Decide Whether to Take On a Project
Added 2026-10-31
Score learning, upside, cost and exit cost instead of deciding on excitement.
I am invited to join a project and I hesitate. I will give the content, the people, my time commitment and possible upside. Do: 1) score learning, upside, cost and exit cost from 1 to 5 with reasons; 2) name which item is most expensive if judged wrong; 3) design a two-week trial involvement; 4) list three questions to ask them; 5) draft one polite refusal in case I say no.
Site original
Chinese original
How to use
接项目先算退出成本，再算收益。
Try tweaking it
- Have it state how the hypothesis could be falsified before discussing execution.
- Split the plan into a one-week testable experiment.
What you should get
- A small testable experiment with a failure threshold
- Costs, risks, and what needs outside confirmation
Common mistakes
- Asking for a "full business plan" and getting unverifiable optimistic assumptions.
- No failure threshold, so you never know whether to continue.
How to check the output
- There is a clear failure threshold, testable within a week.
- Costs, assumptions and risks are listed separately.
Where it works
- Good for: turning business assumptions into a small testable experiment with a failure threshold first.
- Watch out: for pricing, contracts and legal points, treat output as a draft needing professional review.