ctxora 6.2.2 → 6.3.0

package/src/harness_context/skills/ecc/brand-discovery/SKILL.md

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+---
+name: brand-discovery
+description: >-
+  Use when a brand needs to discover or articulate its identity through
+  structured multi-session interviews. Covers purpose, positioning, audience,
+  personality, voice, narrative, and founder-brand tension across 8 modules
+  using laddering, 5 Whys, and projective techniques. Produces a resumable
+  session with disk-persisted state and a master brandbook (90_SYNTHESIS.md).
+---
+
+# Brand Discovery
+
+Use this skill to conduct a structured, adaptive brand identity interview.
+The goal is a complete `90_SYNTHESIS.md` — a master brandbook the
+organization can use to brief designers, writers, and external
+collaborators.
+
+The interview runs across multiple sessions. Capture answers to disk as you
+go so that no elicited knowledge is lost when a conversation ends, and so a
+later session can resume from where the last one stopped.
+
+## When to Activate
+
+- A brand is being created, repositioned, or needs a written identity reference to brief collaborators.
+- Multiple sessions are expected — the conversation will span days or weeks.
+- Multiple founders or stakeholders need individual interviews before a reconciliation pass.
+- The user wants a structured, repeatable method rather than an ad-hoc chat.
+- Existing brand documentation is scattered, implicit, or founder-dependent and needs to be made explicit.
+
+## Session start protocol
+
+On every activation, perform these steps **before** asking any interview
+question:
+
+1. **Check for prior progress.** Look for an existing set of module files
+   and a `state.json` checkpoint in the project's brand-identity directory.
+   If none exists, this is a fresh start — confirm the brand name,
+   participants, and where to save the brand-identity files, then begin at
+   the first module.
+2. **Read the current module file** if one is in progress, and scan its Raw
+   section for previously captured answers.
+3. **Report to the user** in two or three sentences: which module we are
+   in, its status, and what remains. Then ask: "Continue here, or switch
+   module?"
+
+## Interview discipline
+
+Apply these rules throughout every module:
+
+1. **One question at a time.** Never present a list of questions.
+2. **After each answer:** short paraphrase → one deepening probe OR close
+   the thread if the topic is saturated. Never move on silently.
+3. **Laddering:** for every "what" answer, follow with "Why does that
+   matter to you?" until a core value surfaces (typically two to four
+   iterations).
+4. **5 Whys:** for beliefs or positioning claims — push until the root
+   reason, not the surface declaration, is on the table.
+5. **Detect thin answers:** if generic, jargon-heavy, or vague, ask for
+   one concrete example, a client story, or a number.
+6. **Projective techniques** (use once per module to break a plateau):
+   - "If the brand were a person, how would they walk into a room?"
+   - Brand obituary: "If the organization closed in five years, what would
+     customers miss? What would you regret not having said?"
+   - Competitive contrast: "Name one peer you admire but would never want
+     to become. What specifically makes them the wrong model?"
+7. **Saturation signal:** when two consecutive probes produce no new
+   information, summarise and close the module.
+8. **End of module:** write a structured module file with two sections:
+   - `## Raw` — verbatim quotes and examples.
+   - `## Synthesis` — your interpretation, three candidate formulations,
+     open questions, contradictions between participants.
+   Then update the `state.json` checkpoint (see State protocol below).
+
+## Module sequence
+
+| File | Label | Frameworks used |
+|------|-------|-----------------|
+| `10_purpose-why.md` | Purpose / Why | Sinek Golden Circle, Lencioni |
+| `20_positioning.md` | Positioning | Dunford "Obviously Awesome", Moore template |
+| `30_audience-niche.md` | Audience & Niche | Baker "Business of Expertise", ICP |
+| `40_personality-archetype.md` | Personality & Archetype | Mark & Pearson 12 archetypes, J. Aaker 5 dims |
+| `50_voice-tone.md` | Voice & Tone | Brand voice guidelines |
+| `60_narrative-story.md` | Narrative / Story | Neumeier trueline, brand story arc |
+| `70_founder-tension.md` | Founder Brands vs Studio Brand | Enns "Win Without Pitching" |
+| `90_SYNTHESIS.md` | Master Brandbook | Kapferer prism, Aaker brand system |
+
+Complete modules in order. Honour a user request to jump modules and note
+the skip in `state.json`.
+
+## State write protocol
+
+After each module reaches saturation or done status, write two files:
+
+**Module file** at `modules/{moduleFile}` — full Raw and Synthesis content.
+
+**`state.json`** — a lightweight checkpoint so a later session can resume.
+Update `completedModules`, `inProgressModule`, `nextModule`, `lastUpdated`.
+Schema:
+
+```json
+{
+  "session": "{brand_name}-brand-{YYYY-MM}",
+  "outputPath": "{path_to_brand_identity_directory}",
+  "completedModules": [],
+  "inProgressModule": "10_purpose-why.md",
+  "nextModule": "20_positioning.md",
+  "participants": ["founder-A"],
+  "lastUpdated": "{ISO-8601}"
+}
+```
+
+After writing, confirm: "Module X saved. State updated. Next: Y."
+
+**Terminal module (90_SYNTHESIS.md):** when writing the final synthesis,
+set `inProgressModule` to `"90_SYNTHESIS.md"` and `nextModule` to `null`
+in `state.json`. After writing, set `completedModules` to include
+`"90_SYNTHESIS.md"`, then set `inProgressModule` to `null` — leaving it
+populated would cause a future resumption to treat the completed brandbook
+as still in progress. Confirm: "Brandbook complete. All modules saved."
+
+## Multi-founder mode
+
+When more than one founder participates, write each founder's answers to
+`founders/{participant}.md` instead of the main module files. Validate the
+`participant` name before writing: accept only alphanumeric characters and
+hyphens (e.g. `founder-a`, `anna`); reject names containing path separators
+(`/`, `\`, `..`) or special characters. Validate `moduleFile` against the
+enumerated module sequence (10 through 90 only). Validate `outputPath` to
+ensure it is an absolute path within the project directory — reject relative
+paths and paths that escape via `..` segments. After all founders complete a
+module, run a reconciliation pass: summarise convergences and divergences in
+the module file, flag "productive tensions" for the group alignment workshop.
+
+## Anti-Patterns
+
+- **Starting without reading state first.** Every session must open by checking for existing module files and `state.json`. Skipping this loses all continuity from prior sessions.
+- **Asking multiple questions at once.** One question at a time is not optional — lists produce checklist answers, not real insight.
+- **Moving to Synthesis before saturation.** If the last two probes produced no new information, the module is done. If they did — it isn't.
+- **Skipping multi-founder reconciliation.** When multiple stakeholders are involved, individual interviews must complete before reconciliation. Discussing the brand collectively first introduces anchoring bias.
+- **Treating this as a one-shot session.** This skill is designed for multiple sessions. Rushing to `90_SYNTHESIS.md` in one conversation produces shallow output.
+
+## Related Skills
+
+- `competitive-platform-analysis` — after brand-discovery establishes the positioning brief, use this to scope and categorise the competitor set.
+- `brand-voice` (ECC) — if the brand-discovery voice-and-tone module needs a separate, source-derived writing-style profile.

package/src/harness_context/skills/ecc/brand-discovery/references/10_purpose-why.md

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+# Module 10 — Purpose / Why
+
+> **Frameworks:** Sinek Golden Circle · Lencioni organisational purpose
+>
+> **Goal:** Surface the brand's core belief — the Why that exists independently
+> of what the organisation sells or how it delivers. Captures the founding
+> conviction, not the elevator pitch.
+
+---
+
+## Raw
+
+<!-- Verbatim quotes, stories, and examples captured during the interview.
+     Record exact language — paraphrase belongs in Synthesis, not here.
+     Include speaker attribution if multi-founder session. -->
+
+### Core belief (why does this exist?)
+
+### The behavioural How (values in action, not poster slogans)
+
+### What the brand refuses to be or do
+
+### Founder quotes strong enough to become internal anchors
+
+---
+
+## Synthesis
+
+<!-- Your interpretation of the raw material.
+     Write three sections: formulations, open questions, contradictions. -->
+
+### Candidate Why formulations (offer 2–3 versions, vary register and specificity)
+
+1.
+2.
+3. ### Open questions / threads to pursue in later modules
+
+### Contradictions or tensions between participants (multi-founder only)
+
+### How does this Why constrain or enable positioning? (bridge to Module 20)

package/src/harness_context/skills/ecc/brand-discovery/references/20_positioning.md

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+# Module 20 — Positioning
+
+> **Frameworks:** Dunford *Obviously Awesome* · Moore crossing-the-chasm template ·
+> Jobs-to-be-done lens
+>
+> **Goal:** Define the brand's competitive frame — who it's for, what category it
+> competes in, what it does uniquely, and why that matters to the target client.
+> Output is the raw material for a positioning statement the brand can act on.
+
+---
+
+## Raw
+
+<!-- Verbatim quotes and examples. Record exact language. -->
+
+### Who is the target client? (role, company type, situation)
+
+### What category does the brand compete in? (how clients currently solve this problem)
+
+### What makes the brand different from alternatives in that category?
+
+### What does the target client care about most? (the value they get that others can't match)
+
+### Competitive alternatives named by the founder (include "do nothing" / "hire in-house")
+
+### Phrases or metaphors the founder uses naturally to describe what they do
+
+---
+
+## Synthesis
+
+### Positioning statement draft (Dunford template)
+> For **[target client]** who **[situation / JTBD]**, **[brand name]** is the
+> **[category]** that **[unique value]**. Unlike **[alternatives]**, we
+> **[key differentiator]**.
+
+### Alternative framings (vary the category or the differentiator)
+
+1.
+2. ### White-space hypothesis (what no competitor is claiming that this brand could own)
+
+### Open questions / ambiguities
+
+### Tensions with Module 10 Why (flag any contradictions for Module 90 reconciliation)

package/src/harness_context/skills/ecc/brand-discovery/references/30_audience-niche.md

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+# Module 30 — Audience & Niche
+
+> **Frameworks:** Baker *The Business of Expertise* · Ideal Client Profile (ICP) ·
+> Pain / trigger / desired outcome lens
+>
+> **Goal:** Make the target audience concrete enough to brief a copywriter or run
+> a paid campaign — not a demographic sketch, but a psychographic and situational
+> portrait of the best client the brand wants more of.
+
+---
+
+## Raw
+
+<!-- Verbatim quotes and examples. -->
+
+### Who is the ideal client? (describe a specific person, not a segment)
+
+### What situation or trigger brings them to look for help?
+
+### What have they tried before and why did it fall short?
+
+### What does success look like to them? (in their words, not the brand's)
+
+### What do they fear or want to avoid?
+
+### Worst-fit clients (who the brand doesn't want to work with, and why)
+
+### Quotes or stories from real past clients that illustrate the ideal fit
+
+---
+
+## Synthesis
+
+### Ideal Client Profile (ICP)
+
+| Dimension | Description |
+|---|---|
+| Role / title | |
+| Organisation type & size | |
+| Trigger situation | |
+| Primary pain | |
+| Desired outcome | |
+| Budget signal | |
+| Red-flag / disqualifier | |
+
+### Psychographic portrait (2–3 sentences: how this person thinks, what they value, what they distrust)
+
+### Niche hypothesis (the smallest viable market the brand could credibly own)
+
+### Audience segments to test (if there is ambiguity about primary vs secondary ICP)
+
+### Open questions / threads for Module 20 positioning reconciliation

package/src/harness_context/skills/ecc/brand-discovery/references/40_personality-archetype.md

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+# Module 40 — Personality & Archetype
+
+> **Frameworks:** Mark & Pearson 12 brand archetypes · J. Aaker 5 brand personality
+> dimensions (sincerity / excitement / competence / sophistication / ruggedness)
+>
+> **Goal:** Establish the brand's character — how it would behave if it were a
+> person. Personality governs tone, visual register, and what feels "on brand"
+> versus "wrong". A sharp archetype makes a hundred small decisions automatic.
+
+---
+
+## Raw
+
+<!-- Verbatim quotes and projective-technique responses. -->
+
+### "If the brand were a person, how would they walk into a room?"
+
+### Archetype instinct (which of the 12 resonates immediately, and why?)
+> Creator · Caregiver · Ruler · Jester · Regular Person · Lover · Hero ·
+> Outlaw · Magician · Innocent · Sage · Explorer
+
+### Three adjectives the founder uses most naturally to describe the brand's character
+
+### One brand or public figure the founder admires but the brand should NOT become (and specifically what to avoid)
+
+### One brand or public figure whose personality register the brand aspires to
+
+### How should the brand make clients feel? (not think — feel)
+
+---
+
+## Synthesis
+
+### Primary archetype + shadow
+
+| | |
+|---|---|
+| **Primary archetype** | (name + 1-line why) |
+| **Secondary / shadow** | (what the primary archetype risks becoming; what keeps it honest) |
+
+### J. Aaker personality scores (1–5, 5 = strongly applies)
+
+| Dimension | Score | Evidence |
+|---|---|---|
+| Sincerity (warm, honest, down-to-earth) | | |
+| Excitement (daring, spirited, imaginative) | | |
+| Competence (reliable, intelligent, successful) | | |
+| Sophistication (upper-class, charming) | | |
+| Ruggedness (outdoorsy, tough) | | |
+
+### Personality in action (3 behavioural guidelines derived from the archetype)
+
+1.
+2.
+3. ### What the brand must never sound or look like (the anti-personality)
+
+### Open questions / tensions with Module 50 Voice

package/src/harness_context/skills/ecc/brand-discovery/references/50_voice-tone.md

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+# Module 50 — Voice & Tone
+
+> **Frameworks:** Brand voice spectrum (formal <-> casual, serious <-> playful,
+> distant <-> warm, conventional <-> irreverent) · Content-type tone matrix
+>
+> **Goal:** Codify the brand's verbal register precisely enough that two different
+> writers produce copy that sounds like the same person. Voice is constant;
+> tone shifts by context (home page vs. error message vs. proposal cover).
+
+---
+
+## Raw
+
+<!-- Verbatim quotes and examples from the interview.
+     Collect actual copy samples the founder likes or hates. -->
+
+### Copy the founder admires (from their own brand or others) — include the source
+
+### Copy the founder dislikes or finds "wrong register" — what specifically is wrong?
+
+### Words or phrases the brand uses all the time (even informally)
+
+### Words or phrases the brand actively avoids
+
+### How should the brand sound on: a sales page? an error message? a proposal?
+
+### "We always…" / "We never…" statements about how the brand communicates
+
+---
+
+## Synthesis
+
+### Voice spectrum (mark the brand's position on each axis)
+
+| Axis | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Notes |
+|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
+| Formal ←→ Casual | | | | | | |
+| Serious ←→ Playful | | | | | | |
+| Distant ←→ Warm | | | | | | |
+| Conventional ←→ Irreverent | | | | | | |
+| Minimal ←→ Expressive | | | | | | |
+
+### Voice statement (one paragraph a writer can internalise)
+
+### Tone matrix by content type
+
+| Content type | Tone shift | Example phrase |
+|---|---|---|
+| Homepage headline | | |
+| Case study / evidence | | |
+| Proposal / commercial | | |
+| Error / apology | | |
+| Social / informal | | |
+
+### The three things to check every draft against
+
+1.
+2.
+3. ### Open questions / tensions with Module 40 Personality

package/src/harness_context/skills/ecc/brand-discovery/references/60_narrative-story.md

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+# Module 60 — Narrative / Story
+
+> **Frameworks:** Neumeier trueline · Brand story arc (context → conflict →
+> resolution → invitation) · Hero's journey (brand as guide, client as hero)
+>
+> **Goal:** Crystallise the brand's founding story and its narrative arc — the
+> conflict it was built to resolve, the transformation it delivers, and the
+> invitation it extends to clients. The trueline is the single sentence that
+> holds every story the brand tells.
+
+---
+
+## Raw
+
+<!-- Verbatim quotes and stories. -->
+
+### The founding story (what happened, when, why this — not the polished version)
+
+### The conflict or frustration that made the brand necessary
+
+### What the world looks like when the brand's work succeeds (the transformation)
+
+### A client story that best illustrates what the brand does and why it matters
+
+### What would be lost if the brand didn't exist? (brand obituary prompt)
+
+### The invitation: what does the brand ask clients to do or believe?
+
+---
+
+## Synthesis
+
+### Trueline draft (Neumeier: "[Brand] is the only [category] that [unique claim].")
+
+> ### Alternative truelines (2–3 variations, vary level of abstraction)
+
+1.
+2.
+3. ### Brand story arc
+
+| Beat | Content |
+|---|---|
+| **Context** (the world before) | |
+| **Conflict** (what's broken / wrong) | |
+| **Resolution** (what the brand does about it) | |
+| **Invitation** (what the client is asked to do) | |
+
+### The brand as guide (not hero) — what the client achieves, not the brand
+
+### Open questions / tensions with Module 20 Positioning and Module 10 Why

package/src/harness_context/skills/ecc/brand-discovery/references/70_founder-tension.md

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+# Module 70 — Founder Brand vs Organisation Brand
+
+> **Frameworks:** Enns *Win Without Pitching* · Personal brand vs institutional
+> brand spectrum
+>
+> **Goal:** Map the relationship between the founder's personal reputation and the
+> organisation's brand. Clarify how much equity each carries, what the healthy
+> boundary is, and how to sequence personal vs organisation brand investment.
+> Unresolved founder-brand tension is a common scaling bottleneck.
+
+---
+
+## Raw
+
+<!-- Verbatim quotes. -->
+
+### Is the founder personally known in the market? How?
+
+### Do clients buy the founder or the organisation? (ask for evidence, not instinct)
+
+### What happens to the brand if the founder steps back or is unavailable?
+
+### What does the founder want for their personal brand in 3–5 years?
+
+### What does the organisation's brand need to be able to do independently?
+
+### Where has the founder-brand been an asset? Where has it been a constraint?
+
+---
+
+## Synthesis
+
+### Current state: where on the spectrum?
+
+```
+[Founder IS the brand] ←————————→ [Organisation brand stands alone]
+         1         2         3         4         5
+```
+Current position: `___`   Target position (3-year): `___`
+
+### What the founder brand should own (and keeps owning)
+
+### What the organisation brand needs to own (independently of the founder)
+
+### Transition plan sketch (if moving from founder-centric toward institutional)
+
+### Risk if nothing changes
+
+### Open questions / threads for Module 90 Synthesis

package/src/harness_context/skills/ecc/brand-discovery/references/90_SYNTHESIS.md

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+# Module 90 — Master Brandbook (Synthesis)
+
+> **Frameworks:** Kapferer Brand Identity Prism · Aaker brand system (identity /
+> personality / associations / equity)
+>
+> **Goal:** Reconcile all seven preceding modules into a single, actionable
+> brandbook. This document is the source of truth the brand uses to brief
+> designers, writers, and external collaborators. It resolves tensions between
+> modules, commits to specific formulations, and translates them into practical
+> guidelines.
+
+---
+
+## Raw
+
+<!-- Module 90 consolidates outputs from Modules 10–70; minimal new raw input is
+     collected here. Capture any final founder statements or corrections made
+     during the synthesis pass below. -->
+
+---
+
+## Synthesis
+
+### 1. The Why (from Module 10)
+
+> **Core belief:**
+>
+> **Behavioural How (values in action):**
+>
+> **What we refuse to be:**
+
+---
+
+### 2. Positioning (from Module 20)
+
+> **Positioning statement:**
+> For **[target client]** who **[situation]**, **[brand name]** is the
+> **[category]** that **[unique value]**. Unlike **[alternatives]**, we
+> **[key differentiator]**.
+>
+> **White-space the brand owns:**
+
+---
+
+### 3. Audience (from Module 30)
+
+> **Ideal Client Profile (one-paragraph portrait):**
+>
+> **Niche the brand is building toward:**
+>
+> **Red-flag / disqualifier:**
+
+---
+
+### 4. Kapferer Brand Identity Prism
+
+| Facet | Content |
+|---|---|
+| **Physique** (visible, tangible brand attributes) | |
+| **Personality** (character if the brand were a person) | |
+| **Culture** (values and principles behind the brand) | |
+| **Relationship** (how the brand relates to clients) | |
+| **Reflection** (how clients see themselves using this brand) | |
+| **Self-image** (how clients feel inside when using this brand) | |
+
+---
+
+### 4b. Aaker Brand System (from Module 40)
+
+> **Primary archetype** (Mark & Pearson):
+>
+> **Secondary archetype** (if present):
+>
+> **Aaker brand identity** — four dimensions:
+> - *Brand as product:*
+> - *Brand as organisation:*
+> - *Brand as person (personality):*
+> - *Brand as symbol:*
+>
+> **Brand associations** (3–5 key associations the brand should own):
+>
+> **Brand equity signals** (what clients would lose if this brand disappeared):
+
+---
+
+### 5. Voice & Tone summary (from Module 50)
+
+> **Voice statement (one paragraph):**
+>
+> **The three checks every draft must pass:**
+> 1.
+> 2.
+> 3.
+
+---
+
+### 6. Narrative assets (from Module 60)
+
+> **Trueline:**
+>
+> **Brand story arc (one paragraph, usable as an About page starting point):**
+
+---
+
+### 7. Founder / organisation brand boundary (from Module 70)
+
+> **What the founder brand owns:**
+>
+> **What the organisation brand owns:**
+
+---
+
+### 8. Tensions resolved (record any module-to-module conflicts and how they were settled)
+
+| Tension | Module A | Module B | Resolution |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| | | | |
+
+---
+
+### 9. Open questions deferred to next session
+
+<!-- Anything that couldn't be resolved with the current data. -->
+
+---
+
+### 10. Practical next steps
+
+<!-- 3–5 concrete actions the brand can take based on this brandbook. -->
+
+1.
+2.
+3.

package/src/harness_context/skills/ecc/brand-voice/LICENSE.ecc

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+MIT License
+
+Copyright (c) 2026 Affaan Mustafa
+
+Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+
+The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
+copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
+SOFTWARE.