Generate 3 fundamentally different approaches to [problem].

For each approach:
- Give it a descriptive name
- Explain the core strategy
- Identify key assumptions it makes

For each approach, evaluate:
1. Likelihood of success (and why)
2. Resource requirements (time, money, expertise)
3. Key risks and how to mitigate them
4. What would need to be true for this to work
5. Potential unintended consequences

Based on your evaluation:
1. Recommend the best approach
2. Explain why it outperforms the alternatives
3. Note any elements from other approaches worth incorporating
4. Identify the first concrete step to take

CONTEXT:
Our B2B SaaS company ($2M ARR) needs to reach $5M ARR within 18 months. Current metrics:
- 150 customers, $1,100 average MRR
- 85% annual retention
- 3% monthly growth
- 2-person sales team, no marketing team
- $500k runway

Use Tree of Thought reasoning to develop a growth strategy.

PHASE 1 - BRANCH:
Generate 3 fundamentally different strategic approaches to hit $5M ARR. Each should represent a distinct philosophy about how to grow—not just variations on the same theme.

For each approach:
- Name it (something memorable)
- Describe the core thesis (2-3 sentences)
- List the key assumptions it relies on
- Identify what would need to be true for it to work

PHASE 2 - EVALUATE:
For each approach, analyze:
- Probability of hitting $5M ARR (percentage estimate with reasoning)
- Cash requirements vs our $500k runway
- Team/hiring implications
- Key risks and mitigation strategies
- Time to first meaningful results
- What happens if it fails halfway through

PHASE 3 - SELECT:
Based on your analysis:
1. Recommend the primary strategy and justify your choice
2. Explain which specific risks from other strategies we avoid
3. Identify any elements from rejected strategies worth incorporating
4. Provide a 90-day action plan with specific milestones
5. Define the decision point where we'd pivot if results aren't materializing

I need to write a blog post about remote work productivity.

BRANCH: Generate 3 completely different angles for this article:
- Each should have a distinct thesis/perspective
- Each should appeal to a different reader motivation
- Each should have a unique structure

EVALUATE for each angle:
- Originality (how different from typical remote work articles?)
- SEO potential (search intent alignment)
- Shareability (would someone share this?)
- Ease of writing (do I have unique insights here?)

SELECT: Recommend the best angle and explain why it outperforms alternatives. Then outline the article structure for that angle.

We need to add real-time notifications to our web app.

BRANCH: Generate 3 distinct technical approaches:
1. [Approach 1 - e.g., WebSockets]
2. [Approach 2 - e.g., Server-Sent Events]
3. [Approach 3 - e.g., Polling with push notification fallback]

EVALUATE for each:
- Implementation complexity (1-10 with explanation)
- Infrastructure cost at 10k concurrent users
- Reliability and failure modes
- Mobile support implications
- Time to implement with a 2-dev team
- Maintenance burden over 2 years

SELECT: Recommend the best approach for our context:
- Early-stage startup (limited resources)
- Web + mobile apps
- Notifications aren't business-critical (nice-to-have feature)
- Need to ship in 2 weeks

Justify the recommendation and provide implementation outline.

Generate 5 approaches to this problem.
After listing all 5, eliminate the 2 weakest with brief explanations.
Then do detailed evaluation only on the remaining 3.

[After initial ToT]

Now take the selected approach and apply Tree of Thought again:
Generate 3 variations of implementation for this strategy.
Evaluate each variation.
Select the optimal implementation path.

After selecting an approach, argue against it:
- What's the strongest case against this choice?
- What would a skeptic say?
- Under what conditions would this approach fail?

Then: Does this criticism change your recommendation? Why or why not?

CONTEXT: [Your situation and decision to make]

PHASE 1 - BRANCH:
Generate [3-5] fundamentally different approaches to [problem/decision].
For each:
- Name it
- Core thesis (2-3 sentences)
- Key assumptions

PHASE 2 - EVALUATE:
Analyze each approach:
- Likelihood of success
- Resources required
- Key risks
- Time to results
- What happens if it fails

PHASE 3 - SELECT:
- Recommend the best approach with justification
- Note elements from other approaches to incorporate
- Provide the first 3 concrete next steps
- Define criteria for when to pivot

Phase 1: I need to improve our customer onboarding. Generate 3 approaches:
1. High-touch concierge onboarding
2. Self-serve with smart automation
3. Hybrid with tiered service levels

[AI explores each, recommends hybrid approach]

Phase 2:
Role: You are a customer success leader who has built onboarding programs at Slack and Intercom.

Instructions: Design the hybrid onboarding program you recommended.

Steps:
1. Define the tier criteria (which customers get which level)
2. Map the journey for each tier
3. Identify automation opportunities
4. Specify human touchpoints

Expectations: Create a detailed playbook I can implement this quarter.