3-Nonprofit AI Secrets to Becoming a High-Impact Organization

Becoming a 10x Impact Engineer: Master Critical Thinking with AI

Every person can become a 10x impact engineer. The secret lies in strengthening your critical thinking skills. There are four essential patterns that will sharpen your problem-solving abilities and help you get better outcomes, especially when working with AI tools.

To illustrate these patterns, we’ll use a fictitious scenario inspired by the organization Girls Who Code.

💡 Tip: Click here to see  – Napkin Canvas seen in video ✨📝

📖 Inspired by Harvard Business Review's article:

“AI Prompt Engineering Isn’t the Future”

The takeaway?

✅ It’s no longer about crafting the perfect prompt.
✅ It’s about providing rich context — background, goals, and what success looks like.

📌 Why Context Matters More Than Ever:

• AI models are now advanced enough that small prompt tweaks don’t change much
• What does change output quality is how well you frame the problem
• Context helps the AI “think” like your partner, not just a text generator

🎯 Focus your energy on clear goals, background knowledge, and the outcome you seek — that’s where the power of Gen AI truly unlocks!

1. Problem Diagnosis

Scenario: Girls Who Code is experiencing a decline in summer coding camp enrollment.

Instead of reacting to the symptom (low enrollment), a 10x thinker digs deeper to diagnose the root cause. One method is using the “5 Whys” technique to ask why the problem exists until the fundamental reason surfaces.

Possible Root Causes:

• Lack of awareness
• Competing activities
• Perceived difficulty of coding
• Limited outreach
• Accessibility issues (location, cost, internet access)

Prompt Example:

"We’ve observed a decline in summer camp enrollment at Girls Who Code. Using the '5 Whys' technique, help me diagnose the root cause. Start by asking why enrollment is declining, then continue until we identify the core issue."

Tip: Tools like Napkin.ai can help visualize this thinking process (e.g., an iceberg diagram showing surface vs. hidden problems).

2. Problem Decomposition

Scenario: Girls Who Code plans a national coding competition for high school students. The project feels overwhelming because it involves:

• Logistics
• Sponsorship
• Marketing
• Participant management

Instead of tackling the problem as a whole, break it into manageable parts for focused brainstorming.

Example Decomposition:

• Logistics: Venue selection, equipment setup
• Sponsorship: Potential partners, pitch deck creation
• Marketing: Social media plan, outreach timeline
• Participant Management: Registration flow, support system

Prompt Example:

"We’re planning a national coding competition for high school students. Help me brainstorm key tasks and considerations for each area: logistics, sponsorship, marketing, and participant management."

Why it matters: Decomposition leads to faster problem-solving and more targeted action.

3. Problem Reframing

Scenario: Students from under-resourced communities face barriers in accessing quality coding education.

Instead of asking:

"How do we fix the lack of resources?"

Reframe the problem to encourage creative solutions:

"How might we create engaging and effective coding experiences using existing resources or by leveraging what’s already available?"

Why Reframe? Reframing shifts your focus from "what's missing" to "what's possible" — sparking innovation.

Prompt Example:

"We want to empower under-resourced students. Instead of focusing on adding new resources, suggest innovative ways to maximize or creatively use what’s already available to enhance coding education."

4. Problem Constraint Design

Scenario: Girls Who Code is launching a social media campaign to promote new online coding classes.

To align the campaign with the brand, you must set specific constraints:

• Tone: Friendly, inspirational
• Length: Under 280 characters for X (Twitter)
• Target Audience: Teen girls
• Call to Action: Clear and compelling

Prompt Example:

"We’re creating a social media campaign for Girls Who Code to promote new online coding classes. Generate a series of post ideas that are inspirational, under 280 characters, target teen girls, and include a clear call to action."

Example Post:
"Unlock your coding superpower 💻✨ Join our online classes designed just for teen girls. Ready to code your future? Enroll now! #GirlsWhoCode #TechForAll"

Final Thoughts: Train Your Brain for 10x Thinking

These four patterns—Diagnosis, Decomposition, Reframing, and Constraint Design—are your foundation for becoming a 10x impact engineer.

✅ Practice them often
✅ Use tools like Napkin.ai or ChatGPT to refine your prompts
✅ Keep revisiting these techniques to improve your ability to think critically and ask better questions

Key Takeaway:

Better prompts = Better insights = Bigger impact

See you in the next chapter!

‍