FRAMEWORKS
Make the reasoning inspectable, reusable, and testable.
Decision Frameworks for translating ambiguity across markets, technology, organizations, and institutions.
THE DECISION TRANSLATION SYSTEM
A five-stage operating model for consequential choices.
Conceptual process diagram.
01
Frame
Define the decision, costly problem, decision owner, success criteria, deadline, and stakes.
↓
02
Separate
Distinguish Source Facts, Market Signals, Interpretations, Assumptions, Hypotheses, and Unknowns.
↓
03
Map
Expose incentives, power, workflow, regulation, trust, dependencies, and adoption friction.
↓
04
Decide
Compare alternatives, second-order effects, reversibility, and material trade-offs.
↓
05
Test
Specify the falsifier, smallest credible test, metric, owner, and decision gate.
REUSABLE TOOLS
Three lenses that prevent shallow strategy.
◇
Market Translation Canvas
Translate a global proposition into local customer tension, trust mechanics, channels, partners, economics, and institutional constraints.
Δ
Hypothesis Card
State the belief, causal mechanism, observable prediction, falsifier, test, metric, and decision rule.
◎
Decision Memo
Make facts, assumptions, options, trade-offs, risks, confidence, and what would change the recommendation explicit.
RESEARCH FOUNDATION
Why this method is evidence-informed.
↗
A Scientific Approach to Entrepreneurial Decision Making
Camuffo et al. (2020). A randomized controlled trial on hypothesis-driven entrepreneurial decisions.
↗
Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases
Tversky & Kahneman (1974). A foundational account of recurring bias in judgment under uncertainty.
↗
Making Fast Strategic Decisions in High-Velocity Environments
Eisenhardt (1989). Evidence on information use, alternatives, and strategic decision speed.
↗
Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning
March (1991). A foundational model for balancing learning and execution.
These works inform the reasoning discipline. They do not automatically validate a case conclusion; each conclusion still requires topic-specific evidence and a visible chain of inference.
Use the framework on a real decision.
The standard is not whether a framework looks intelligent, but whether it changes the quality of action.