Observed Signal · Jun 19, 2026 · Technical Release · Source: Linas Newsletter · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive

Run Pre‑Mortems in 60 Seconds with Claude Skill

Executive Signal Summary

A Substack guide by Linas (published 2026-06-19) demonstrates how to turn the pre‑mortem decision technique into an attachable Claude skill called the “Future Failure Audit.” The package includes a complete SKILL.md file for upload, five worked playbooks (product launches, fundraises, hires, strategy decisions, investments), a real example output, and step‑by‑step install instructions for Claude Code and Claude AI. The skill reconstructs a plan, enumerates failure modes, scores them by likelihood and severity, surfaces hidden assumptions, and returns a revised plan with owners, early‑warning metrics and kill criteria. The article cites research on prospective hindsight (Mitchell et al.) and endorsements from Daniel Kahneman to explain why pre‑mortems reduce overconfidence and planning bias. The guide aims to make structured pre‑mortems fast, repeatable and integrated with LLM workflows.

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High Confidence

Practical release that makes a behavioral-science decision tool accessible via LLM workflows; useful for teams adopting Claude but not a platform-level or industry-shifting announcement.

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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding

  • Author Linas published a Substack guide on 2026-06-19 describing an attachable Claude skill for running pre-mortems.
  • The packaged skill is named the "Future Failure Audit" and includes a complete SKILL.md file for upload to Claude.
  • The guide includes five playbooks for product launches, fundraises, hires, strategy decisions, and investments.
  • Installation instructions are provided for both Claude Code and Claude AI.
  • The article cites academic research on prospective hindsight (Mitchell et al., 1989) and references Daniel Kahneman endorsing pre-mortems.

Ontology Mapping & Concepts

Primary Source Grounding & Direct Attribution
Direct Origin Attribution
Primary Reporting: Linas Newsletter•Published: Jun 19, 2026
Original Coverage Title: “How to Pre-Mortem Any Decision With AI (Claude Skill)”

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