--- name: business-ops description: "Business operations: strategy, technology, growth, competitive intelligence, support, finance, HR, legal, operations, sales, productivity, product management." user-invocable: false allowed-tools: - Read - Write - Bash - Grep - Glob - Edit routing: triggers: - "business strategy" - "build vs buy" - "vendor evaluation" - "competitive analysis" - "market landscape" - "brand strategy" - "pricing strategy" - "hiring plan" - "team structure" - "budget allocation" - "revenue model" - "go to market" - "product roadmap strategy" - "investor pitch" - "partnership evaluation" - "operational efficiency" - "customer acquisition cost" - "unit economics" - "business model" - "market fit" not_for: "micro library choices (use decision-helper), writing content, SEO of specific posts, or tactical marketing competitive analysis (use marketing) — this is executive strategy, not campaign execution. Code security audits, vulnerability scanning, or auth-flow reviews (use security) — only financial/accounting audit and SOX compliance. Code performance review (use reviewer-code) — this covers people performance reviews and HR operations. Software task specs, requirements, or plan-lifecycle management (use planning) — this skill prioritizes and tracks work, not specs. UX design methodology, wireframes, or accessibility audits (use design) — this handles product strategy, roadmaps, user research for feature prioritization." complexity: Medium category: decision-support pairs_with: - content - data --- # Business Operations Thirteen modes covering executive strategy through daily productivity. Classify the request into one mode, load its reference, follow that reference's framework. ## Mode Detection | Mode | Signal | Framework | |------|--------|-----------| | **STRATEGY** | Market entry, partnerships, resource allocation, "should we" | FRAME -> ANALYZE -> DECIDE | | **TECHNOLOGY** | Build vs buy, vendor, SaaS, tech stack | TCO analysis -> Vendor scoring -> Decision | | **GROWTH** | Audience, SEO, brand, community, channel | Segment -> Channel-score -> Plan | | **COMPETITIVE** | Competitor, market landscape, differentiation | Map landscape -> Position -> Track | | **EVALUATION** | Feasibility, ROI, go/no-go, effort estimate | Feasibility score -> ROI model -> Verdict | | **SUPPORT** | Ticket triage, response, KB article, escalation | TRIAGE/RESPOND/KB/ESCALATE/RESEARCH | | **FINANCE** | Journal entry, reconciliation, variance, SOX | CLASSIFY -> GATHER -> PRODUCE -> VERIFY | | **HR** | Recruiting, performance review, compensation, hiring | DEFINE -> PIPELINE/EVALUATE -> DOCUMENT | | **LEGAL** | Contract review, compliance, NDA, DSGVO, GoBD | INTAKE -> ANALYZE -> FLAG -> OUTPUT | | **OPERATIONS** | Runbook, process docs, risk, vendor, change mgmt | SCOPE -> AUTHOR/ASSESS -> VERIFY | | **SALES** | Call prep, pipeline, outreach, forecast | RESEARCH -> PREPARE/ANALYZE -> OUTPUT | | **PRODUCTIVITY** | Task management, daily plan, meeting, standup | CAPTURE -> DECOMPOSE -> PRIORITIZE | | **PRODUCT** | Feature spec, PRD, roadmap, user research, metrics | UNDERSTAND -> GATHER -> GENERATE | If the request spans modes, pick the primary. Note the secondary. --- ## Shared Workflow 1. Classify the request into exactly one mode from the table. 2. Load the mode's reference file (see Deep References). Each reference contains full framework, sub-modes, phases, and deeper reference pointers. 3. Follow the reference's instructions. Do not improvise a framework when one exists. 4. Every mode's top-level reference also specifies an LLM failure-modes guardrail file. Load it alongside the main reference. --- ## Executive Modes (STRATEGY, TECHNOLOGY, GROWTH, COMPETITIVE, EVALUATION) Load `references/csuite.md` for the full C-suite framework. All five modes share the same 3-phase pattern: **Phase 1: FRAME** -- Convert the question into a structured decision. Name the actual decision (users present symptoms; the real decision is broader). Identify irreversibility. Set time horizon. List 2-4 options. State what makes it hard. **Phase 2: ANALYZE** -- Per option: upside (best realistic + expected), downside (worst realistic + recovery + irreversible losses), requirements, opportunity cost. Separate facts from assumptions. Quantify. **Phase 3: DECIDE** -- Score options via weighted criteria. Present verdict with driving factors, risk mitigations, and reversibility assessment. Load mode-specific deep references for scoring matrices. --- ## Support Mode Load `references/customer-support.md`. Five sub-modes: TRIAGE (classify ticket, assign priority P1-P4, route), RESPOND (draft calibrated reply with tone matching emotional state), KB (convert resolution into publish-ready article), ESCALATE (build structured brief with impact assessment), RESEARCH (investigate history with confidence scoring). Key guardrail: never fabricate ticket history, resolution steps, or customer quotes. --- ## Finance Mode Load `references/finance.md`. Six sub-modes: JOURNAL ENTRY, RECONCILIATION, VARIANCE, STATEMENTS, AUDIT/SOX, CLOSE. All output is working material for qualified professionals -- not financial advice. Key guardrails: never fabricate account codes, balances, or transaction details. Source all numbers from user-provided data. Always state GAAP/IFRS basis. --- ## HR Mode Load `references/hr.md`. Nine sub-modes: RECRUITING, PERFORMANCE, COMPENSATION, OFFER, INTERVIEW, ONBOARDING, ORG-PLANNING, PEOPLE-ANALYTICS, POLICY. Key guardrails: source compensation data from user-provided or public databases. Focus on skills, behaviors, outcomes -- not demographics. Include legal review disclaimer on binding language. Ask for jurisdiction before compliance advice. Minimize PII retention. --- ## Legal Mode Load `references/legal.md`. Six sub-modes: CONTRACT (clause-by-clause GREEN/YELLOW/RED analysis), COMPLIANCE (regulation checklist with German compliance for DSGVO/GoBD/TDDDG), NDA (triage classification), RISK (severity x likelihood matrix), WRITING (structured legal documents), VENDOR (agreement inventory and gap analysis). Key guardrail: analysis support only, not legal advice. All binding language needs qualified counsel review. Load `references/legal/german-business-compliance.md` for German-specific regulation. --- ## Operations Mode Load `references/operations.md`. Nine sub-modes: RUNBOOK, RISK, VENDOR, PROCESS, CHANGE, CAPACITY, COMPLIANCE, STATUS, OPTIMIZE. Key patterns: RUNBOOK uses SCOPE -> AUTHOR -> VERIFY with prerequisite checklists. RISK produces severity x likelihood matrices. CHANGE follows RFC -> REVIEW -> IMPLEMENT -> VERIFY. All operations docs require rollback procedures. --- ## Sales Mode Load `references/sales.md`. Seven sub-modes: CALL-PREP, PIPELINE, OUTREACH, COMPETITIVE, FORECAST, CALL-SUMMARY, RESEARCH. Key patterns: CALL-PREP researches prospect then builds agenda with questions. PIPELINE applies health scoring and flags stale deals. OUTREACH personalizes from research (never generic templates). FORECAST uses weighted probability with scenario analysis. --- ## Productivity Mode Load `references/productivity.md`. Six sub-modes: TASK (decompose and prioritize), PLAN (daily/weekly time blocks), MEETING (optimize or eliminate), STATUS (structured updates), REVIEW (weekly retrospective), GOAL (OKRs). Key patterns: vertical slicing for task decomposition (shippable slices, not horizontal layers). 1/2/4-hour time buckets. Tasks over 4 hours need decomposition. --- ## Product Mode Load `references/product-management.md`. Eight sub-modes: SPEC (PRD with acceptance criteria), ROADMAP (Now/Next/Later prioritization), STAKEHOLDER (structured updates), RESEARCH (synthesis with thematic analysis), COMPETITIVE (battle cards), METRICS (funnel/cohort/retention analysis), SPRINT (backlog grooming with capacity), BRAINSTORM (Socratic exploration). --- ## Error Handling | Error | Response | |-------|----------| | Too many options (5+) | Eliminate obviously inferior first. Get to 2-4. | | Not enough information | Identify 2-3 critical unknowns. Recommend research sprint. | | Analysis paralysis | Reversibility test. If reversible, recommend best option with checkpoint. | | Emotional attachment | Name the pattern. Ask: stress-test, or genuinely evaluate? | --- ## Deep References All references contain >100 lines of domain-specific frameworks, templates, and guardrails. Load on demand per mode. | Mode | Primary | Sub-references | |------|---------|----------------| | STRATEGY | `references/csuite.md` | `references/strategic-frameworks.md`, `references/decision-matrices.md` | | TECHNOLOGY | `references/csuite.md` | `references/tco-framework.md`, `references/vendor-evaluation.md` | | GROWTH | `references/csuite.md` | `references/audience-segmentation.md`, `references/channel-evaluation.md` | | COMPETITIVE | `references/csuite.md` | `references/competitive-mapping.md`, `references/market-positioning.md` | | EVALUATION | `references/csuite.md` | `references/feasibility-scoring.md`, `references/roi-frameworks.md` | | SUPPORT | `references/customer-support.md` | `references/customer-support/*.md` | | FINANCE | `references/finance.md` | `references/finance/*.md` | | HR | `references/hr.md` | `references/hr/*.md` | | LEGAL | `references/legal.md` | `references/legal/*.md` | | OPERATIONS | `references/operations.md` | `references/operations/*.md` | | SALES | `references/sales.md` | `references/sales/*.md` | | PRODUCTIVITY | `references/productivity.md` | `references/productivity/*.md` | | PRODUCT | `references/product-management.md` | `references/product-management/*.md` | | Cross-cutting | `references/content-funnel.md`, `references/trend-analysis.md`, `references/risk-assessment.md`, `references/estimation-techniques.md`, `references/migration-planning.md` | Shared frameworks |