An example, in full

The Decision Memo

The call, the reasoning behind it, and the numbers to check.

3 pages · Northwind · produced by the engine, not retouched
Every page below is the real output of one run. Names and figures belong to an example engagement; each sheet is stamped as such.
The decision

Whether to commit the product, GTM resources, and success model to the enterprise segment or the SMB segment — and retire the other as a primary growth bet.

The call

Force the Segment Decision

This is the only path that forces the decision the company keeps deferring — commit to SMB or to enterprise — instead of feeding the debate with more analysis.

Impact8
Effort2
Risk4
It stands on one assumption

And one thing would end it

If it holds

Departing SMB customers gave specific enough reasons that complexity can be cleanly separated from price. The 90-day plan proceeds — 16 tasks, day 0 to 90.

The tripwire

If the exit reasons come back mixed or mostly about price rather than a clear complexity majority, the ambiguity isn't resolved.

Test it before you commit

48 hours, no new data

Ask the heads of product, sales, and customer success in separate conversations to name the primary target customer and the metric that defines success for that customer.

The options

Four paths, one taken

AForce the Segment DecisionTaken
Impact8
Effort2
Risk4

What it costs: This option explicitly defers feature adoption mapping, enterprise pipeline assessment.

BContained SMB Simplification Pilot
Impact7
Effort4
Risk3

Why not: This option does not resolve leadership's strategic ambiguity or establish segment governance.

CEnterprise Bet Validation First
Impact7
Effort3
Risk5

Why not: This option delays the fastest path to SMB churn diagnosis — trading immediate validation of the complexity hypothesis for evidence of whether the.

RSplit the ProductReframe
Impact9
Effort8
Risk8

Argued against: Splitting the product doubles the roadmap while the diagnosis is untested — the evidence does not yet say which segment the core serves best.

The ninety days

Sixteen tasks, three windows

Days 0–307

Retrieve, code, and validate SMB churn signal; run parallel enterprise and feature-adoption audits.

  • T1Retrieve and audit all SMB exit interview records from the past 6 months
  • T2Code churned SMB exit interviews by primary reason using predefined taxonomy
  • T3Audit SMB-tier adoption of the three new enterprise features to quantify friction exposure
  • T4Validate complexity coding against product usage telemetry for the complexity-coded cohort
  • T5Synthesize churn findings into a binding decision brief and present to leadership
  • T6Assess enterprise pipeline health — win rates, deal velocity, and competitive loss reasons — over the past two quarters
  • T7Define the plan-invalidation rule: document what churn signal outcome triggers fallback to enterprise-first path
Days 30–605

Translate the leadership segment decision into a written feature triage framework and kill criteria.

  • T8Document feature-to-segment mapping matrix and formal kill criteria
  • T9Brief sales and CS leadership on segment strategy decision and update qualification playbook
  • T10Audit current feature backlog against kill criteria and produce disposition table
  • T11Establish a 30-day SMB churn monitoring dashboard to detect whether churn rate responds to early actions
  • T12Conduct a governance checkpoint: confirm segment decision is holding and no backlog drift has occurred
Days 60–904

Measure whether the strategy is working, lock in structural governance before the next feature planning cycle.

  • T13Produce a 60-day outcome report comparing SMB churn rate, enterprise win rate, and backlog compliance versus pre-intervention baselines
  • T14Document the explicit treatment plan for the non-primary segment
  • T15Embed kill criteria review as a standing agenda item in the recurring product planning process
  • T16Conduct day-75 leadership review: determine whether 90-day plan achieved its forcing-function objective or requires a follow-on phase
What would change this answer

The call holds in two of five scenarios

HIGH

Departing SMB customers gave reasons specific enough that complexity separates cleanly from price.

Watch for: Coded exits come back mixed — price and complexity both near 40%, or a third of records land in “other”.

MEDIUM

Leadership will treat the churn data as binding once it is delivered.

Watch for: The decision meeting ends without a documented commitment and is rescheduled.

MEDIUM

At least 20 usable exit-interview records exist from the past six months.

Watch for: The first-week retrieval returns fewer than 20 codable records.

LOW

Enterprise pipeline health is knowable from existing CRM data within two weeks.

Watch for: The two-week diagnostic slips because win-rate and velocity have to be reconstructed by hand.

Start regardless
  • Retrieve and code the last six months of SMB exit interviews
  • Name a single accountable owner for the segment decision
  • Baseline adoption for the three new enterprise features
The Premis™ Brief
The Decision
Whether to commit the product, GTM resources, and success model to the enterprise segment or the SMB segment — and retire the other as a primary growth bet.
Prepared for
The DecisionGenerated July 29, 2026
Example — Not a Client Engagement© 2026 The Premis™ Brief · ID c91c704a
01 · THE DECISION
The call
This is the only path that forces the decision the company keeps deferring
IT STANDS ON ONE ASSUMPTION — AND ONE THING WOULD END IT
IF IT HOLDS
Departing SMB customers gave specific enough reasons that complexity can be cleanly separated from price. The 90-day plan proceeds — 16 tasks, day 0 to 90.
THE TRIPWIRE
If the exit reasons come back mixed or mostly about price rather than a clear complexity majority, the ambiguity isn't resolved.
TEST IT BEFORE YOU COMMIT — 48 HOURS, NO NEW DATA
Ask the heads of product, sales, and customer success in separate conversations to name the primary target customer and the metric that defines success for that customer.
THE OPTIONS, IN ONE LINE EACH
A · TAKENForce the Segment Decision — This option explicitly defers feature adoption mapping, enterprise pipeline assessment.8 · 2 · 4
BContained SMB Simplification Pilot — This option does not resolve leadership's strategic ambiguity or establish segment governance7 · 4 · 3
CEnterprise Bet Validation First — This option delays the fastest path to SMB churn diagnosis7 · 3 · 5
R · REFRAMESplit the Product — Splitting the product doubles the roadmap while the diagnosis is untested9 · 8 · 8
WHERE THIS READING CAME FROM
1/3
Key drivers quoted from your own material
2/3
Inferred by the engine — verify before acting
4
Evidence gaps named up front, not papered over
THE TWO TO CHECK
Segment decision-rights clarity · Enterprise deal velocity trend — neither appears in the material you supplied.
IN CIRCULATION FORM
The Decision Memo carries this page and the ninety days in three pages — for whoever has to act on the call without reading the argument behind it.
The Premis™ BriefEXAMPLE · c91c704a · 01 / 03
02 · THE DECISION
Whether this worked turns on four numbers — and three of them are not measured today.
Whether this worked turns on these numbers.
SMB exit interview reason-code concentration
TodayUnknown
Has to reachMore than 60% of departing SMBs citing complexity within 7 days
SMB monthly churn rate by cohort
TodayRising
Has to reachChurn rate for pre-feature cohort stabilizes or declines within 90 days
Feature adoption rate for the three new enterprise features
TodayUnknown
Has to reachAdoption rate mapped and baselined within 30 days
Days to leadership segment decision from exit interview delivery
TodayNo decision made
Has to reachFormal segment decision
The ninety days, in one line each.
DAYS 0-30D · 7
Retrieve, code, and validate SMB churn signal; run parallel enterprise and feature-adoption audits.
DAYS 30-60D · 5
Translate the leadership segment decision into a written feature triage framework and kill criteria.
DAYS 60-90D · 4
Measure whether the strategy is working, lock in structural governance before the next feature planning.
T1–T2
Retrieve and audit all SMB exit interview records from the past 6 months
T3–T4
Audit SMB-tier adoption of the three new enterprise features to quantify friction exposure
T5–T6
Synthesize churn findings into a binding decision brief and present to leadership
T7
Define the plan-invalidation rule: document what churn signal outcome triggers fallback to enterprise-first path
T8–T9
Document feature-to-segment mapping matrix and formal kill criteria
T10–T11
Audit current feature backlog against kill criteria and produce disposition table
T12
Conduct a governance checkpoint: confirm segment decision is holding and no backlog drift has occurred
T13–T14
Produce a 60-day outcome report comparing SMB churn rate, enterprise win rate, and backlog compliance versus pre-intervention baselines
T15–T16
Embed kill criteria review as a standing agenda item in the recurring product planning process
IF YOU HAVE TWO WEEKS AND THREE FIRES
Start regardless: Retrieve and code the last six months of SMB exit interviews; Name a single accountable owner for the segment decision; Baseline adoption for the three new enterprise features. Right under every scenario.
The rule under dirty data: If the exit reasons come back mixed or mostly about price rather than a clear complexity majority, the ambiguity isn't resolved.
The Premis™ BriefEXAMPLE · c91c704a · 02 / 03
03 · THE DECISION
Three assumptions carry the call — and every one announces its failure first.
The load-bearing assumptions — and where the call flips.
HIGHDeparting SMB customers gave reasons specific enough that complexity separates cleanly from price.Watch for: Coded exits come back mixed — price and complexity both near 40%, or a third of records land in “other”.→ FLIPS TO C
MEDIUMLeadership will treat the churn data as binding once it is delivered.Watch for: The decision meeting ends without a documented commitment and is rescheduled.→ FLIPS TO B
MEDIUMAt least 20 usable exit-interview records exist from the past six months.Watch for: The first-week retrieval returns fewer than 20 codable records.→ FLIPS TO B
2/5
Scenarios in which the call stands unchanged — every flip announces itself first
+2
The lead over the nearest rival on the engine’s own scores — computed, not prompted
SourceDeterministic stability pass over the strategy’s own scores and assumptions
Held for your judgment — the engine will not decide these.
—
Whether to treat the churn data as truly binding or to allow leadership to reopen the debate if the signal is uncomfortable
—
Which of the four non-primary segment treatment options to choose — abandon, partner, simplified track, or dual UI
—
Whether to adjust sales rep commission structures and quota assignments to align with the new segment priority
—
Whether the exit-interview data is solid enough to act on, or whether the gaps found early mean it can't be trusted to force the decision
—
How to disposition in-flight enterprise feature work that has already been staffed and partially built when the backlog audit in T10 flags it.
THE FULL BRIEF
Diagnosis, evidence, the tests, the option space, the stability of the call, and the plan — the document this memo compresses.
The Premis™ BriefEXAMPLE · c91c704a · 03 / 03
The Premis™ Brief
Generated
July 29, 2026, 12:00 PM
This run
premisbrief.com/r/c91c704a
Contents
The Decision
This report is produced for the named decision-maker and is confidential. It is not a substitute for legal, financial, or regulated professional advice. All judgements and decisions remain with the reader.
© 2026 The Premis™ Brief

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