Quick Reference
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Two-phase diagnostic
Section titled “Two-phase diagnostic”Phase A — Soul (5 min): 7 personality questions → builds soul.md → shapes all future communication
Phase B — Business (15–20 min): 1 opening question → 5 rounds of follow-ups → constraint identified
The change sequence
Section titled “The change sequence”| What to change? | What to change to? | How to make it happen? |
|---|---|---|
| CRT (diagnostic) | EC — surface the conflict | S&T Tree — build the plan |
| FRT — test the direction | Execute | |
| NBR — test for problems |
Never skip steps. Never jump to execution without a validated direction.
Nine layers of legitimate resistance
Section titled “Nine layers of legitimate resistance”| Layer | Reservation | Gate question |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | There is no problem | “Do you agree this is a real problem worth addressing?” |
| 1 | We disagree on the problem | “Do you see the problem the same way?” |
| 2 | It’s out of my control | “Can you actually influence this?” |
| 3 | Wrong direction | “Does this feel like the right direction?” |
| 4 | Wrong details | “Do you agree with these specifics?” |
| 5 | Negative ramifications | “What could go wrong?” |
| 6 | Can’t implement | “Is this feasible?” |
| 7 | Wrong implementation | “Does this step make sense?” |
| 8 | Not worth it | “Is this worth doing?” |
Resolve in order. “I guess so” is not resolution.
Maintenance cadence
Section titled “Maintenance cadence”| When | What | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | “Run my weekly review” — pipeline, constraint check, process audit | 10 min |
| Monthly | “Run my monthly review” — financials, pipeline health, constraint reassessment | 30 min |
| Quarterly | Update goals, re-run diagnostic if the constraint shifted, archive completed work | 60 min |
| As needed | Log decisions, document processes, build skills | varies |
Common commands
Section titled “Common commands”| You say | The system does |
|---|---|
| “Run my weekly review” | Pulls the weekly template and walks you through it |
| “Run my monthly review” | Pulls the monthly template |
| “What’s my current constraint?” | Reads constraints.md and tells you |
| “I think the constraint has shifted” | Re-assesses against recent reviews and the diagnostic |
| “Help me with [task]” | Uses an existing skill, or builds one if it passes the RPC test |
| “Update the base framework” | Pulls the latest framework files from the repository |
| “Document this process” | Creates or updates a file in processes/ |
| “Log this decision” | Appends to decisions/log.md with constraint tracing |
| “Update my soul.md” | Adjusts your personality profile |
| “Re-run the diagnostic” | Starts a fresh diagnostic conversation |
| “Roast my plan” / “Pressure-test this” | Hands it to the critic |
The RPC test
Section titled “The RPC test”A request becomes a skill when it is Repeatable, Predictable, and Consistent. All three, or it stays a one-off.
Decision logging — automatic
Section titled “Decision logging — automatic”Logged as they happen. The system recognises: direction chosen · money committed or declined · priority shifted · process created or modified · commitment made · tool adopted or dropped · timeline set or changed · any layer resolution.
Every decision is traced to the current constraint. Off-constraint decisions are logged with reasoning rather than hidden.
Where things live
Section titled “Where things live”| What you need | Where |
|---|---|
| Your personality profile | .claude/rules/soul.md |
| Your communication style | .claude/rules/communication-style.md |
| System file index | .claude/rules/system-manifest.md |
| Your constraint | context/constraints.md |
| Your diagnostic record | diagnostics/root-cause-analysis.md |
| Your baseline metrics | diagnostics/baseline-metrics.md |
| Your priorities | context/current-priorities.md |
| Your goals | context/goals.md |
| Your pipeline | pipeline/ |
| Decision history | decisions/log.md |
| Undocumented processes | processes/undocumented/ |
| Documented processes | processes/documented/ |
| Change sequence rules | .claude/rules/change-sequence.md |
| Thinking process skills | .claude/skills/ |
| Sub-agent definitions | .claude/agents/ |
The key principle
Section titled “The key principle”At any given time, one factor limits your growth more than any other. That is the constraint. Everything else is noise until it is addressed.
Always know what your constraint is. Always ask whether what you are doing right now addresses it.