Exercise 2.2: The Pre-Mortem

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Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Eighteen months ahead, imagine we've collapsed
Every boardroom empty, every contract lapsed
Not from hackers, floods, or market crash
But something we dismissed as meaningless trash
Picture headlines screaming our demise
While competitors feast on our surprise

[Chorus]
Pre-mortem vision, see the future wreck
Blind spots and gaps that broke our neck
Work backward from catastrophic end
Find the flaws we can't pretend
Pre-mortem tells what BIA missed
The phantom risks that don't exist on any list

[Verse 2]
Culture breeds assumptions, sacred cows untouched
"That could never happen" - famous last words clutched
Single vendor strangled our supply
Executive ego made truth die
The conference room silence spoke too loud
When dissent was buried beneath the crowd

[Chorus]
Pre-mortem vision, see the future wreck
Blind spots and gaps that broke our neck
Work backward from catastrophic end
Find the flaws we can't pretend
Pre-mortem tells what BIA missed
The phantom risks that don't exist on any list

[Bridge]
Assume complete destruction first
Then excavate what made it worst
Dependencies we never mapped
Communication channels snapped
The unthinkable became routine
In gaps between what we'd foreseen

[Verse 3]
Systemic weakness hides in plain sight
Corner office wisdom rarely gets it right
Question every pillar, shake each beam
Challenge comfortable planning dreams
That perfect storm was brewing long
While we sang our confident song

[Chorus]
Pre-mortem vision, see the future wreck
Blind spots and gaps that broke our neck
Work backward from catastrophic end
Find the flaws we can't pretend
Pre-mortem tells what BIA missed
The phantom risks that don't exist on any list

[Outro]
Tomorrow's failure starts today
In patterns we won't look away
Pre-mortem breaks the wishful spell
Before the business funeral bell

← Exercise 2.1: Framework Gap Analysis | Why Traditional Risk Identification Fails →