Intrenion

Decision Gate Standard

Christian Ullrich
January 2026

Introduction

This checklist defines the minimum conditions a set of decisions must meet to pass an execution gate. It is not a diagnostic, a maturity model, or guidance on how to decide. It is a binary standard used when a commitment becomes hard to reverse. Each item must be answerable with a clear “yes” based only on what is written. If any item requires explanation, interpretation, or verbal context, it fails. The checklist is applied to the complete decision set, not to individual documents, meetings, or people. If one or more items fail, the decision set does not pass the gate, and execution should not proceed until the missing, weak, or violated decisions are corrected or explicitly reversed.

Decision integrity

  1. All decisions required for the upcoming commitment are documented in writing.
  2. Each decision is a single, concrete sentence that can be accepted, rejected, or corrected without interpretation.
  3. Decisions remain readable, unambiguous, and binding to people not present when they were made.
  4. Each decision explicitly states what is being decided.
  5. Each decision explicitly states the intended upside being pursued.
  6. Each decision explicitly states the alternative being rejected.
  7. Each decision explicitly states the downside being accepted.
  8. Each decision has exactly one named owner with authority to commit.
  9. Each decision owner explicitly accepts responsibility for both the risks and the potential upside created by the decision.
  10. No decision relies on assumptions, intentions, or narratives that are not written as decisions.
  11. No two decisions contradict each other when read together.
  12. Taken together, the decisions form a coherent agreement acceptable to the organization as a whole, even if individual decisions are locally zero-sum.
  13. Each decision can be approved, rejected, or corrected independently without reopening the entire set.

Decision authority and enforcement

  1. No decision remains reversible by drift, silence, or reinterpretation.
  2. The complete decision set is formally submitted as the binding basis for the commitment.
  3. The decision set is treated as the authoritative source over slides, plans, roadmaps, or narratives.
  4. After approval, dissent stops, and submission is behaviorally enforced.
  5. If execution stalls, the failure can be traced to a specific decision that is missing, weak, or violated.
  6. Any reversal condition explicitly requires a new decision by the same or a superior owner.

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