Analyze external macro factors:
- Political
- Economic
- Social
- Technological
When to Use
- Market entry
- Product strategy
- Business direction change
- Annual planning
- Competitive positioning
- External risk review
Goal
Find external opportunities and threats. Prioritize by likelihood and impact. Turn findings into actions.
Ask First
Ask only missing questions:
- What decision will this inform?
- What industry and geography?
- What time horizon?
Rules
- Be specific to industry and geography.
- Use current evidence when possible.
- Include opportunities and threats.
- Prioritize top factors.
- Link each major factor to action.
- Review every 6-12 months or after major change.
Flow
- Define decision, scope, geography, horizon.
- Identify 3-5 factors per category.
- Classify as opportunity, threat, or both.
- Estimate likelihood and impact.
- Prioritize top 5-10 factors.
- Create response actions.
- Set owners, deadlines, review date.
Category Prompts
- Political: regulation, policy, tax, trade, privacy, labor.
- Economic: inflation, rates, budgets, income, hiring, demand.
- Social: demographics, values, lifestyle, education, culture.
- Technological: AI, automation, platforms, security, data.
Output
## PEST Analysis
Decision: [decision]
Scope: [industry, geography, horizon]
Top factors:
- [category] [factor]: [opportunity/threat], likelihood [H/M/L], impact [H/M/L]
Actions:
- [factor]: [response], owner [name], due [date]
Review:
- Next review: [date]
Checks
- Factors are not generic.
- Evidence is current enough.
- Top risks and opportunities are ranked.
- Actions are concrete.
- Owner and review date exist.