The 80/20 of AI Prompting — 5 Prompt Patterns That Handle 80% of Your Work

Most people waste 80% of their time writing prompts that get mediocre results. Here are the 5 patterns that handle the vast majority of real founder work.

Pattern 1: Role-Task-Format. Tell the AI who it is, what to do, how to deliver. "You are a senior financial analyst. Analyze this P&L and identify the top 3 areas of overspending. Present as a one-page executive summary." This alone eliminates 90% of vague AI responses.

Pattern 2: Chain-of-Thought. For complex reasoning, explicitly ask the AI to think step by step. "Walk me through your reasoning before the final answer." Dramatically improves accuracy on math, strategy, and analysis.

"These 5, used consistently, handle about 80% of everything you'll need as a founder."

Pattern 3: Few-Shot Examples. Show the AI what you want with 2-3 examples. "Here are 3 email examples I like. Write a 4th for this situation." The AI pattern-matches and produces output that feels like you wrote it.

Pattern 4: Constraints. Box the AI in. "Write a product description in exactly 150 words. No jargon. Target a 25-year-old mom. One call to action." Constraints force precision.

Pattern 5: Iterative Refinement. Never accept the first draft. "Make it 30% shorter. More conversational. Add a specific example in paragraph 2." The best AI users aren't the ones with perfect first prompts — they refine fast.

These 5, used consistently, handle about 80% of everything you'll need as a founder.

Action step: Pick one pattern you've never used and apply it today.