---
schema: 1
type: term
title: '`premortem`'
description: >-
  A **`premortem`** — attributed in this channel's material to **Annie Duke** —
  is a decision-making practice of examining a decision or plan before it is
  carried out, asking in advance how it could fail or break, so weaknesses
  surface early rather than after the fact.
  [^dc34f5ee-4720-50d6-8e09-ed1902fc04ff@2148] In the captured material it is
  used as a tool for pressure-testing one's own decision-making.
  [^dc34f5ee-4720-50d6-8e09-ed1902fc04ff@2148]
canonical: 'https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/explore/term/premortem-97b53d5c2f9c'
markdown: 'https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/explore/term/premortem-97b53d5c2f9c.md'
llms: null
parent: 'https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/llms.txt'
channel: everyinc
updated: '2026-10-23T22:12:35.346Z'
language: null
children: []
---


# \`premortem\`

Canonical: https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/explore/term/premortem-97b53d5c2f9c

Parent: [Channel index](https://liquidgold.cc/channel/everyinc/llms.txt)

## Definition

A **`premortem`** — attributed in this channel's material to **Annie Duke** — is a decision-making practice of examining a decision or plan before it is carried out, asking in advance how it could fail or break, so weaknesses surface early rather than after the fact. [^dc34f5ee-4720-50d6-8e09-ed1902fc04ff@2148] In the captured material it is used as a tool for pressure-testing one's own decision-making. [^dc34f5ee-4720-50d6-8e09-ed1902fc04ff@2148]

In this conversation, **`premortem`** appears as one of the big ideas Sarah Tavel names by name — specifically *Annie Duke's premortem*. [^dc34f5ee-4720-50d6-8e09-ed1902fc04ff@2148] The channel's material introduces it in context alongside the other named concepts (**status-seeking work** and the **white-hot center**), so you can follow each reference as it comes up. [^dc34f5ee-4720-50d6-8e09-ed1902fc04ff@2148] Its role in the conversation ties directly to the episode's decision-making thread: Sarah explores how an investor can use LLMs to pressure-test her own decision-making. [^dc34f5ee-4720-50d6-8e09-ed1902fc04ff@2148] A premortem is the kind of tool that fits that goal — a way of interrogating a decision *before* the outcome arrives, so the thesis gets tested rather than assumed. [^dc34f5ee-4720-50d6-8e09-ed1902fc04ff@2148] The channel keeps this spirit visible throughout: where the host pushes back, the push-back stays in the conversation, because that disagreement is where the thesis gets tested. [^dc34f5ee-4720-50d6-8e09-ed1902fc04ff@2148] So when you encounter `premortem` here, understand it as part of the episode's larger arc — exploring a thesis, understanding where it could break, and coming away with a sharper lens for consumer AI, network effects, and your own decision-making. [^dc34f5ee-4720-50d6-8e09-ed1902fc04ff@2148]