The Power of Prompt Chains
How to think deeper, faster—with AI as your co-strategist
A few months ago, I asked ChatGPT to generate startup ideas tailored to me.
Problems I care about. Vertical-specific solutions. Product-led growth potential. Subscription price points in an attractive band between $250–$500/month.
The result wasn’t just a good idea list.
It was strategy in motion — live and adaptive.
Within a single session, I probed each idea’s viability, GTM options, SEO potential, and growth surface areas. It culminated in a spreadsheet I could’ve handed straight to my product team — or a friendly vibe-coder — for rapid iteration.
And the wild part?
It all came from one conversation. I never left the prompt window.
🧠 What is a prompt chain?
Most people use AI like a task assistant:
“Summarize this.”
“Fix this paragraph.”
“Write this email.”
A prompt chain is different.
It’s not just automation — it’s structured inquiry.
You stack prompts — each one building on the last — to push deeper into a single line of thinking. It’s a way to architect not just a workflow, but also a thought process. A logic ladder. A conversation designed to go somewhere.
Imagine a supercharged analyst who never loses context, never gets tired, and adapts to your thinking in real time.
Prompt chains don’t just speed you up.
They deepen your clarity.
Mindflow > Workflow
We often talk about workflows as repeatable systems that save time. Prompt chains can definitely serve that purpose.
But the bigger unlock is what I’d maybe call a mindflow: a structured dialogue with an AI assistant that helps you think more deeply. You reflect, hypothesize, question, revise.
It’s not just output. It’s cognition.
And when paired with judgment — it compounds. Rapidly.
🧭 A monthly strategy chain you could now run
Here’s a chain I now use with founders to reflect and reset monthly. It’s even more powerful if you upload metrics, feedback or reporting. Try one of these:
📊 Metrics Pulse
“Here are our top metrics this month. What changed? What do we double down on — or fix — to hit our annual goals?”🕵️ Competitive Snapshot
“Here’s a competitor we’re watching. How is our positioning still differentiated? What would you refine?”🖥️ Landing Page Gut Check
“Here’s our homepage. What would a skeptical buyer ignore or distrust?”⚠️ Risk Radar
“What are the 3 most fragile parts of our business right now? What’s one way to de-risk the biggest one?”🔁 Second-Act Scan
“What’s one hidden opportunity in our data or user behavior that could double lifetime value?”
🛠️ Your founder operating system is due for an update
As tools evolve, this gets even more powerful:
AutoGPTs can execute a multi-step chain across tools
Embedded agents will live inside your docs and dashboards
Personal memory means your AI remembers what you asked last month
Context-aware threads let conversations pick up where you left off
It’s all coming.
But the mindset shift starts right away:
Think in chains
Refine in layers
Use AI to deepen your judgment, not just speed it up
Your Turn
I’ve been sharing this strategy chain with founders I work with. The insights they’re surfacing have been sharp, surprising, and occasionally company-changing.
💡 If you test a strategy chain like this — I’d love to hear what insights emerge.
Or let me know: do you have any powerful strategy prompts I should try next? 💡