Vision and Operating Principles Memo AI Prompt
Your team moves fast but not always in the same direction. You’re asked to clarify where you’re going and how you’ll work together, yet writing a vision and operating principles memo is tough. You need clarity without fluff, relevance without jargon, and alignment without debate spirals.
A strong prompt turns scattered ideas into a concise, inspiring memo. It captures your audience, business context, values, and practical behaviors. AskSmarter.ai guides you with targeted questions, then builds an optimized prompt that reflects your strategy, tone, and constraints.
Use the example below to see how specificity transforms results. You’ll learn how to define audience needs, translate values into actions, and set measurable commitments. The outcome: a memo your team understands, remembers, and uses to make better decisions, faster.
The transformation
Before — Vague prompt
Write a memo about our company vision and values for the team.
After — Optimized prompt
Role: You are a CEO writing a memo.
Goal: Define a 12-month vision and 5 operating principles that guide decisions.
Audience: 250-person B2B SaaS team (product, GTM, operations). Mixed tenure.
Context: ARR $28M, targeting 40% YoY growth; key bet is enterprise expansion.
Tone: Direct, optimistic, concrete; avoid buzzwords.
Format: 1-page memo with sections: 1) Vision (3 sentences), 2) Why Now, 3) Operating Principles (5 bullets, each with a “Do/Don’t”), 4) Commitments (3 measurable), 5) How to apply.
Constraints: Max 400 words. Use real examples from sales cycle and roadmap tradeoffs.
Why this works
The after prompt is superior because it adds the context and structure leaders usually skip. It specifies the writer’s role (CEO), the time horizon (12 months), and the audience profile, which shape tone and depth. Business context—ARR, growth target, and enterprise focus—anchors the memo in strategy, not platitudes.
It also enforces a clear structure with labeled sections, encouraging scannability and consistent messaging. The “Do/Don’t” format translates values into behaviors, while measurable commitments make the memo actionable. Constraints such as word count and tone prevent drift into vague language or unnecessary detail. Real examples ensure relevance to everyday decisions like roadmap tradeoffs and sales cycles.
AskSmarter.ai’s question-driven flow elicits these details: who it’s for, strategic goals, success metrics, tone, and examples. That input lets the platform produce a tight, high-signal prompt that yields a memo people will read, remember, and use to align decisions across teams.
When to use this prompt
Marketing Leaders
Align brand messaging and campaign prioritization with a shared vision and principles that guide tradeoffs across channels.
Product Managers
Frame roadmap decisions and discovery practices with principles that clarify customer value, quality bars, and iteration cadence.
Sales Directors
Set expectations for ideal customer profile, deal qualification, and discount discipline tied to the company vision.
Customer Success Leaders
Define renewal and expansion priorities, escalation paths, and customer communication standards grounded in operating principles.
Founders of Growing Startups
Codify culture and decision rules as headcount scales, reducing confusion during rapid hiring and role changes.
Pro tips
- 1
Anchor principles to real decisions to drive behavior change, not slogans.
- 2
Define 2–3 measurable commitments so teams can track adoption and impact.
- 3
Specify anti-patterns with clear “Don’t” examples to reduce ambiguity.
- 4
Name the audience’s pain points to tailor tone and examples for relevance.
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Build a prompt for your situation
This example shows the pattern. AskSmarter.ai guides you to create prompts tailored to your specific context, audience, and goals.