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Why They Did It

Why an actor really made a move, with each explanation graded against the record.

3 credits·in-depth·about 2–4 min·12 domains

What it answers

The question Why They Did It is built for

Name the actor and the move. It asks first whether they had a choice, then reads what the move was for, who actually gains, what the actor has done before, what others say it was for, what it was not for, and what would settle the question.

Who reaches for it

The update you send when a competitor, a government or a counterparty does something that does not fit the story you have been telling.

What comes back

9 sections, on every run

These are the headings the result renders, read from the same promise the form makes before you spend a credit. A section that depends on what the record holds is rendered when it can be and never promised here.

01

Did They Have a Choice?

02

The Read

03

What It Was For

04

Who Actually Gains

05

What They've Done Before

06

What Others Say It Was For

07

What It Was Not For

08

What Would Settle It

09

Open Questions

What you give it

2 boxes, 1 required

The move — who did what
required · up to 300 characters
What you are trying to understand
optional · up to 600 characters
Try it on: a subject you already hold an opinion about, so you can grade the result against what you know. Each one opens the form filled, in the General domain.
France recalled its ambassador from NigerThe Gates Foundation set a 2045 closing dateDisney brought back Bob Iger as CEO
What it will not do

The lines it holds

A motive is an explanation with evidence for it, never a claim about a person's mind. Public figures are read in their public role; the read grades the explanations, it does not pick one.

Every claim carries its grade

A claim the scan could not source is marked as such rather than dressed up. How the grades work →

Verified or grounded
Reported or attributed
Contested
Open question
Where it runs

Available in 12 domains

A domain may name it in its own words and price it on its own terms; each row is what that domain shows.

General3 creditsDefense3 creditsFinance3 creditsEnergy3 creditsHealth3 creditsPolicy3 creditsTechnology3 creditsClimate3 creditsLearning3 creditsSports3 creditsTravel3 creditsLifestyle3 credits
See one

Nothing published in this shape yet

No Why They Did It has been published to the public library yet. Browse what has →

Roles that lean on it

8 role guides suggest it

Front office / roster strategy stafflead scanCompetitive intelligence leadCompetitive intelligence analystStrategic research managerPricing & monetization analystHead of corporate strategyCorporate development / M&A directorHead of partnerships / BD
Try it

Run Why They Did It on something you already know

The fastest way to judge the result is to pick a subject you know cold and read it against what you know. The scan names its credit cost before it runs.

Start with Why They Did It →Plans and credit packs
More in the catalog

Other research in analyze

Idea Stress-TestYour idea against the record: the assumptions graded, the prior attempts found, the cheapest test named.Track RecordWhat someone said would happen against what actually happened, dated and scored.Decision ReviewWas the call right, given what was knowable at the time, not what is known now.Literature ReviewWhat the studies actually show on a question, graded by how far they converge.Person ScanA public figure in their public role: background, position, record and network.CouncilYour own decision, read by the documented methods of two to four thinkers.The whole catalog →