A Protocol For Consequential Decisions
Why This MattersRead the earlier reference in its original context, with its historical statements and limits preserved.
Use EXCLUDE, INCOMPLETE, REVISE, and CONSIDER to describe the decision’s stated checks. Keep unresolved inputs, breached constraints, and reasons for revision visible.
| Step | Required record |
|---|---|
| 1. Define | Name the decision, deadline, household boundary and people affected. |
| 2. Establish constraints | List essential obligations, chosen reserve policy, rights, care coverage and sustainable hours. |
| 3. List alternatives | Include maintain, delay, scale down and decline where feasible. Borrowing is never the only advanced option. |
| 4. Verify | Attach dated statements, quotations and terms. Separate facts, estimates and unknowns. |
| 5. Calculate | Reconcile opening cash, recurring flows, debt schedules and one-off uses. |
| 6. Stress | Run the same alternatives through disclosed adverse conditions, including common shocks. |
| 7. Judge | Check ethics, law, health, care, time and cash separately. State the selected action and reasons. |
| 8. Review | Name a review date, exit conditions and evidence that would change the choice. |
Decision Dispositions
EXCLUDE when the action violates an ethical constraint. INCOMPLETE when a decision-changing input or essential feasibility check is missing. REVISE when the current plan breaches a chosen constraint. CONSIDER when disclosed checks are satisfied and the person can compare remaining tradeoffs. These are review dispositions, not certifications or automated financial recommendations.
A low-cost, reversible decision may need a short record. A loan, job exit or joint household commitment needs more detail. Use the smallest process that makes the consequences reviewable; do not turn routine purchases into burdensome administration.