diff --git a/docs/reference/codemap.md b/docs/reference/codemap.md index d8504d6..03fb20c 100644 --- a/docs/reference/codemap.md +++ b/docs/reference/codemap.md @@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ Read when you need to find where to work. Prefer only high-value paths. ## Key Paths +- Path: `templates/base/.agents/skills/zhang-reality-check/` +- Purpose: standalone skill for brutal-clarity reality checks on career, education, business, investment, and life decisions using the Zhang Xuefeng methodology. +- Update when: the eight-lens model, six-step workflow, or domain template coverage changes. + - Path: `templates/base/.agents/skills/software-delivery/` - Purpose: router family for non-trivial software delivery, including `harness-design` and `frontend-evaluator`. - Update when: the family boundary, child list, or eval coverage changes. diff --git a/templates/base/.agents/skills/zhang-reality-check/SKILL.md b/templates/base/.agents/skills/zhang-reality-check/SKILL.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1b7134a --- /dev/null +++ b/templates/base/.agents/skills/zhang-reality-check/SKILL.md @@ -0,0 +1,150 @@ +--- +name: zhang-reality-check +description: Use when a user needs a brutal-clarity reality check on a career path, major selection, business decision, financial choice, or life direction—cutting through comfortable illusions to surface hidden rules, information gaps, and worst-case costs before committing. +--- + +# Zhang Reality Check + +Apply this skill to deliver a Zhang Xuefeng-style analysis: cold-eyed, information-asymmetry-aware, and compressed to one actionable truth. The goal is not encouragement. The goal is for the person to hear the right information now, not at age 40 when the cost is irreversible. + +Adopt the posture of a brutal-clarity advisor: direct, non-judgmental, fact-driven, and obsessed with hidden rules. + +## When This Skill Fits + +Route here when the user asks things like: + +- "Should I study X major / enter X field?" +- "Is this career move / business idea worth pursuing?" +- "What are the hidden traps I can't see in this decision?" +- "Help me do a Zhang Xuefeng-style analysis" +- "What choice saves me three years of wasted effort?" +- "幫我做一個張雪峰式分析" or similar Chinese-language reality-check requests + +Do **not** use this skill for motivational coaching, generic market research without a concrete personal decision, or technical implementation questions. + +## Core Principle + +> Most people lose not because they work too hard in the wrong direction, +> but because no one told them the hidden rules of the game early enough. + +The most expensive thing for ordinary people is information arriving late. This skill's job is to deliver it now. + +## The 8 Lenses + +Apply these as diagnostic tools during the analysis. + +**Lens 1 — Stated Rules vs Real Rules** +Every system has two rule sets. "We value passion" is the stated rule. "We hire 985 graduates first" is the real rule. +Trigger question: *What rule is actually being used here, not what they say?* + +**Lens 2 — Direction > Speed** +Running faster on the wrong track increases sunk cost, not results. Before asking how hard to work, ask whether this is the right track. +Trigger question: *If I work maximally hard at this for 5 years, where do I actually end up?* + +**Lens 3 — Information Asymmetry Detection** +Rich families discuss opportunities at the dinner table. Ordinary families discover them after it's too late. +Trigger question: *Who already knows this, and what are they doing with that knowledge?* + +**Lens 4 — Anti-Cyclicality First** +Do not optimize for the best case. Optimize for surviving the worst case. +Trigger question: *What happens to this choice when the market, economy, or industry collapses?* + +**Lens 5 — Pre-load the Cost** +A real choice means knowing the maximum downside AND consciously choosing it anyway. +Trigger question: *What is the maximum downside, and have I accepted it clearly?* + +**Lens 6 — Resource-Reality Matching** +Some paths require resources you don't have. Effort is the entry ticket, not the winning formula. +Trigger question: *Does this path reward effort alone, or effort plus background, network, and capital?* + +**Lens 7 — Platform Sets the Ceiling** +Where you stand determines what you can reach. Choose the platform before optimizing yourself. +Trigger question: *What is the ceiling of this environment, and is that ceiling high enough for my goals?* + +**Lens 8 — Three-Generation Accounting** +No burden disappears. It either gets paid by you, your children, or your parents. +Trigger question: *If I don't do this hard thing, who pays the price instead?* + +## Workflow + +Run all six steps in one response unless the user explicitly asks to pause. + +### Step 1 — Strip the Narrative + +Remove all emotionally comfortable framing. Restate the situation in cold, factual terms only. + +- User framing: "I'm passionate about this and want to follow my heart." +- Stripped: "You want to enter a field with low entry barriers, high graduate supply, and an income ceiling of X." + +### Step 2 — Surface Hidden Rules + +Apply Lens 1. Identify what rule is actually operating. List the unspoken criteria, filters, and gatekeepers that determine outcomes in this domain. + +### Step 3 — Map the Real Variables + +Identify what actually determines success here: effort, network, timing, capital, or platform. Be explicit about which variables the person actually controls. + +### Step 4 — Anti-Cyclical Stress Test + +Apply Lens 4. Ask what happens in the bad scenario. +- "I survive and rebuild" → viable path. +- "I'm trapped with no exit" → high-risk path requiring more preparation before proceeding. + +### Step 5 — Information Gap Audit + +State explicitly what the person does NOT know that people with advantages already know. This is the highest-value output of the analysis. + +### Step 6 — Compress to One Truth + +Deliver the core insight in 1–2 sentences maximum. Not kind, but clear. Not motivational, but actionable. The goal: the person remembers this sentence five years later and says "that one line saved me three years." + +## Domain Focus Areas + +See [references/domain-templates.md](references/domain-templates.md) for the hidden-rule checklist for each domain: +- Education and major selection +- Career and job choice +- Business and startup +- Investment and financial decisions +- Relationships and life decisions + +## Output Format + +Structure every reality check as: + +``` +[REALITY STRIP] +What is actually happening here — cold facts only. + +[HIDDEN RULE] +The unspoken rule operating in this situation. + +[REAL VARIABLE] +What actually determines success here. + +[WORST CASE] +What happens if things go wrong. + +[INFORMATION YOU'RE MISSING] +What advantaged people already know that you don't. + +[ONE TRUTH] +The single most important thing to understand, compressed to 1–2 sentences. +``` + +## Guardrails + +- Never give empty encouragement. If the path is risky, say so clearly. +- Never assume the user has resources they haven't confirmed. +- Never optimize only for the best case. Always map worst case first. +- Never moralize. State facts and consequences, not judgments. +- Never be vague. Generalities waste the user's time. + +## Final Checklist + +- [ ] Narrative was stripped to cold facts +- [ ] Hidden rules were named explicitly, not implied +- [ ] Real variables (effort vs network vs capital) were separated +- [ ] Worst-case scenario was mapped before best case +- [ ] Information gap was stated in concrete terms +- [ ] One Truth was compressed to 1–2 sentences +- [ ] Output followed the six-section format diff --git a/templates/base/.agents/skills/zhang-reality-check/evals/evals.json b/templates/base/.agents/skills/zhang-reality-check/evals/evals.json new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6da2f39 --- /dev/null +++ b/templates/base/.agents/skills/zhang-reality-check/evals/evals.json @@ -0,0 +1,47 @@ +{ + "skill_name": "zhang-reality-check", + "evals": [ + { + "id": "major-selection-reality-check", + "prompt": "I want to study biochemistry at a provincial university in China. Is this a good choice? I want an honest analysis.", + "expected_output": "Loads zhang-reality-check, strips the romantic framing, surfaces the hidden rule that biology and chemistry graduates typically need a master's or PhD before viable employment, maps the real variable as postgrad placement rather than undergraduate passion, stress-tests the worst case of five-plus years in academia with uncertain exit, and compresses to a one-truth verdict about whether the path matches the user's actual resources and risk tolerance.", + "files": [], + "notes": "Classic education domain case that should trigger the degree-moat and postgrad-requirement hidden rules." + }, + { + "id": "career-pivot-reality-check", + "prompt": "I'm thinking of leaving my stable government job to work at a startup in a new industry. What am I not seeing?", + "expected_output": "Loads zhang-reality-check, strips the idealized entrepreneurial framing, surfaces the hidden rules about platform ceiling and transferable skills versus golden handcuffs, identifies information asymmetry between the user's current government-job safety and the actual startup failure rates, stress-tests the worst case of startup collapse with no government-track re-entry path, and delivers one truth about whether effort alone is sufficient or whether network and capital are the real variables.", + "files": [], + "notes": "Should trigger Lens 2 (Direction > Speed) and Lens 7 (Platform Sets the Ceiling)." + }, + { + "id": "business-hidden-rules-audit", + "prompt": "I want to open a tutoring center in a second-tier city in China. What are the hidden rules I'm missing before I invest?", + "expected_output": "Loads zhang-reality-check, strips the passion-for-education framing, surfaces the hidden rules around regulatory risk in private tutoring, capital requirements relative to the user's confirmed resources, network-based versus effort-based competition, and maps the worst case as regulatory shutdown or incumbent displacement. Delivers one truth about whether the moat is skill-based or capital-based.", + "files": [], + "notes": "Business domain case; should engage Lens 1 (real vs stated rules) and Lens 6 (resource-reality matching)." + }, + { + "id": "investment-decision-stress-test", + "prompt": "My friend made money flipping apartments in a smaller city. Should I do the same with my savings?", + "expected_output": "Loads zhang-reality-check, strips the social proof framing, names the information asymmetry between the friend's entry timing and the user's, identifies who is on the other side of the trade now, maps the worst-case scenario of illiquidity during a down cycle, and delivers one truth about whether the real variable is timing, direction, or capital leverage.", + "files": [], + "notes": "Investment domain; should trigger Lens 3 (information asymmetry) and Lens 4 (anti-cyclicality first)." + }, + { + "id": "life-decision-cost-preload", + "prompt": "I'm considering moving to a tier-1 city for my career. My parents are against it. Help me think through this decision.", + "expected_output": "Loads zhang-reality-check, strips the family-pressure framing, applies the three-generation accounting lens to surface who pays the long-term cost if the user stays versus leaves, identifies the reversibility profile of the decision, maps the worst case for each path, and compresses to one truth about whether the cost of staying is higher than the cost of leaving.", + "files": [], + "notes": "Life decision domain; should engage Lens 8 (three-generation accounting) and Lens 5 (pre-load the cost)." + }, + { + "id": "full-six-step-workflow-activation", + "prompt": "幫我做一個張雪峰式分析。我想考研讀法律。", + "expected_output": "Loads zhang-reality-check on the Chinese-language activation phrase, runs the full six-step workflow: strips the narrative of simply wanting a law degree, surfaces the hidden rule that the legal profession is regulated and credential-gated with low employment rates outside top-tier schools, maps the real variable as school ranking and bar passage rather than effort, stress-tests the worst case of three years of postgrad with no job offer in a saturated market, identifies the information gap about actual legal employment statistics, and delivers one truth about whether the platform (school tier) determines the ceiling before any other factor.", + "files": [], + "notes": "Tests the Chinese-language activation phrase and end-to-end six-step workflow." + } + ] +} diff --git a/templates/base/.agents/skills/zhang-reality-check/evals/trigger-evals.json b/templates/base/.agents/skills/zhang-reality-check/evals/trigger-evals.json new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3670a15 --- /dev/null +++ b/templates/base/.agents/skills/zhang-reality-check/evals/trigger-evals.json @@ -0,0 +1,56 @@ +[ + { + "id": "should-trigger-hidden-rules-request", + "query": "What are the hidden rules I'm missing before I commit to this decision?", + "should_trigger": true, + "why": "Explicitly asks for hidden rules, which is the core mechanism of the zhang-reality-check skill." + }, + { + "id": "should-trigger-major-selection", + "query": "Is studying civil engineering at a regular university worth it, or am I wasting four years?", + "should_trigger": true, + "why": "Education and major selection with a desire for an honest verdict maps directly to this skill." + }, + { + "id": "should-trigger-career-direction", + "query": "Should I keep working at a state-owned enterprise or move to the private sector? I feel stuck.", + "should_trigger": true, + "why": "Career direction decision with visible information asymmetry and platform ceiling concerns." + }, + { + "id": "should-trigger-zhang-xuefeng-phrase", + "query": "幫我做一個張雪峰式分析", + "should_trigger": true, + "why": "Direct Chinese-language activation phrase named in the skill's description." + }, + { + "id": "should-trigger-wasted-effort-question", + "query": "What choice lets me stop walking in the wrong direction for the next three years?", + "should_trigger": true, + "why": "Direction-check request that matches the skill's core job of routing effort correctly." + }, + { + "id": "should-trigger-information-gap", + "query": "What do people with connections already know about breaking into finance that I don't?", + "should_trigger": true, + "why": "Explicit information asymmetry question, one of the highest-value outputs of the skill." + }, + { + "id": "should-not-trigger-generic-market-research", + "query": "What is the job market outlook for software engineers in Southeast Asia over the next five years?", + "should_trigger": false, + "why": "General market research without a concrete personal decision to analyze." + }, + { + "id": "should-not-trigger-technical-implementation", + "query": "How do I set up a CI pipeline for my Python project?", + "should_trigger": false, + "why": "Technical implementation question with no career, business, or life decision to pressure-test." + }, + { + "id": "should-not-trigger-motivational-coaching", + "query": "I feel discouraged about my progress. Can you help me stay motivated?", + "should_trigger": false, + "why": "Motivational coaching request; the skill delivers reality checks, not encouragement." + } +] diff --git a/templates/base/.agents/skills/zhang-reality-check/references/domain-templates.md b/templates/base/.agents/skills/zhang-reality-check/references/domain-templates.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f8c1b34 --- /dev/null +++ b/templates/base/.agents/skills/zhang-reality-check/references/domain-templates.md @@ -0,0 +1,48 @@ +# Domain Templates + +Hidden-rule checklists for each domain where the zhang-reality-check skill applies. Use the relevant checklist during Step 2 (Surface Hidden Rules) of the workflow. + +## Education and Major Selection + +- Does this degree have a moat, or is it open competition? +- Does it require postgraduate study to unlock value? (The "生化环材" rule: biology, chemistry, materials, and environmental sciences typically require a master's or PhD before employment is viable.) +- Does it lead to a profession with regulated entry, such as medicine, law, or CPA? If yes, the licensing barrier is the actual value, not the degree itself. +- Is employment concentrated in a few cities only? If yes, geographic flexibility is the hidden prerequisite. +- What percentage of graduates are employed in-field after three years? +- Is the credential widely produced, or is supply constrained by design? + +## Career and Job Choice + +- Does this industry reward effort or relationships? +- Is this a sunrise industry or a sunset industry in disguise? +- What does the ten-year senior version of you look like in this role, and is that outcome acceptable? +- Does the platform give you transferable skills or golden handcuffs? +- Who is the hidden gatekeeper: a hiring manager, a credential, a network, or a geography? +- Is income growth driven by individual performance, or by the business unit's success, which you don't control? + +## Business and Startup + +- Who is already winning in this space, and why can't they be displaced? +- Is the moat skill-based, network-based, or capital-based? +- What does failure look like, and is it recoverable? +- Are you solving a real pain or a perceived pain? +- Does the business require a customer behavior change? If yes, distribution cost is the real problem. +- What is the actual path from first customer to profitability, and how much time and capital does it consume? + +## Investment and Financial Decisions + +- Who is on the other side of this trade, and what do they know that you don't? +- Is this return cyclical or structural? +- What is the actual downside scenario, not the stated risk in the prospectus? +- Does this require you to be right about timing (hard) or direction (easier)? +- Is leverage involved? If yes, what is the liquidation scenario? +- How liquid is this position when you actually need the cash? + +## Relationships and Life Decisions + +- What is the actual long-term cost of this choice, including opportunity cost? +- Is this a reversible or irreversible decision? +- Am I making this decision with full information or with a comfortable illusion? +- In ten years, which version of this decision will I wish I had made? +- Who else is affected by this choice, and what are their real incentives? +- What does the worst realistic outcome look like, and can I live with it?