Use it when
- The decision is high consequence or costly to reverse.
- Numbers and narratives are being blended into one claim.
- A recommendation lacks a clear countercase or review trigger.
Free decision method · Reality Audit
Story and Spreadsheet Decision Brief
A Story and Spreadsheet Decision Brief separates facts, interpretations, forecasts, preferences, and human context before a consequential choice. It makes the strongest countercase, unknowns, affected groups, change-my-mind evidence, and reversal trigger explicit, producing a reviewable brief rather than a single unexamined recommendation.
Direct answer
What is a Story and Spreadsheet Decision Brief?
It is a structured decision artifact that keeps quantitative or sourced evidence separate from interpretation, forecast, preference, and lived human context. The method prevents a compelling narrative from masquerading as proof and prevents a spreadsheet from hiding the people, incentives, trust, and uncertainty the decision will affect.
What it produces
- A decision, owner, date, consequence, and reversibility record.
- Separate fact, interpretation, forecast, preference, and human-context fields.
- Flags for missing evidence, affected groups, countercases, and reversal conditions.
Method in five steps
- Name the decision, accountable owner, consequence, reversibility, and affected groups.
- Record the best dated evidence and keep the fact separate from its interpretation.
- State the forecast and the value or preference influencing the choice.
- Add human context, the strongest reasonable countercase, and material unknowns.
- Name evidence that would change the recommendation and a date, signal, or failure condition that reopens it.
Important limitation: the brief structures a management judgment. It does not verify evidence, certify a decision, or replace qualified legal, financial, security, employment, or governance review.
Method and provenance
What this method can and cannot do
Published by Petrichor Projects. Method 1.0.0. Last materially reviewed August 9, 2026. The rules are deterministic, the result is ungated, and strategic text remains in the browser unless the user exports it.
This is an original decision instrument informed by Rishad Tobaccowala’s Restoring the Soul of Business and Rethinking Work. It does not reproduce either book.
Inspect the versioned Reality Audit method · Verify Petrichor’s entity and authorship facts
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What does the brief separate?
It separates facts or observations, interpretations, forecasts, values or preferences, and human context so each can be challenged on its own terms.
Does it decide which option is correct?
No. It exposes the structure and omissions behind a recommendation. The accountable owner still makes and owns the decision.
What is a change-my-mind condition?
It is specific evidence that would materially alter the current recommendation. Naming it prevents the brief from becoming a defense of a predetermined answer.
Where is the information processed?
The mode runs in the browser. Local save is optional, and nothing is sent to Petrichor or an AI service unless the user explicitly exports or shares it.
Is the tool free?
Yes. The result, sample, local save, JSON and CSV exports, copy, print, and facilitator artifact are ungated.