Pre-mortem (find the failure modes before they happen)

Run a pre-mortem on this plan. Imagine it's 6 months from now and the project failed. What happened?

The plan:
{{describe what you're about to do}}

My situation:
- Time horizon: {{deadline}}
- Resources: {{team, budget, time}}
- Stakes: {{what's at risk if this fails}}

Output:
1. **Top 5 failure modes** — what's most likely to kill this, ranked. Be specific. ("execution issues" doesn't count.)
2. **Early warning signs** for each — what would I see in week 2 that says we're heading toward that failure?
3. **What I'm probably underestimating** — common blind spots for projects like this
4. **What I should change RIGHT NOW** to reduce the highest-probability failure mode
5. **What I should kill if it doesn't work in 4 weeks** — explicit pull-the-plug criteria

Be uncomfortable. The point isn't to feel good about the plan, it's to make it actually work.