decision question. Tests whether the question is answerable, observable, and scoped to a clear time horizon. Output: one sentence the entire team anchors to for the duration of the engagement.
Map where value sits
Profit Pool Mapping
Structures the market into segments and identifies where economic value is concentrated across those segments. Output: a ranked view of where the money sits and the structural reasons why.
White Space Analysis
Maps the intersection between where value is concentrated and where competitive intensity is low. Output: the addressable opportunity the original question is usually pointing at.
Evaluate trade-offs with rigor
Options Generation
Builds a structured set of distinct strategic options against the decision criteria. Each option is internally coherent and genuinely different from the others. Avoids the common failure of presenting variations on one idea as separate choices.
Trade-Off and Economics Evaluation
Scores each option on economic impact, implementation difficulty, and strategic defensibility. Identifies the assumptions each option depends on most. Output: the move you can defend and the conditions under which the ranking changes.
Pressure-test the logic
Hostile Q&A Simulation
Generates the sharpest objections a skeptical senior stakeholder would raise about the recommendation. Each objection is paired with the evidence gap or logical weakness it points to. Output: a list of objections the team must answer before the presentation.
Assumption Stress-Test
Identifies the 3 to 4 assumptions the recommendation depends on most heavily. Runs adverse cases on each: what happens to the conclusion if that assumption is wrong. Output: a clear view of where the argument is fragile and what the team must be able to demonstrate.
Structure the final story
Pyramid Principle Storyline
Structures the final recommendation as a Pyramid Principle argument: situation, complication, key question, answer. Produces a logical sequence a senior stakeholder can follow without reading every supporting slide.
Executive Summary Construction
Drafts the single-page summary that a C-suite audience reads before the full deck. Answer-first. Structured to survive being read in isolation and still convey the complete recommendation.
Note. The skills work independently. You do not need all ten on every engagement. The Problem Diagnosis and Decision Question Formulation skills are the highest-leverage pair for scoping work. The Pyramid Principle Storyline and Hostile Q&A skills can be activated at the output stage without running the earlier skills. Use what the situation requires.
For teams working on hypothesis-driven analysis, the MECE issue tree skill is a standalone resource that works alongside the Profit Pool Mapping and White Space Analysis skills. It provides a structured decomposition of the decision question that the mapping skills then populate with market data.
How to build and activate the skills in Claude
Setup is straightforward. Skills are markdown files. Each file contains the structured workflow for one moment in the sequence. Upload them to a Claude project and they activate automatically for every conversation in that context.
Get the skill files
Download the skill markdown files from the Oria resource library. Each skill is a separate file corresponding to one moment in the framing-to-recommendation sequence.
Create a project in Claude for the engagement
Open Claude and create a new project. Projects maintain a persistent context across conversations, so the skills stay active for the full engagement duration. A new project per engagement keeps the context clean.
Upload the skill files to the project context
Add the relevant skill markdown files to the project. Claude reads them on load and treats the embedded workflows as instructions for every subsequent interaction. You do not need to re-upload or reference them in each conversation.
Provide the brief, data, and decision
Start a conversation with the engagement brief, the available data, and the decision at stake. Claude applies the skill workflow to what you give it, in the order the framework specifies. The Problem Diagnosis skill runs first and holds the analysis until the decision question is explicit.
Move through the moments in sequence
When the current moment is complete, activate the next skill. The output of one moment becomes the input for the next. The scoped decision question feeds the profit pool mapping. The map feeds the options generation. The evaluated options feed the hostile Q&A. The Q&A log feeds the storyline.
Tip. If you are new to Claude skills, start with just the Problem Diagnosis and Decision Question Formulation skills. Run one engagement with only those two active. The quality of the scoping output is immediately noticeable. Add the remaining skills once the framing workflow is embedded in the team's process.
For a complete view of how skills fit into an end-to-end strategy engagement, the consultant's guide to Claude covers the full workflow from problem framing through to final presentation, with concrete steps and prompts at each stage.
From structured output to board-ready slides
At the end of the ten-skill sequence, you have a complete analytical output: a scoped decision question, a profit pool map with white space identified, evaluated options with economics and risk scoring, a hostile Q&A log with prepared responses, and a Pyramid Principle storyline. Each of those artifacts maps directly to one or more slides.
Converting that structured output into a deck a board can read is where Oria handles the next step. Oria is an AI add-in that runs inside PowerPoint and takes a rough outline or detailed text and produces fully editable, on-brand slides with the dense, multi-element layouts that strategy work requires: option comparison grids, initiative roadmaps, executive summary layouts, and Pyramid Principle narrative structures. Every element is native PowerPoint and stays editable after generation.
The division of labor is clean. Claude handles the analytical work. Oria handles the visual output.
Claude handles
- Decision question scoping and problem diagnosis
- Profit pool mapping and white space identification
- Options generation and trade-off evaluation
- Hostile Q&A simulation and assumption stress-testing
- Pyramid Principle storyline and executive summary
Oria handles
- Converting structured output to slide layouts
- Option comparison grids and evaluation matrices
- Initiative roadmaps and timeline visuals
- Executive summary and Pyramid Principle slide structures
- On-brand, fully editable PowerPoint output
Frequently asked questions
Do I need all 10 skills on every engagement?
No. Each skill works independently. The Problem Diagnosis and Decision Question Formulation skills are valuable on their own even if the rest of the workflow stays manual. For shorter projects, the Pyramid Principle Storyline and Hostile Q&A skills can be activated at the output stage without running the earlier skills. Use what the situation requires.
What is a Claude skill and how is it different from a prompt?
A Claude skill is a markdown file containing a structured analytical workflow. When you upload it to a Claude project, Claude reads the instruction set and follows it for every subsequent interaction in that session. A prompt is a one-off instruction. A skill is a persistent workflow that activates automatically every time you start a conversation in the project.
Which skills matter most if I only have time for a few?
The two most high-leverage skills in the sequence are Problem Diagnosis and Pyramid Principle Storyline. The first prevents the team from working on the wrong question. The second ensures the final output is structured for a senior audience. If you activate only two, start with those.
Can the skills handle proprietary data?
Yes. The skills are instruction sets, not data stores. They tell Claude how to process what you give it. You paste in your proprietary brief, market data, or draft analysis, and the skill applies the structured workflow to that material. Claude does not store or share what you provide.
What does Claude produce at the end of the sequence?
A complete analytical output: a scoped decision question, a profit pool map with white space identified, evaluated strategic options with economics and risk scoring, a hostile Q&A log with responses, and a Pyramid Principle storyline. The slides come separately. Oria converts the structured output into fully editable, board-ready PowerPoint slides inside your corporate template.