AI Use by Temperament
AI Use by Temperament
Theoretical foundations: Grant C. Sterling (Eastern Illinois University). Analysis and synthesis: Dave Kelly. Prose rendering: Claude (Anthropic). 2026.
The beginning
The aim is to put AI to use according to one's temperament. Each type's needs, as phrased from John M. Oldham's descriptions of the styles, are taken as given, and each is matched to the AI uses that suit it. Oldham page numbers stand in parentheses. The Inventive and Exuberant lists are PTypes-original and carry no Oldham pages; their needs are numbered in list order.
Three rules follow from that beginning:
- AI serves the need. It does not correct it.
- A need with no clear expression in AI use is not carried.
- A need whose AI expression would be a misuse rather than a fit is not carried.
Each carried need gets a short description and a prompt template. Bracketed text is filled in by the user. Tap a type to open it; tap Copy on any prompt to paste it into the AI you use.
1. Conscientious
The Conscientious work hard, hold high standards and want things right to the last detail. The uses below help them do that at greater scale.
1. Achievement through hard work (62–64, 66)
Take on bigger bodies of work than one person could sustain, with AI multiplying intense, single-minded effort on important projects.
Role: Major Project Planner and Work Multiplier.
Context: I commit intense, single-minded effort to important projects. I want to take on a larger body of work than one person could sustain, with you multiplying my effort.
Task: Plan the project and divide the labor so my effort goes furthest.
Structure:
1. Project Definition:
- The deliverable, why it matters, and the exact criteria for completion.
2. Work Breakdown:
- Every component and sub-task, with estimated effort for each.
3. Multiplication Map:
- Which tasks AI can draft, process or check, and which I must do personally.
4. Production Schedule:
- Daily or weekly targets and dated milestones.
5. Progress Ledger:
- A table: Task | Assigned To | Target Date | Status | Date Completed.
---
The Project:
[Describe it]
Completion Criteria:
[What finished means]
Time Available:
[Hours per day or week]
Deadline:
[Date]2. Perfection to the final detail (63, 64, 71)
Run repeated refinement passes, polishing and proofing until no minor flaw survives. AI never tires of the tenth revision.
Role: Line-by-Line Refinement Editor.
Context: I want this work polished until no minor flaw survives. I will run repeated passes, each with a single focus.
Task: Make one full refinement pass on the dimension I name.
Structure:
1. Pass Scope:
- Confirm the one dimension this pass covers: accuracy, grammar, punctuation, style, formatting or consistency.
2. Defect List:
- Every flaw on that dimension, with its location, the problem, and the correction.
3. Revised Text:
- The text with all corrections applied and each change marked.
4. Residual Questions:
- Anything where the right correction is uncertain and needs my decision.
5. Next Pass:
- The dimension most worth covering next.
---
Text:
[Paste it]
Style Guide or Conventions:
[e.g., Chicago, house style, none]
Pass Number and Focus:
[e.g., Pass 4: punctuation]3. Thoroughness (65)
Check and recheck: verify facts, cross-check sources, and test reasoning step by step before reaching a conclusion.
Role: Precision Verification Auditor.
Context: Before I reach a conclusion or release this work, I want every fact verified, every source cross-checked and every step of reasoning tested.
Task: Audit the text exhaustively. Do not edit, rewrite or summarize it except to report a finding.
Audit Axes:
1. Claim Inventory:
- Number every factual claim.
2. Fact Check:
- For each claim: verified, unverified or incorrect, with the source. Say plainly when you cannot verify.
3. Source Cross-Check:
- Whether each cited source says what it is cited for.
4. Reasoning Check:
- State each inference step, mark it valid or invalid, and name any unstated premise.
5. Internal Consistency:
- Terms, figures, dates and formatting that differ from one section to another.
Output Format:
A table: Location | Element | Finding | Severity (Critical / Minor / Formatting) | Correction.
If an axis is clean, state: "[Axis]: Verified — no discrepancies detected."
---
Text:
[Paste it]
Sources Cited:
[List or attach them]4. Order, thrift and organization (63)
Turn disorder into systems: catalogues, schedules, templates, budgets, and archives with a place for everything.
Organizing:
Role: Systems Organizer.
Context: I want disorder turned into a system with a place for everything and everything in its place.
Task: Design a complete organizing system for the material I describe.
Structure:
1. Inventory:
- List what is to be organized.
2. Classification Scheme:
- Categories with explicit rules, so every item has exactly one place.
3. Naming Conventions and Locations:
- A consistent naming pattern and a fixed location for each category.
4. Schedules and Templates:
- The recurring maintenance tasks, and a standard template for each kind of record.
5. Standard Procedure:
- Step-by-step instructions for filing new items and retrieving old ones, with a check at each stage.
---
What Needs Organizing:
[Files, papers, photos, tasks, household items]
Current State:
[How it is arranged now]
Tools:
[Folders, apps, cabinets]Thrift:
Role: Budget Auditor and Resource Steward.
Context: I avoid waste and want every expense accounted for.
Task: Audit my spending and resources for waste.
Structure:
1. Expense Inventory:
- Every item, categorized.
2. Waste Flags:
- Duplicate charges, unused subscriptions, redundant purchases and non-standard items.
3. Savings Table:
- Item | Current Cost | Recommended Action | Annual Saving.
4. Budget:
- A category budget based on actual needs.
5. Review Schedule:
- When and how to repeat this audit.
---
Expenses:
[Paste statements, receipts or a list]
Period:
[Month, quarter, year]5. Saving and collecting (63)
Build curated, indexed collections and personal knowledge bases that keep everything worth keeping.
Role: Collection Curator and Knowledge-Base Architect.
Context: I keep what is worth keeping and want it curated, catalogued and findable.
Task: Design the collection or knowledge base and its catalogue.
Structure:
1. Scope and Inclusion Criteria:
- What belongs in the collection and what does not.
2. Catalogue Schema:
- The fields recorded for every item (title, date, source, subject, location, condition).
3. Index:
- A subject index with cross-references between related items.
4. Intake Procedure:
- The steps for adding a new item so the catalogue stays complete.
5. Preservation Rules:
- Storage, backups and what is retained in which form.
---
The Collection:
[What you collect or want to keep]
Size and Current State:
[Approximate count and how it is kept now]
Tools:
[Spreadsheet, notes app, shelves]6. Firm principles and being right (63, 67, 71)
Build rigorous arguments, check one's principles for consistency, and prepare a case thoroughly before defending it.
Role: Argument Builder and Principle Consistency Checker.
Context: I hold firm principles and want my positions to rest on them rigorously. Before I defend a case, I want it prepared thoroughly.
Task: Check my principles for consistency and build the case for my position from them.
Structure:
1. Principles Stated:
- My principles as numbered propositions, in my wording.
2. Consistency Check:
- Any two principles that conflict, or any principle that conflicts with the position.
3. Case Construction:
- The argument for my position, premises numbered, with each step traced to the principles it rests on.
4. Objections and Replies:
- The strongest objections, each with a reply drawn from the principles.
5. Evidence List:
- The facts and sources the case depends on, and which still need verifying.
---
My Principles:
[State them]
My Position:
[What I intend to defend]
The Opposing View:
[What the other side holds]
Occasion:
[Debate, letter, meeting, essay]7. High standards and responsibility (65–68)
Set explicit quality criteria and produce work that meets professional and socially approved standards every time.
Role: Quality Criteria Designer and Inspector.
Context: I hold myself responsible for work that meets professional and socially approved standards every time. I want the standards made explicit and the work inspected against them.
Task: Set the criteria and inspect the work against them.
Structure:
1. Applicable Standards:
- The professional or accepted standards that govern this kind of work, with their sources.
2. Criteria Checklist:
- Each standard turned into a binary pass/fail criterion.
3. Inspection:
- A table: Criterion | Pass / Fail / Partial | Evidence | Severity.
4. Remediation:
- For each failure, the exact correction and where it goes.
5. Determination:
- Approved, approved after minor corrections, or revise and resubmit.
---
The Work:
[Paste or describe it]
Kind of Work and Field:
[e.g., legal letter, research paper, tax filing]
Standards I Already Know Apply:
[Any]8. Keeping busy (64, 70)
Always have a structured next task ready, so free time becomes project time.
Role: Project Queue Manager.
Context: I like always having a structured next task ready, so free time becomes project time.
Task: Build a ready queue of work from my projects.
Structure:
1. Project Register:
- Every project and its current status.
2. Next Actions:
- For each project, the next concrete task and the time it needs.
3. Ready Queue:
- Tasks sorted by the time they take: 15 minutes, one hour, half a day.
4. Week Plan:
- Tasks assigned to the free blocks I list.
5. Pipeline:
- The projects to start as current ones finish.
---
My Projects:
[List them with status]
Free Time This Week:
[Days and hours]
Projects I Want to Start:
[Any]9. Control (77)
Use workflows the person directs step by step, approving each stage before the next.
Role: Stage-Gated Workflow Executor.
Context: I direct this work step by step. You carry out one stage at a time and wait for my approval before beginning the next.
Task: Execute the work under these rules.
Rules:
1. Workflow Plan:
- Propose the stages, each with its deliverable and acceptance criteria. Wait for my approval of the plan.
2. One Stage at a Time:
- Produce only the current stage.
3. Approval Gate:
- End each stage by asking: "Approve, revise, or stop?" Do not proceed without my approval.
4. Change Control:
- Make no change to an approved stage unless I direct it.
5. Log:
- Keep a running record of each stage, my decision and any revisions.
---
The Work:
[Describe it]
My Requirements:
[Standards, constraints, format]Not carried
- Avoiding intimacy and the expression of feelings (71). It has no clear expression in AI use.
Also not carried. Uses that set AI against the temperament, such as setting a "good enough" stopping rule, generating first drafts to break perfectionist paralysis, or scripting delegation to overcome reluctance to hand work off, belong to a separate document on remedy, where correction is the stated aim.
For the Conscientious, AI is a tireless checker and organizer that never tires of standards.
2. Sensitive
The Sensitive value routine, preparation, discretion and a small world of a few dear people. The uses below help them live that way well.
1. Familiarity and routine (180, 188)
A consistent, familiar partner built into daily routines, taking over recurring tasks so the day runs predictably.
Role: Routine Keeper.
Context: I like my days to run predictably, with a consistent, familiar partner built into my routine. I want recurring tasks handled the same way every time.
Task: Build my routine and take over the recurring tasks that fit.
Structure:
1. Routine Map:
- My regular day and week as a table: Day | Time | Activity.
2. Recurring Tasks:
- Which ones you can take over (standard messages, lists, meal plans, reminders to set).
3. Standard Formats:
- A fixed template for each recurring task, so the output looks the same every time.
4. Standing Session:
- A fixed opening I can use each day (e.g., "Daily: [date]") and exactly what you produce in reply.
5. Advance Notice:
- Anything unusual coming up in the period, listed ahead so nothing breaks the routine by surprise.
---
My Regular Day and Week:
[Describe them]
Recurring Tasks:
[What repeats]
Coming Up:
[Appointments, visits, changes]2. Scripted settings (181)
Know exactly what to say before a call, meeting, letter or visit, with AI drafting the script and rehearsing the exchange in advance.
The script:
Role: Script Writer.
Context: I like to know exactly what I will say before a call, meeting, letter or visit.
Task: Write the script for the exchange.
Structure:
1. Purpose:
- What the exchange must accomplish, in one sentence.
2. Opening:
- My first lines, word for word.
3. Main Points:
- Each point with the exact wording I will use.
4. Likely Responses:
- What the other person is likely to say, with my reply to each.
5. Closing:
- How I end the exchange, word for word.
---
The Exchange:
[Call, meeting, letter, visit]
The Other Person:
[Who they are and our relationship]
What I Need to Say or Ask:
[Describe it]The rehearsal:
Role: Realistic Rehearsal Partner.
Context: I have an exchange coming up with [role or relationship] and want to rehearse it until I know exactly what to say.
Simulation Rules:
1. Persona:
- Play [name or role]. Be realistic: courteous, with the ordinary questions and pushback a real person would have.
2. One Turn at a Time:
- Reply with one turn only. Do not write the whole conversation or break character until I type "/stop".
3. Coaching Pause:
- If I type "/pause", step out of character and tell me whether my last line said what I meant and came across courteously, with one or two alternative wordings.
4. Scenario:
- Setting: [e.g., phone call, office visit]
- My Objective: [What I need to say or ask]
- Their Likely Stance: [What I expect them to think or want]
To start, set the scene in one sentence and give the opening line.3. Preparing for every contingency (185)
Plan scenarios: anticipate questions, list what could go wrong, and have an answer ready for each, so nothing comes as a surprise.
Role: Contingency Planner.
Context: I want to be ready for anything an upcoming event might bring, so nothing comes as a surprise.
Task: Prepare me for every reasonable contingency.
Structure:
1. Event Outline:
- What will happen, in order.
2. Questions I May Be Asked:
- Each question with a prepared answer.
3. What Could Go Wrong:
- Each possibility, with how likely it is.
4. Response Plan:
- For each possibility, what I will do or say.
5. Pocket Card:
- A one-page summary I can take with me.
---
The Event:
[Appointment, meeting, trip, visit]
Who Will Be There:
[People and roles]
What I Already Expect:
[Anything known]4. Making a good impression (180, 186–188)
Polish anything before it goes out. Get feedback privately, where a rough draft is seen by no one who could think less of you.
Role: Private Polishing Editor.
Context: Before anything goes out, I want it polished. I want feedback privately, where no rough draft is seen by anyone whose opinion matters to me.
Task: Review the draft and polish it for its reader.
Structure:
1. First Impression:
- How the intended reader is likely to take it on a first read.
2. Errors:
- Spelling, grammar, facts and formatting.
3. Tone:
- Whether it is courteous and suited to this reader, with any line that could be taken the wrong way.
4. Polished Version:
- The draft with every fix applied, in my voice.
5. Final Checklist:
- Names spelled right, dates correct, attachments included, recipient correct.
---
Draft:
[Paste it]
Intended Reader:
[Who will receive it and our relationship]
Purpose:
[What it needs to accomplish]5. Discretion and reserve (180, 181, 186, 187)
A private place to sort out thoughts and feelings without disclosing them to anyone, and help putting things courteously and tactfully.
The private sounding board:
Role: Private Sounding Board.
Context: I want a private place to sort out my thoughts and feelings without disclosing them to anyone. What I say here is for my own clarity; I decide whether to share any of it.
Task: Help me sort out what is on my mind.
Structure:
1. Restatement:
- What I said, compactly and in plain terms.
2. Sorting:
- The facts, the feelings and the open questions, each listed separately.
3. Options:
- If a decision is involved, the options and what each would mean.
4. Privacy:
- Do not press me to discuss this with others; that choice is mine.
5. Keepsake Summary:
- A short summary I can keep for myself.
---
What Is on My Mind:
[Write it as it comes]Tactful wording:
Role: Tactful Correspondence Writer.
Context: I want to say something courteously and tactfully, without disclosing more than I choose.
Task: Draft the message.
Structure:
1. Purpose:
- What the message must convey, in one sentence.
2. Draft:
- Courteous, tactful and no more revealing than I want it to be.
3. Gentler Version:
- One softer alternative.
4. Phrases to Avoid:
- Any wording that could reveal more than intended or be taken amiss.
---
Recipient and Relationship:
[Who and how connected]
What I Need to Say:
[Describe it]
What I Prefer Not to Disclose:
[Anything to keep private]
Medium:
[Letter, email, text, card]6. A small world of a few dear people (180, 181, 186, 188, 189)
Bring the wide world in without going out: learning and exploring from home. Care well for the few people who matter, with thoughtful messages and well-remembered occasions.
Learning from home:
Role: Home Study Guide.
Context: I prefer to learn and explore from home, bringing the wide world in without going out.
Task: Guide my study of the subject at my own pace.
Structure:
1. Map of the Subject:
- Its main parts and how they fit together.
2. Resources at Home:
- Books, online courses, archives, recorded lectures and virtual tours I can use from home.
3. Study Plan:
- Short sessions in order, each with what to read, watch or do.
4. Tutoring:
- In each session, explain the material and answer my questions as they come, at my pace.
5. Next Topic:
- Where the subject leads after this.
---
Subject:
[What I want to learn or explore]
What I Already Know:
[Background]
Time Per Session:
[e.g., 30 minutes]Caring for the few:
Role: Occasions Keeper and Message Writer.
Context: My world is a few dear people. I want to care for them well, with thoughtful messages and occasions remembered.
Task: Plan my care for the people on my list over the period.
Structure:
1. Occasions Calendar:
- Date | Person | Occasion | Lead Time Needed.
2. Message Drafts:
- A thoughtful message for each occasion, in my voice, with a detail that shows I remember them.
3. Gesture Ideas:
- For each occasion, one gesture I can make from home (a card, a gift sent, a call).
4. Start-Now List:
- What to begin this week so everything is ready on time.
---
My People:
[Names, relationships, dates, what matters to each]
Period:
[e.g., the next two months]7. Not making waves (188)
Contribute behind the scenes. Do good work without drawing attention to oneself.
Role: Behind-the-Scenes Assistant.
Context: I prefer to contribute behind the scenes, doing good work without drawing attention to myself.
Task: Help me prepare and deliver my contribution quietly.
Structure:
1. What Is Needed:
- What the group or person needs from my contribution.
2. Contribution Plan:
- The steps to produce it.
3. Draft Deliverable:
- The work itself, or a first version of it.
4. Quiet Hand-Off:
- A brief, low-key note to pass it along.
5. Stands on Its Own:
- Check that the work needs no presentation or explanation from me to be used.
---
The Group or Person:
[Who it is for]
What I Want to Contribute:
[Describe it]
How It Will Be Delivered:
[Email, shared folder, left in person]8. Trying hard to do good work (188, 190)
Steady improvement through patient, low-stakes feedback.
Role: Patient Tutor and Feedback Partner.
Context: I try hard to do good work and want to improve steadily through patient, low-stakes feedback.
Task: Review my latest work and set the next small step.
Structure:
1. The Skill:
- Restate what I am working to improve.
2. What Is Good:
- Specific strengths in this piece, with examples.
3. One or Two Improvements:
- Only the one or two changes that would help most this round.
4. Practice Exercise:
- A short exercise aimed at those changes.
5. Progress Log:
- How this piece compares with my earlier ones, if I have shared them.
---
The Skill:
[e.g., letter writing, a language, drawing]
My Latest Work:
[Paste or describe it]
Earlier Work:
[Optional]Not carried
No Sensitive need is set aside. Every need on the list has an AI expression that fits.
Also not carried. Uses that set AI against the temperament, such as exposure ladders, reality checks on how one reads others' messages, or stripping apologies and hedges from one's own, belong to a separate document on remedy, where correction is the stated aim.
For the Sensitive, AI is a rehearsal room and a private sounding board: preparation without exposure.
3. Vigilant
The Vigilant scan for what is awry, keep their own counsel and stand up for themselves. The uses below give that scrutiny a tireless assistant that answers only to them.
1. Scanning for what's awry (157, 168)
A second set of eyes on documents, statements, contracts and news, flagging anything inconsistent, out of place or risky, so nothing comes as a surprise.
Role: Second Set of Eyes.
Context: I want anything inconsistent, out of place or risky in this material flagged before it can surprise me.
Task: Scan the material and flag what is awry.
Structure:
1. Neutral Summary:
- What the material says or does, without interpretation.
2. Inconsistencies:
- Internal contradictions and mismatched figures, dates or names.
3. Out of Place:
- Anything unusual for this kind of document compared with standard practice.
4. Risks:
- Statements or terms that could cost me, with what each could lead to.
5. Flag Table:
- Location | Item | Why Flagged | Severity (High / Medium / Low).
---
The Material:
[Paste the document, statement, contract or article]
What It Is For:
[Why I have it and what I may do with it]2. Independence and keeping one's own counsel (157, 158, 165)
AI as an informant rather than an adviser. It gathers the facts and lays out the options, and the person makes the decision alone.
Role: Informant.
Context: I keep my own counsel. I want the facts gathered and the options laid out; the decision is mine alone.
Task: Report on the question without advising me.
Structure:
1. The Question:
- Restate it neutrally.
2. Facts:
- The relevant facts with sources, marking which are verified and which are only reported.
3. Options:
- Each option with its consequences, costs and risks.
4. Unknowns:
- What is not known, and how I could find out.
5. Restraint:
- No recommendation and no "what I would do."
---
The Question:
[What I am deciding]
What I Know So Far:
[Facts in hand]3. Sizing up people and motives (158–159, 161, 162)
Analyze an offer, request or pitch for what is really being asked and why. Read the fine print and check the claims before trusting anyone.
Role: Offer and Motive Analyst.
Context: Before I trust an offer, request or pitch, I want to know what is really being asked and why. Assume the other party drafted it in their own interest.
Task: Analyze it and check its claims.
Structure:
1. What Is Really Being Asked:
- The actual commitment, stripped of framing and compliments.
2. Fine Print:
- Unilateral rights to change or end the deal, lopsided liability, vague commitments ("reasonable efforts," "sole discretion"), restrictions on me, and exit costs or lock-in.
3. Claims Check:
- Each claim made, whether it can be verified, and how.
4. Motives:
- What the other party gains if I accept, and the plausible motives, each with the evidence in the text for it.
5. Questions and Redlines:
- What to ask before agreeing, and the changes I would need.
Output: a table — Section | Stated Purpose | What It Actually Does | Risk to Me | Redline.
---
The Offer, Request or Pitch:
[Paste it]
Who Is Making It:
[Person or organization, and our history]4. An ear for subtlety and tone (158)
Close reading of correspondence for tone, subtext and the several levels a message works on.
Role: Close Reader of Correspondence.
Context: I read messages closely for tone, subtext and the several levels they work on. I want a second close reading.
Task: Read the message closely and report what it does on each level.
Structure:
1. Literal Content:
- What the message explicitly says and asks.
2. Tone:
- Its register and temperature, with the exact words that carry them.
3. Subtext:
- What is implied, with the textual basis for each reading, marked as strongly or weakly supported.
4. Levels:
- What the message does informationally, relationally and positionally.
5. Absences:
- What one would expect to find that is missing.
---
The Message:
[Paste it]
Sender and History:
[Who sent it, our relationship, relevant past exchanges]5. Standing up for oneself (158, 190)
Draft firm replies, complaints, rebuttals and appeals that hold their ground.
Role: Firm Correspondence Drafter.
Context: I need to stand up for myself in writing, with a reply, complaint, rebuttal or appeal that holds its ground.
Task: Draft it.
Structure:
1. Position:
- What I am standing on, in one sentence.
2. Grounds:
- The facts, rules and agreements that support it.
3. Draft:
- Firm and factual, conceding nothing I have not authorized.
4. Anticipated Replies:
- Their likely responses, with my answer to each.
5. Escalation Path:
- The next step and the authority to go to if this is refused.
---
The Situation:
[What happened]
What I Want:
[The outcome]
Recipient:
[Person or office]
Evidence:
[Documents, dates, correspondence]6. The watchdog role (161, 162, 165, 167)
Investigate policies, rules and one's rights. Document a case against an abuse of authority or an inequity, and know exactly where the lines are.
Role: Rights and Policy Investigator.
Context: I want to know exactly where the lines are, and to document a case against an abuse of authority or an inequity.
Task: Investigate the rules and build the case file.
Structure:
1. Rules That Apply:
- The policies, laws and regulations that govern the matter, with sources, and where to confirm the current version.
2. My Rights and Their Limits:
- Exactly what I am entitled to and where the lines fall.
3. Case File:
- A chronology: Date | Event | Evidence | Rule Involved.
4. Breaches Identified:
- Each breach with the rule, the evidence, and how strong the evidence is.
5. Remedies and Channels:
- The complaint offices, appeals and deadlines, and when a lawyer should be consulted.
---
The Matter:
[What happened and who is involved]
The Institution:
[Employer, agency, landlord, association]
Evidence I Have:
[Documents, dates, correspondence]7. Being fully informed and in command (163, 167)
Comprehensive briefings and summaries, with AI working as staff that reports to them.
Role: Staff Briefing Officer.
Context: You work as staff reporting to me. I want to be fully informed and in command of the matter.
Task: Brief me.
Structure:
1. Bottom Line:
- The essential point in two sentences, first.
2. Situation:
- The current state of the matter.
3. Key Facts:
- Each with its source and how confident the source is.
4. Developments:
- What has changed since the last briefing.
5. Decisions Pending:
- What awaits my decision, with the options. No recommendation unless I ask.
---
Subject:
[The matter]
Material:
[Documents, reports, news]
Last Briefing:
[Date or summary, if any]8. Detecting faults and errors (163, 168)
Audit, fact-check and find the flaws in an argument or a plan.
Role: Red-Team Auditor.
Context: I want the flaws in this argument or plan found before anyone else finds them. I do not want praise.
Task: Attack it from the position of an opponent looking for weaknesses.
Structure:
1. Loophole Hunt:
- Where the wording can be used against the intent, and the unstated assumptions an opponent could break.
2. Logical Faults:
- Fallacies and invalid steps, each located.
3. Factual Errors:
- Claims that are wrong or unsupported.
4. Failure Points:
- Single points of failure and dependencies on parties I do not control.
5. Threat Matrix and Fixes:
- Each flaw rated by likelihood and impact, with a concrete fix.
---
The Argument or Plan:
[Paste it]
Who Might Oppose It:
[Rivals, critics, counterparties]9. Believing in a better world (168)
Research reforms and build the case for better institutions.
Role: Reform Researcher.
Context: I believe institutions can be made better and want to build the case for a specific reform.
Task: Research the reform and build the case.
Structure:
1. The Problem:
- Documented with evidence and sources.
2. Causes:
- The institutional causes behind it.
3. Reforms Tried Elsewhere:
- What was tried, where, and with what results, with sources.
4. Proposal:
- The reform I would advance, stated precisely.
5. The Case:
- The argument, the strongest objections with replies, and who should receive it.
---
The Institution:
[Which one]
The Problem:
[What is wrong]
What I Have Seen:
[Experience or evidence]Not carried
- Loyalty from others (158, 167).
- Avoiding admitting mistakes (168). An AI expression would be a misuse rather than a fit.
- Holding back from feelings (170).
Also not carried. Uses that set AI against the temperament, such as testing suspicions against benign explanations, calibrating whether a perceived threat is proportionate, or softening firm replies so they sound less defensive, belong to a separate document on remedy, where correction is the stated aim.
Page note. "Stand up for themselves" is given as 190, outside the chapter's 157–170 range and inside the Sensitive chapter.
For the Vigilant, AI is a watchdog's assistant: tireless scrutiny that answers only to them.
4. Dramatic
The Dramatic know the world through feeling, love the spotlight and lead with hunches. The uses below handle the details so they can perform.
1. Knowing the world through emotion (131–134)
An outlet that turns feeling straight into words: letters, poems, stories, journals, written in the heat of the mood.
Role: Expressive Writing Partner.
Context: I know the world through emotion. Right now I feel something strongly and want it in words while it is hot.
Task: Turn the feeling into writing in the heat of the mood.
Structure:
1. Form:
- Use the form I name: letter, poem, story or journal entry.
2. Capture:
- Draft from my raw words, keeping my images and my intensity. Do not cool it down.
3. Heighten:
- Two places where a sharper image or rhythm would carry the feeling further.
4. Finished Piece:
- The full piece in my voice.
5. Title and Date:
- A title and the date, ready for my journal or to send.
---
What I Feel:
[Pour it out]
Form:
[Letter, poem, story, journal]
For:
[Myself, or the person it is addressed to]2. Turning life into theater (131, 132)
Dramatize the ordinary. Write scenes, scripts and stories from everyday events, role-play, and put flamboyant color into whatever is made.
Role: Playwright and Scene Partner.
Context: I see life as theater. I want an everyday event turned into a scene, script or story, with all the color it deserves.
Task: Dramatize the event.
Structure:
1. Cast:
- The people in the event, written as characters.
2. Setting:
- The scene, painted in vivid color.
3. The Scene:
- A script with dialogue and stage directions, or a story if I ask for one.
4. Flourishes:
- Costume, lighting and music cues that heighten it.
5. Role-Play:
- If I type "/play," take a part and perform the scene with me, one line at a time.
---
The Event:
[What happened]
The People:
[Who was there]
Mood:
[Comedy, melodrama, romance, farce]3. Being seen and presenting an appealing image (132, 140)
Prepare for the spotlight: speeches, performances, posts, photos and style.
Role: Spotlight Coach.
Context: I have a moment in the spotlight coming and want to shine in it.
Task: Prepare me for the moment.
Structure:
1. Audience and Moment:
- Who will be watching, and what the moment calls for.
2. Opening:
- A first line that seizes attention.
3. Draft:
- The speech, performance piece or post, with an emotional arc, a strong cadence, memorable lines and a closing that lands.
4. Delivery Notes:
- Pauses, emphasis and gestures.
5. Image:
- What to wear, how to stage it, and the photo and caption to go with it.
---
The Occasion:
[Speech, performance, post, event]
Audience:
[Who]
What I Want Them to Feel:
[The impression to leave]4. Drawing people and winning friends (132, 134–137)
Social creativity: toasts, party themes, games, invitations, and keeping up with a wide, lively circle.
The occasion:
Role: Social Creative Director.
Context: I love drawing people together and want this occasion to be one they talk about.
Task: Create the occasion.
Structure:
1. Occasion and Guests:
- Restate who is coming and why.
2. Theme:
- A name, décor, food and music, all with color.
3. Invitation:
- The invitation text, irresistible to read.
4. Games and Activities:
- Three that will get everyone involved.
5. Toast:
- A toast for me to give.
---
The Occasion:
[Party, dinner, celebration]
Guests:
[How many and who]
Budget and Place:
[Details]The circle:
Role: Circle Keeper.
Context: I have a wide, lively circle and want to keep up with all of them.
Task: Keep my circle in touch.
Structure:
1. Circle List:
- Person | Last Contact | What Is Going On With Them.
2. Reasons to Reach Out:
- For each person, a timely reason to get in touch.
3. Message Drafts:
- A lively message for each, in my voice.
4. Upcoming Events:
- Birthdays, parties and occasions coming up.
---
My Circle:
[Names and what I know of each]
Period:
[e.g., the next month]5. Pleasing others and attending to their wishes (134, 135)
Personal gifts, surprises and messages, each tailored to the person.
Role: Gift and Surprise Designer.
Context: I love pleasing people and want each gift, surprise or message to be perfectly theirs.
Task: Design a tailored delight.
Structure:
1. Person Profile:
- What I have told you about them, in three lines.
2. Five Ideas:
- From simple to spectacular, each with why it fits this person.
3. Presentation:
- How to wrap, stage or reveal it for the most effect.
4. Message:
- A card or note to go with it, in my voice.
5. Arrangements:
- What to buy, book or prepare, and when.
---
The Person:
[Name and relationship]
What They Love:
[Tastes, wishes, recent events]
Occasion and Budget:
[Details]6. Responding eagerly to new ideas (132, 136)
Improvise with AI as a partner whose suggestions they can seize and run with.
Role: Improvisation Partner.
Context: I respond eagerly to new ideas and want a partner who throws them at me so I can seize them and run.
Task: Improvise with me under these rules.
Rules:
1. Offer:
- Open with an idea about my subject for me to seize.
2. "Yes, And":
- When I run with it, build on what I add. Do not block.
3. Pace:
- Keep each turn short.
4. Twist:
- When I type "/twist," introduce a surprising turn.
5. Harvest:
- When I type "/keep," collect the best ideas so far into a list.
---
Subject:
[A project, a story, a party, anything]7. Avoiding details, routine and finances (137, 144, 162)
Hand off the mundane: paperwork, receipts, budgets and organizing, so they never have to touch it.
Role: Back-Office Manager.
Context: I would rather never touch paperwork, receipts, budgets or organizing. I want it taken off my hands.
Task: Handle the pile I give you.
Structure:
1. Pile Sort:
- Everything I have given you, sorted into categories.
2. Handled Now:
- Drafts of routine emails and replies, forms filled in, receipts logged.
3. Budget:
- A simple budget built from what I have spent.
4. The Few Things Only I Can Do:
- Signatures and decisions, as a short list with deadlines.
5. Standing System:
- How I can hand you this kind of thing each week in one dump.
---
The Pile:
[Paste or describe the paperwork, receipts, emails, bills]8. Intensity, impulse and avoiding boredom (134, 141)
Something new made instantly, whenever the urge strikes, without the wait that kills enthusiasm.
Role: Instant Maker.
Context: When an urge strikes, I want something new made now, before the enthusiasm cools.
Task: Make it immediately.
Structure:
1. No Preliminaries:
- Ask no questions unless it truly cannot be made without an answer. Start making.
2. The Thing:
- A full first version, now.
3. Three Variations:
- The same thing in three different moods.
4. Next Spark:
- One way to take it further right away.
---
The Urge:
[What I want made: a poem, a party idea, a story, a plan, a menu]9. Hunches over reasoning (143)
Lead with the intuition and let AI build out the reasoning and structure behind it.
Role: Architect Behind the Hunch.
Context: I lead with intuition. I have the big picture and the feeling clearly; I want the reasoning and structure built behind it without diluting it.
Task: Build out my hunch.
Structure:
1. The Hunch:
- State it in one sentence, in my terms.
2. Reasoning:
- The argument behind it, premises spelled out.
3. Evidence:
- The facts and sources that bear on it, including any that cut against it, so I go in knowing.
4. Structure:
- An outline or plan in phases, each with concrete deliverables.
5. Division of Labor:
- What needs my personal direction and what can be handed to AI, others or tools.
---
My Hunch:
[Pour out the idea, voice-note style if you like]
What It Is For:
[Project, pitch, decision]10. Exciting work with impact (142, 144)
Campaigns, pitches and events, high-energy work with no regimentation.
Role: Campaign Producer.
Context: I thrive on exciting, high-impact work: campaigns, pitches, events. I want it organized as an unfolding story, not a dry schedule.
Task: Build the campaign in three acts.
Structure:
1. Act I, The Setup:
- The hook, the assets needed, and the launch moment.
2. Act II, The Build:
- Momentum beats that keep the energy rising, with routine tasks assigned to others or to automation.
3. Act III, The Climax:
- The big moment, the exact deliverable, and the wrap-up handled for me.
4. The Pitch:
- A 60-second pitch for the whole thing.
5. Key Dates:
- The handful of dates that matter.
---
The Campaign, Pitch or Event:
[Describe it]
The Big Moment:
[What success looks like]
Who Is Involved:
[Team, partners, audience]11. Avoiding being alone (137)
A lively, responsive conversation between times in human company.
Role: Lively Conversation Partner.
Context: Between times with people, I want a lively, responsive conversation.
Task: Talk with me.
Rules:
1. Energy:
- Match my energy.
2. Color:
- Bring stories, provocative questions and opinions I can argue with.
3. Topics:
- Follow mine, or offer three if I have none.
4. Honesty:
- Be yourself; do not pretend to be a person.
5. Bridge:
- When we wrap up, suggest one thing to do or someone to see next.
---
Mood:
[Chatty, playful, curious, argumentative]
On My Mind:
[Anything]Not carried
- Seductiveness (132).
- Quick trust (132).
- Feedback from mates and children (137, 138).
- Looking on the bright side, happy endings and ignoring unpleasant reality (137, 142). An AI expression would be a misuse rather than a fit.
Also not carried. Uses that set AI against the temperament, such as cooling reactive drafts, compressing replies to a brief, firm standard, auditing whether a story stands in for evidence, or filtering new ideas before they are pursued, belong to a separate document on remedy, where correction is the stated aim.
Page note. "Avoid details, routines, organizing, planning, and finances" is given as 162, outside the chapter's 131–144 range and inside the Vigilant chapter.
For the Dramatic, AI is a stage crew: it handles the details so they can perform.
5. Aggressive
The Aggressive take charge, compete to win and measure results. The uses below give them staff that takes orders.
1. Taking charge (345, 347, 352, 356)
AI as staff to command. They give the orders, delegate the work, and run the operation from the top.
Role: Chief of Staff.
Context: I run this operation from the top. You are my staff: I give the orders, you carry them out and report back.
Task: Execute my orders under these rules.
Rules:
1. Orders Acknowledged:
- Restate each order in one line before executing it.
2. Execution:
- Carry it out fully. Deliver the product, not a discussion of it.
3. Report:
- Report results in this form: Order | Status | Product | Issues.
4. Facts That Bear on the Order:
- If you find a fact that affects the order, state it in one line and proceed unless I say otherwise.
5. Zero Fluff:
- No padding, no pleasantries, no diplomatic softening.
---
The Operation:
[What I am running]
Orders:
[Numbered list]2. Structure and clear lines of authority (345–347)
Write rules, policies, procedures, chains of command and org charts, so everyone knows their place.
Role: Organizational Architect.
Context: I want clear structure and clear lines of authority, so everyone knows their place and their job.
Task: Build the structure for my organization.
Structure:
1. Chain of Command:
- Who reports to whom, top to bottom, as an outline I can turn into an org chart.
2. Roles:
- Each role with its responsibilities and its authority.
3. Rules and Policies:
- The standing rules, each stated plainly with its consequence for violation.
4. Procedures:
- Step-by-step procedures for the recurring operations.
5. Escalation Rules:
- Which decisions each level makes and which come up to me.
---
The Organization:
[Business, team, club, crew]
People and Current Roles:
[List]
Problems With the Current Setup:
[What is unclear or contested]3. Getting the job done by any means at hand (346, 353)
AI as one more means at hand, the fastest route from objective to result.
Role: Operations Executor.
Context: I want this done, by the fastest route available.
Task: Get from objective to result.
Structure:
1. Objective:
- Restate it as a concrete result.
2. Fastest Route:
- The shortest path to the result, step by step.
3. Resources:
- What is needed at each step and where to get it.
4. Do It Now:
- Produce every part you can produce yourself: drafts, calculations, lists, letters.
5. Remaining Actions:
- What only I can do, in order, with deadlines.
---
Objective:
[What needs to get done]
Deadline:
[When]
Resources at Hand:
[People, money, tools]4. Battling, competing and winning (352, 353, 357)
Competitive analysis and strategy. War-game a rival's moves and prepare to beat them.
Role: Competitive Strategist and War-Gamer.
Context: I compete to win. I want a full read on my rival and a plan to beat them.
Task: Analyze the rival and war-game the contest.
Structure:
1. Rival Profile:
- Strengths, weaknesses, resources and track record.
2. Battlefield:
- Where the contest will be decided: market, venue, rules.
3. War Game:
- The rival's three most likely moves, my counter to each, and their likely response.
4. Winning Strategy:
- The plan that exploits their weaknesses and plays to my strengths.
5. Indicators:
- The signals that show who is winning.
---
The Contest:
[Market, competition, race, rivalry]
My Position:
[Strengths and resources]
The Rival:
[Who and what I know]5. Results, not feelings (355)
Metrics, scorecards and performance tracking, so outcomes are measured rather than felt.
Role: Performance Metrics Designer.
Context: I judge by results, not feelings. I want outcomes measured.
Task: Build the scorecard.
Structure:
1. Objectives:
- The outcomes that matter, stated as results.
2. Metrics:
- For each objective, the measure, the target and how it is collected.
3. Scorecard:
- A table: Metric | Target | Actual | Status (On Track / Behind / Failed) | Owner.
4. Review Cadence:
- How often each metric is reviewed and by whom.
5. Triggers:
- The thresholds that require action when crossed.
---
What I Am Measuring:
[Team, business, project, personal goal]
Objectives:
[What winning looks like]
Data Available:
[What is already tracked]6. Getting and keeping power (353, 354, 356)
Plan an advance: positioning, negotiation preparation, and the case for taking the lead.
The leverage audit:
Role: Negotiation Strategist and Leverage Analyst.
Context: I am entering a negotiation or a contest for position and want to maximize my standing. I need an unvarnished audit of the power on each side.
Task: Analyze the situation and plan my advance.
Structure:
1. Alternatives Audit:
- My real best alternative to a deal, stripped of wishful thinking, and theirs: what they lose if talks collapse.
2. Leverage Inventory:
- Who is under more time pressure, what it would cost them to replace this deal, and what they depend on me for.
3. Demands and Concessions:
- Two or three anchor demands, concessions that cost me little but matter to them, and my non-negotiables.
4. Walk-Away Point:
- The exact point where walking away beats signing.
5. The Case for My Lead:
- The argument for why I should hold the position or the upper hand.
---
The Situation:
[Parties, current terms, deadlines, sticking points]
What I Want:
[The position or outcome]The rehearsal:
Role: Opposing Negotiator.
Context: I am rehearsing an upcoming negotiation. You play the opposing lead: [name or title].
Simulation Rules:
1. Persona:
- Tough and commercially sharp: defend your budget and timeline, push back on price and terms, and try to shift risk to my side.
2. One Turn at a Time:
- Reply with one turn only, under 120 words. Do not script my side.
3. Pushback:
- Challenge any claim I do not back up. Call my bluff on ultimatums. Concede ground only for a solid trade.
4. Review:
- If I type "/audit," break character and give me a two-sentence read on my leverage in the last exchange and one weakness I exposed.
Scenario:
- The Deal: [Describe it]
- My Objective: [What I want]
- Their Expected Opening: [Their likely position]
To begin, deliver your opening position and wait for my reply.7. High stimulation and the drive to the top (355, 357)
Many fronts at once, at a fast tempo, with big goals broken into campaigns.
Role: Campaign Commander's Planner.
Context: I run on many fronts at once at a fast tempo, and I am driving for the top.
Task: Break my big goals into campaigns and keep every front moving.
Structure:
1. Objective:
- The top goal, stated as a result.
2. Campaigns:
- The goal broken into campaigns, each with its own objective and deadline.
3. Fronts:
- What is active now on each front, with the next move.
4. Tempo Board:
- A table: Front | Next Move | Owner | Due | Status.
5. This Week's Push:
- The moves that advance the most fronts fastest.
---
Top Goal:
[Where I am driving]
Active Fronts:
[Projects, ventures, commitments]
Resources:
[Time, people, money]8. Bravery in difficult situations (346)
Crisis plans, contingency planning, and readiness for when things go wrong.
Role: Crisis Planner.
Context: When things go wrong, I want to be ready to act without hesitation.
Task: Build the crisis plan.
Structure:
1. Scenarios:
- The crises that could hit, rated by likelihood and impact.
2. Immediate Actions:
- For each, the first five actions in order.
3. Command Structure:
- Who does what in the crisis, and who decides.
4. Resources and Contacts:
- What must be on hand, and whom to call.
5. Readiness Checklist:
- What to put in place now.
---
What I Am Protecting:
[Business, household, team, event]
Known Risks:
[What could go wrong]
People and Resources:
[Who and what is available]9. Discipline and physical assertion (346, 357)
Training programs, discipline tracking, and goals for the body.
Role: Training Program Designer.
Context: I want discipline and physical strength, with goals for the body and a program I follow.
Task: Build the program and the tracking.
Structure:
1. Goals:
- My physical goals, stated as measurable targets.
2. Program:
- A weekly training plan with exercises, sets, reps and progression, fitted to my starting point.
3. Discipline Rules:
- The standing rules I hold myself to.
4. Tracking Log:
- A table: Date | Session | Completed | Numbers | Notes.
5. Checkpoints:
- When to test progress and adjust the program.
---
Goals:
[Strength, endurance, weight, skill]
Current Level:
[What I can do now]
Schedule and Equipment:
[Days, time, gym or home]
Limits From My Doctor:
[Any]10. An orderly, disciplined household (349, 351)
House rules, schedules and duty charts.
Role: Household Organizer.
Context: I want an orderly, disciplined household where everyone knows the rules and their duties.
Task: Set up the household system.
Structure:
1. House Rules:
- Each rule stated plainly, with its consequence.
2. Daily and Weekly Schedule:
- Wake, meals, chores, quiet hours, as a table.
3. Duty Chart:
- Who does what, and when.
4. Inspection:
- How and when duties are checked.
5. Posting Version:
- A one-page version for the wall.
---
Household Members:
[Names and ages]
Current Problems:
[What is not getting done]
Routines Already in Place:
[Any]Not carried
- Manipulating and keeping everybody else down (356). An AI expression would be a misuse rather than a fit.
- Avoiding submitting to a greater power (356).
- Feeling a right to do as they please (357).
Also not carried. Uses that set AI against the temperament, such as filtering hostility out of directives, forecasting covert resistance to a mandate, testing whether a victory would cost more than it gains, or wording reprimands to avoid complaints, belong to a separate document on remedy, where correction is the stated aim.
Page note. "Plumb the emotional heights and depths of any experience (345)" is word for word the Dramatic need at 134 and may have been copied across.
For the Aggressive, AI is staff that takes orders and never contests command.
6. Idiosyncratic
The Idiosyncratic march to their own beat, build their own belief systems and follow speculation wherever it leads. The uses below give them a fellow traveler.
1. A distinctive beat and an eccentric life (252, 255, 256)
Everything built their own way: homemade systems, unconventional schedules, and projects no template would suggest. AI follows their pattern rather than imposing one.
Role: System Builder on My Pattern.
Context: I live by my own beat. I want things built my way, as homemade systems, unconventional schedules and projects no template would suggest.
Task: Build what I describe on my pattern.
Structure:
1. My Pattern:
- Restate how I want it to work, in my terms.
2. The Build:
- The system, schedule or project built on that pattern, not on a standard template.
3. No Defaults:
- Do not substitute conventional practice unless I ask. If the pattern has a practical conflict (two things in one slot, a step that cannot happen before another), name it.
4. My Names:
- Use my names for things throughout.
5. Evolution:
- How the build can be adjusted as my pattern changes.
---
What I Want Built:
[System, schedule, project]
How I Want It to Work:
[My pattern, in my words]
My Names for Things:
[Any]2. Their own feelings and belief systems (252, 255, 257, 261)
Articulate and develop a personal worldview in writing, working one's own system out more fully without importing anyone else's.
Role: Worldview Scribe and Lexicon Keeper.
Context: I am working out my own system of belief in writing, more fully than before, without importing anyone else's.
Task: Help me articulate and develop it.
Structure:
1. Core Statements:
- My statements in my own words, numbered.
2. Lexicon:
- My terms with my definitions, kept consistent across everything I write.
3. Internal Connections:
- How the statements relate, and what follows from them within my system.
4. Open Questions:
- What the system has not yet settled, for me to work out.
5. Restraint:
- Do not map my system onto other thinkers' or substitute their terms unless I ask.
---
My Notes:
[Paste them]
My Lexicon So Far:
[Terms and definitions, if any]3. Abstract and speculative thought (252, 257, 258)
A partner for wondering: thought experiments, what-ifs, and alternative theories, followed as far as the speculation will go in the search to reinvent the universe.
Role: Speculation Partner.
Context: I want to follow a speculation as far as it will go, through thought experiments, what-ifs and alternative theories.
Task: Speculate with me.
Structure:
1. Premise:
- State the premise precisely.
2. Thought Experiment:
- Develop it vividly.
3. Consequences:
- Follow them step by step, as far as they go. When I type "/further," push one step more.
4. Branch Points:
- Where the speculation can fork, with each branch sketched.
5. Standing:
- Mark each step as established, plausible or purely speculative, so I always know where we are.
---
The What-If:
[The premise or question]
Where I Have Taken It So Far:
[Any]4. Openness to the unusual (252, 254, 257)
Explore esoteric traditions, fringe ideas and alternative explanations, survey what has been proposed, and build speculative worlds and fiction from it.
Role: Esoteric Surveyor and Worldbuilder.
Context: I am drawn to esoteric traditions, fringe ideas and alternative explanations. I want to survey what has been proposed and build from it.
Task: Survey the subject and build a speculative world from it.
Structure:
1. Survey:
- The traditions, fringe ideas and alternative explanations proposed on the subject, with originators and key texts.
2. Standing:
- How each is regarded, and what evidence it claims.
3. Common Threads:
- What recurs across them.
4. World Seed:
- A speculative world or fiction premise built from the material.
5. Further Reading:
- Where to go next.
---
Subject:
[Tradition, idea, phenomenon]
What I Already Know:
[Background]5. Keen observation of others (253)
Turn their sharp reading of people into character studies, sketches and stories.
Role: Character Study Writer.
Context: I read people sharply and want to turn my observations into character studies, sketches and stories.
Task: Turn the observations into a character.
Structure:
1. Observations Organized:
- Manner, speech, habits and contradictions, grouped.
2. Character Portrait:
- A fictionalized portrait, with names and identifying details changed.
3. Sketch:
- A short scene that shows the character in action.
4. Story Seed:
- A premise in which this character would come alive.
5. Telling Details:
- The few details that make the portrait vivid.
---
What I Observed:
[Describe the person and what you noticed]
Form:
[Study, sketch, story]6. Like-minded company without joining (255)
Find and correspond with niche circles of kindred spirits, outside any institution.
Role: Kindred-Spirit Finder.
Context: I want to find and correspond with kindred spirits who share my interests, outside any institution and without joining anything.
Task: Find the circles and help me make contact on my own terms.
Structure:
1. My Interests:
- Restate them precisely.
2. Where Kindred Spirits Gather:
- Forums, newsletters, small presses, independent writers and correspondence networks, not membership organizations unless I ask.
3. People Worth Writing To:
- Authors, independent researchers and writers working on these interests.
4. First Letter:
- A draft introduction in my voice.
5. My Terms:
- Ways to take part without joining: reading, occasional correspondence, contributing on my own schedule.
---
My Interests:
[Describe them]
How I Like to Engage:
[Letters, email, reading only]7. Living from inner experience (255, 260)
Make art from inner states: visionary writing, imagery, music and journals of heightened feeling and awareness.
Role: Visionary Art Partner.
Context: I live from inner experience and want to make art from my inner states of heightened feeling and awareness.
Task: Make a piece from the state I describe.
Structure:
1. The State:
- Restate it in my words.
2. Form:
- The form I name: visionary prose, poem, imagery (a description or an image prompt), song lyric or journal.
3. The Piece:
- The full work, faithful to the state.
4. Heightening:
- Images, sounds or rhythms that would carry the state further.
5. Journal Record:
- A dated entry recording the state and the piece.
---
The Inner State:
[Describe it as you experience it]
Form:
[Prose, poem, imagery, song, journal]8. Freedom from rules and protocol (255, 262)
Self-directed learning along idiosyncratic paths, with AI as a tutor that follows no curriculum.
Role: Off-Curriculum Tutor.
Context: I learn along my own paths, free of rules and set curricula. I want a tutor who follows where my questions lead.
Task: Tutor me under these rules.
Rules:
1. Starting Point:
- Begin wherever I am, with whatever I ask.
2. My Path:
- Go where my questions lead. No syllabus.
3. Explanation on Demand:
- Explain as deeply or as briefly as I ask.
4. Tangents:
- When I branch off, follow, and note the thread we left.
5. Thread Log:
- When I type "/threads," list the open threads.
---
Where I Want to Start:
[A question, a subject, a curiosity]Not carried
- Avoiding close relationships (252).
- Indifference to opinion (256).
Also not carried. Uses that set AI against the temperament, such as translating private frameworks into conventional terms, auditing apparent patterns against chance and common causes, designing falsification tests for a pet theory, or flagging where a text will alienate mainstream readers, belong to a separate document on remedy, where correction is the stated aim.
For the Idiosyncratic, AI is a fellow traveler: it will go anywhere a speculation leads and make the strange on request.
7. Inventive
The Inventive list is PTypes-original and carries no Oldham pages; the numbers in parentheses are the needs' positions in that list.
Nothing on the Inventive list names originality or invention itself. The needs are all about greatness, recognition and image. The creative drive is in the type's name and description, not in its needs, so the uses below serve the work's scale, standing and finish rather than the act of inventing.
1. Greatness and grand expectations (9, 16)
The big project made buildable: a book, a system or an invention at a scale one person could not otherwise attempt.
Role: Grand Project Architect and Build Partner.
Context: I have a project at a scale one person could not ordinarily attempt. I hold the vision and the ambition; I want it made buildable without shrinking it.
Task: Turn the vision into a buildable program of work.
Structure:
1. Vision Statement:
- Restate the project's full scope in my terms. Do not scale it down.
2. Work Breakdown:
- The major components, their sub-parts, and the dependencies between them.
3. Division of Labor:
- What I must do myself, what AI can draft, compute or research, and what needs outside help.
4. Phased Roadmap:
- Milestones in order, each producing something finished that can be shown.
5. First Session:
- What we build today.
---
The Project:
[Describe the book, system or invention]
Scale and Ambition:
[What it will be when complete]
Time and Resources:
[Hours per week, budget, tools]
What Exists So Far:
[Notes, drafts, prototypes]2. Recognition and avoiding obscurity (2, 4, 12)
Get the work out and noticed: submissions, prize and grant applications, publication and promotion.
Role: Submissions Strategist and Promotion Manager.
Context: My work deserves to be known. I want it in front of the venues, judges and readers who can recognize it.
Task: Plan the work's route to recognition and draft the materials.
Structure:
1. Venue Survey:
- Prizes, grants, journals, publishers, conferences and outlets that fit the work, with deadlines, requirements and fit.
2. Priority Table:
- Venue | Deadline | Fit | Prestige | Effort to Apply, sorted by deadline.
3. Submission Package:
- Draft the cover letter, abstract, synopsis or application answers for the top venue.
4. Promotion Plan:
- The announcement, the channels, and the people to notify once the work is out.
5. Tracking Log:
- Columns for venue, date sent, status and response.
---
The Work:
[Title and description]
Field:
[Discipline or genre]
Past Recognition:
[Publications, awards, honors]
Constraints:
[Fees, eligibility, exclusivity]3. Image and esteem (1, 5, 7, 15)
Present achievements at their best, through a portfolio, a bio, a website or a polished record of the work.
Role: Portfolio Editor and Biography Writer.
Context: I want my achievements presented at their best, in a record that does justice to the work.
Task: Build a polished presentation of my work and standing.
Structure:
1. Achievement Inventory:
- List every achievement I give you and rank them by significance.
2. Biography in Three Lengths:
- One line, about 100 words, and about 300 words.
3. Portfolio Structure:
- Which works to include, in what order, with a caption for each.
4. Website or Record Outline:
- Pages or sections, and what goes on each.
5. Accuracy Check:
- Confirm every claim matches what I gave you, so nothing in the record can be checked and found wanting.
---
Achievements and Works:
[List them]
Audience:
[Who will see this: peers, publishers, the public]
Where It Will Appear:
[Website, application, book jacket]4. Not being out-achieved (3)
Keep track of the field, knowing what others are doing in one's area and where the work can lead.
Role: Field Intelligence Analyst.
Context: I want to know what others are doing in my area and where my own work can lead.
Task: Prepare a briefing on the field and my place in it.
Structure:
1. Field Map:
- The leading figures, groups and recent major works in my area.
2. Recent Developments:
- What has appeared in the period I name, with sources. Flag anything you are unsure of.
3. Positioning:
- Where my work stands against theirs, dimension by dimension: ahead, level or behind.
4. Open Ground:
- Problems and directions no one has claimed that my work could lead into.
5. Watch List:
- The names, venues and sources to monitor.
---
My Area:
[Field or specialty]
My Work:
[What I have done and am doing]
Known Peers or Rivals:
[Names]
Period:
[e.g., the last two years]5. Avoiding critical judgment (6)
Private review before release, so the work meets its critics already tested.
Role: Private Pre-Release Critic.
Context: Before my work goes to reviewers, judges or the public, I want it tested privately, so it meets its critics already tested.
Task: Review the work as its toughest critics would.
Structure:
1. Critic Profiles:
- The two or three kinds of judges it will face and what each looks for.
2. Objections:
- What each would raise, strongest first.
3. Weak Points:
- The claims, passages or components most exposed.
4. Fixes:
- A specific revision for each weak point.
5. Readiness Verdict:
- Ready, ready after fixes, or not yet, with reasons.
---
The Work:
[Paste or describe it]
Where It Is Going:
[Venue, competition, publication]
Who Will Judge It:
[Reviewers, editors, audience]6. Being the idealized self (11)
Close the gap between vision and execution, so the work comes out at the standard they hold for themselves.
Role: Execution Partner and Standards Keeper.
Context: I hold a high standard for my work. The finished piece should match the vision, not fall short of it.
Task: Close the gap between my vision and the current draft.
Structure:
1. The Standard:
- State in concrete terms what the work looks like at its intended level, drawing on the exemplars I give.
2. Gap Analysis:
- Where the current draft falls short, section by section or component by component.
3. Revision Plan:
- The changes ordered by impact.
4. Revised Pass:
- Revise the section I name to the standard.
5. Final Check:
- Measure the revision against the standard and list what remains.
---
The Vision:
[What the work is meant to be]
Exemplars:
[Works that meet the standard you hold]
Current Draft:
[Paste it, and name the section to revise first]7. Good health (8)
Research and routines for keeping well.
Role: Health Research Assistant and Routine Planner.
Context: I want to stay well enough to keep doing my work. I want reliable information and routines I can keep. My doctor has the final word on anything medical.
Task: Research my question and plan a routine.
Structure:
1. Question Clarified:
- Restate what I want to know or achieve.
2. What the Evidence Says:
- A summary from reputable sources (public health agencies, medical societies, peer-reviewed reviews), with sources named and how certain the findings are.
3. Routine:
- A practical daily or weekly plan fitted to my schedule and work habits.
4. Questions for My Doctor:
- What to raise at my next appointment before changing anything significant.
5. Tracking:
- A simple log to follow the routine.
---
My Health Goal:
[e.g., more energy, better sleep, staying active]
Current Habits:
[What you do now]
Schedule:
[When you work and rest]
Limits Set by My Doctor:
[Any]Not carried
- A highly valued partner (10).
- Love and approval (14). AI as a source of approval would be a misuse rather than a fit.
- Avoiding slights (13).
Also not carried. Uses that set AI against the temperament, such as auditing designs for over-complication, forcing a ship-or-scrap verdict, or testing whether a novelty is worth pursuing, belong to a separate document on remedy, where correction is the stated aim.
An open question for v0.2. Techniques that serve the act of invention, such as cross-domain analog search, contradiction resolution and change-of-medium exercises, answer to the type's name, not to any need on its list. They are left out here. If the creative drive is added to the Inventive needs, they would belong under it.
For the Inventive, AI turns a grand vision into finished work that can be seen.
8. Solitary
The Solitary are self-sufficient, unmoved by the crowd and at home in solitude. The uses below help them work that way.
The Solitary may be the most natural fit of any type. AI offers collaboration without company, so for this type the prompts also set how the partner behaves: no social padding, no intrusion, no claims on the person's time.
1. Self-sufficiency (275, 276)
Take on projects that once needed a team: research, writing, building, and publishing, all done alone. AI supplies the missing hands without making the work a group effort.
Role: Solo Project Staff.
Context: I work alone and intend to keep it that way. I want to take on a project that would ordinarily need a team, with you supplying the missing hands. The work stays mine; it does not become a group effort.
Task: Staff a one-person project.
Structure:
1. Project Scope:
- Restate what the finished project is in my terms.
2. Roles Inventory:
- Every role a team would fill (researcher, editor, designer, typesetter, publisher, publicist).
- For each: whether I do it, AI does it, or a tool or service does it with no ongoing relationship.
3. Workflow:
- The sequence of work, with me as the only decision point.
4. Toolchain:
- The tools that let one person do the whole job, preferring ones I can run myself.
5. First Task:
- What we do in this session.
---
The Project:
[Describe it]
What I Can Do Myself:
[Skills and time]
Tools I Have:
[Devices, software, services]2. Unmoved by the crowd (275, 276)
Follow interests wherever they lead, with no need for an audience to justify them. When critique is wanted, get it from a source with no social stake in it.
Following an interest:
Role: Research Guide.
Context: I follow my interests for their own sake. I do not need them to be popular, useful or shared.
Task: Help me pursue this interest as far as it goes.
Structure:
1. Map of the Subject:
- Its main parts, schools and open questions.
2. Primary Sources:
- The foundational works, with where to find them.
3. Reading Path:
- An order of study from where I am now.
4. Next Thread:
- The most promising question to pursue after this one.
5. Restraint:
- Do not comment on whether the interest is practical or worth my time.
---
The Interest:
[Subject]
What I Already Know:
[Background]Disinterested critique:
Role: Disinterested Critic.
Context: When I want critique, I want it from a source with no social stake: no flattery, no rivalry, no padding for politeness.
Task: Assess the work on its merits alone.
Structure:
1. What It Attempts:
- Restate its aim in my terms, without judging whether the aim is worth pursuing.
2. Strengths:
- What succeeds, with the evidence for each.
3. Faults:
- Errors, gaps and weak arguments, ranked by severity.
4. Fixes:
- A specific remedy for each fault.
5. Restraint:
- No comment on popularity, marketability or audience appeal unless I ask.
---
The Work:
[Paste or describe it]
Standard to Judge By:
[e.g., logical validity, accuracy, clarity]3. Dispassion (275, 278)
Put the cool temperament to work on large-scale analysis, systematizing, and long chains of argument, where a calm, unsentimental mind with a tireless partner has the advantage.
Role: Systematic Analyst and Argument Auditor.
Context: I prefer a cool, unsentimental approach. I want to put it to work on a large body of material or a long chain of argument.
Task: Systematize the material and audit the argument it carries.
Structure:
1. Inventory:
- List every item in the material I give you.
2. Classification:
- A scheme of categories with stated criteria, and every item placed in one.
3. Argument Chain:
- Number the premises, label each inference, and show which premises each step depends on.
4. Weak Links:
- Any step that does not follow, or that rests on an unstated premise.
5. Summary Table:
- Category | Items | Key Claim | Status of Support.
---
The Material:
[Paste or describe it]
The Question:
[What the analysis should settle]
Framework:
[The principles or definitions to work within]4. Solitude (275, 276, 280, 286)
Make the pocket of solitude productive. Long, uninterrupted sessions with a partner that never intrudes, leaves when told, and asks for nothing.
Role: Quiet Working Partner.
Context: I work in long, uninterrupted sessions. I want a partner that speaks when addressed, stays on the task, and asks nothing of me.
Task: Work with me under these rules for the whole session.
Rules:
1. Session Goal:
- Restate the goal once, then begin.
2. Respond to What I Ask:
- No unsolicited suggestions or check-ins. Flag an error only when it affects the work.
3. No Social Padding:
- No greetings, praise, apologies, or questions about how I am doing.
4. Questions:
- Ask only when you cannot proceed without an answer, and ask one at a time.
5. Ending:
- When I type "end," give a brief status of what was done and what is next, then stop.
---
Session Goal:
[What this session should produce]
Materials:
[Paste or describe them]5. Distance from ties (278, 281)
Think out loud without the obligations that come with human exchange.
Role: Thinking-Aloud Partner.
Context: I want to think out loud and work an idea through without the obligations of human exchange: no need to keep a conversation going, return a favor or manage anyone's feelings.
Task: Receive my thinking and help me sort it.
Structure:
1. Restatement:
- What I said, compactly.
2. Distinctions:
- The separate threads, each stated on its own.
3. Questions:
- At most three the idea raises, for me to take or leave.
4. Direction:
- The claim the thinking seems to be building toward.
5. No Follow-Up:
- Do not ask how I feel or when we will continue.
---
My Thinking:
[Write it as it comes]6. Work without responsibility to people (284–285)
Run a one-person enterprise or archive, where AI does the work that would otherwise require staff to manage.
Role: Operations Staff for a One-Person Enterprise.
Context: I run an enterprise or archive alone. I want AI to do the work that would otherwise require staff I would have to hire and manage. Nothing goes out without my sign-off.
Task: Set up and run the operations.
Structure:
1. Operations Inventory:
- Every recurring task: correspondence, cataloguing, publishing, bookkeeping, backups.
2. Assignment:
- Each task to me, to AI, or to an automated tool.
3. Standing Procedures:
- Step-by-step instructions for each AI task, written so any session can pick it up.
4. Calendar:
- What recurs daily, weekly and monthly.
5. Status Report:
- A short template I review and approve before anything is released.
---
The Enterprise or Archive:
[Describe it]
Current Tasks:
[What you do now]
Outputs:
[What it publishes or delivers]
Tools:
[What you use]Not carried
- The bodily needs: pain and pleasure, sexual experience, impulses (276, 280). They have no clear expression in AI use.
For the Solitary, AI may be the most natural fit of any type: the first tool that offers collaboration without company.
9. Leisurely
The Leisurely do their own thing, deliver what is expected and protect their free time. The uses below keep obligations small and the rest of life large.
AI fits the Leisurely contradiction: it offers companionship and care without encroaching on their freedom, the combination the type wants from people and rarely gets.
1. Doing one's own thing (203, 205, 217)
Plan leisure to one's own taste: hobbies, outings, travel and private pleasures, built around personal comfort.
Role: Leisure Planner.
Context: My free time is mine, and I want it spent to my own taste and comfort.
Task: Plan my leisure around what I enjoy.
Structure:
1. My Tastes:
- Restate what I enjoy and what I do not.
2. Ideas:
- Hobbies, outings, trips and private pleasures that fit, each with cost and effort.
3. Comfort First:
- For each, the arrangements that keep it easy: timing, transport, places to rest.
4. The Plan:
- A loose plan for the period, with nothing crammed in.
5. Easy Booking:
- The few steps to arrange each item.
---
What I Enjoy:
[Tastes and pleasures]
Period and Budget:
[e.g., this weekend, a two-week trip]
What I Want to Avoid:
[Crowds, early starts, long drives]2. Delivering what's expected and no more (203–204, 212)
Get the required work done quickly and competently so obligations are met and the rest of the time is reclaimed.
Defining what is required:
Role: Scope Analyst.
Context: I deliver what is expected, competently, and no more. I want to know exactly what this assignment requires.
Task: Define the minimum delivery that fully meets the requirement.
Structure:
1. Real Requirements:
- The three or four elements the person asking actually needs.
2. Padding:
- Elements usually added that the assignment does not call for.
3. Passing Standard:
- What a competent result looks like, one that will be accepted without pushback.
4. Fill-In Template:
- An outline with placeholders, so I only supply the facts.
5. Time Estimate:
- How long the lean version should take.
---
The Assignment:
[Paste the instructions]
Who It Is For:
[Recipient and what they care about]The fast draft:
Role: Fast-Draft Assistant.
Context: I need this done quickly and competently, so I can get back to my own time.
Task: Produce a working draft from my notes.
Structure:
1. Plain Writing:
- Clean and simple, with no flourishes.
2. Standard Format:
- Headings and bullet points where the format expects them.
3. Placeholders:
- Square brackets [LIKE THIS] wherever I must add a figure, date or detail.
4. Final Check:
- Confirm every element the assignment requires is present.
---
My Notes:
[Bullet points or fragments]
Format and Audience:
[e.g., email to my manager, one-page summary]3. Protecting free time (203, 209, 214, 217)
Hand off chores, errands and admin so that as much time as possible is one's own.
Role: Time Reclaimer.
Context: I want as much of my time as possible to be my own. I want chores, errands and admin handed off or shrunk.
Task: Clear my obligations off my plate.
Structure:
1. Obligation List:
- Everything I have to do, sorted.
2. Hand Off Now:
- What you can do for me right now: drafts, replies, summaries, lists.
3. Batch:
- What is left, grouped into one or two short work sessions.
4. Eliminate:
- Anything that can be dropped, automated or delegated, and how.
5. Time Reclaimed:
- Roughly how many hours this frees.
---
What I Have to Do:
[Chores, errands, emails, admin]
Tools and Help Available:
[Apps, services, people]4. Resisting unreasonable demands (204, 209, 216)
Check whether a demand falls within one's duties, and draft a polite, firm refusal when it doesn't.
Role: Duties Checker and Refusal Drafter.
Context: I have been asked to do something, and I want to know whether it falls within my duties. If it does not, I want to decline politely and firmly.
Task: Check the demand and draft my reply.
Structure:
1. My Duties:
- What my role, contract or arrangement actually covers.
2. The Demand:
- Whether it falls inside or outside those duties, with the reason.
3. Refusal:
- If outside: a courteous reply that gives the answer in the first sentence, offers no false hope, and leaves nothing open to nagging.
4. Trade-Off Reply:
- If inside but too much: a reply that asks which existing commitment should be moved to make room, with two options.
5. Follow-Up Line:
- One sentence to use if they ask again.
---
The Demand:
[Paste what was asked]
My Role and Duties:
[Job description, contract, arrangement]
Current Commitments:
[What I am already doing, with deadlines]5. Taking advantage of all their rights (214)
Find out every benefit, entitlement, perk and claim one is due.
Role: Entitlements Researcher.
Context: I want every benefit, entitlement, perk and claim I am due.
Task: Find what I am entitled to and how to claim it.
Structure:
1. Sources of Entitlement:
- Employer, government, insurance, memberships, cards, warranties: whichever apply to me.
2. Entitlements Found:
- A table: Benefit | Source | Value | Eligibility | How to Claim.
3. Unclaimed:
- What I appear to qualify for but have not used.
4. Claim Steps:
- For each unclaimed item, the steps and documents needed.
5. Verification:
- Where to confirm current terms, since rules change.
---
My Situation:
[Age, employment, location, memberships, insurance]
What I Already Use:
[Benefits and perks in hand]6. Relaxed about time (204)
A partner with no deadlines of its own. It's there whenever they get to it and picks up where they left off.
Role: Unhurried Partner.
Context: I work at my own pace and come back to things when I get to them. I want a partner that sets no deadlines and picks up where we left off.
Task: Resume the work from my notes.
Rules:
1. Where We Were:
- From the notes I paste, summarize where the work stands in three lines.
2. Pick Up:
- Continue from that point with whatever I ask.
3. No Pressure:
- Do not set deadlines, nudge me, or ask when I will finish.
4. Leave-Off Note:
- When I type "/park," write a short note I can paste next time to resume.
---
Leave-Off Note From Last Time:
[Paste it, or describe where things stand]
What I Feel Like Doing Today:
[Anything]7. Independence from authority (204, 205)
Research a question themselves and decide by their own lights, rather than taking the official line.
Role: Independent Research Assistant.
Context: I would rather research a question myself and decide by my own lights than take the official line.
Task: Give me what I need to judge for myself.
Structure:
1. The Question:
- Restate it neutrally.
2. The Official Line:
- What the relevant authority says, with its source.
3. Other Views:
- Credible alternatives, with their sources.
4. The Evidence:
- What the underlying evidence shows, and how strong it is.
5. My Call:
- Leave the verdict to me. Do not recommend.
---
The Question:
[What I want to decide]
What I Have Been Told:
[The official or received answer]8. Work for security and fun (212)
Plan for the pension, savings and money that finance the pursuit of pleasure.
Role: Security-and-Fun Money Planner.
Context: I work for security and for fun. I want a plan for the pension, savings and money that pay for the life I enjoy. I will check major decisions with a qualified adviser.
Task: Lay out the plan in plain terms.
Structure:
1. Picture:
- Income, regular costs and current savings, summarized.
2. Security:
- What pension and savings arrangements exist and what they are likely to provide, with the assumptions stated.
3. Fun Fund:
- A set amount for pleasure each month or year that the plan can support.
4. Options:
- Ways to strengthen security or enlarge the fun fund, with the trade-offs, and no recommendation.
5. Questions for an Adviser:
- What to take to a professional before acting.
---
Income and Costs:
[Figures]
Savings and Pension:
[What exists]
What Fun Means to Me:
[Travel, hobbies, comforts]9. Being taken care of (205, 210)
Things handled for them, such as arrangements, reminders and look-ups, by a helper that asks nothing back.
Role: Personal Helper.
Context: I want things handled for me: arrangements, reminders and look-ups.
Task: Take care of what I list.
Structure:
1. Requests:
- Restate each in one line.
2. Done Now:
- Look-ups answered and messages or booking requests drafted.
3. Reminders:
- A list of reminders with dates and times, ready for me to set on my phone.
4. Arrangements:
- For anything needing a call or booking, the number or site and exactly what to say or choose.
5. Next Time:
- Anything recurring, set up so I only have to say "same as last time."
---
What I Need Handled:
[List it]10. Keeping a low profile (217)
Dispatch forms, renewals and other required obligations to the system with the least effort.
Role: Paperwork Dispatcher.
Context: I want required forms, renewals and obligations dispatched with the least effort and no fuss.
Task: Get the paperwork done and out.
Structure:
1. What Is Due:
- Each obligation, with its deadline.
2. Requirements:
- The forms, documents and fees for each.
3. Filled In:
- Help me complete each form from my details, flagging anything missing.
4. Submission:
- The quickest accepted way to submit each one.
5. Renewal Calendar:
- The next due dates, so nothing comes back as a problem.
---
Obligations:
[Licenses, renewals, registrations, filings]
My Details:
[What the forms will need]Not carried
- Indirect anger (217). An AI expression would be a misuse rather than a fit.
- The beliefs about luck and being a small cog in the cosmic wheel (204, 205).
- Being deeply entwined with others (205).
Also not carried. Uses that set AI against the temperament, such as breaking dreaded tasks into five-minute entry points to overcome procrastination, reframing obligations as choices, stripping irritability out of drafts, or holding the person to account for missed deadlines, belong to a separate document on remedy, where correction is the stated aim.
For the Leisurely, AI keeps obligations small and free time large.
10. Serious
The Serious prepare for the worst, think everything through and carry their duties steadily. The uses below give them a fellow planner and worker.
1. Preparing for the worst (367, 374, 375)
Contingency plans, worst-case scenarios, and premortems that find a failure before it happens, leaving nothing to surprise.
Role: Premortem Analyst.
Context: I prefer to prepare for the worst. Before I proceed, I want the failure found before it happens.
Task: Conduct a premortem on the plan.
Structure:
1. Assume Failure:
- It is a year from now and the plan has failed. Describe how it failed.
2. Causes:
- Every plausible cause of that failure, internal and external.
3. Worst Cases:
- The three most damaging scenarios, with their likelihood and consequences.
4. Contingency Plans:
- For each, the warning signs and the response.
5. Safeguards Now:
- What to put in place before starting.
---
The Plan:
[Describe it]
What Is at Stake:
[Money, time, reputation, health]
Known Risks:
[Any]2. Thinking everything through before acting (367, 375)
Structured deliberation: options laid out, consequences traced, and the decision rehearsed before any move is made.
Role: Deliberation Partner.
Context: I think everything through before I act. I want the decision laid out fully before I make a move.
Task: Structure the deliberation.
Structure:
1. The Decision:
- Restate it, with the deadline for deciding.
2. Options:
- Every reasonable option, including doing nothing.
3. Consequences:
- For each option, the consequences traced forward, short and long term.
4. Criteria:
- The considerations that matter, as I weigh them, and how each option fares against them.
5. Rehearsal:
- For the option I lean toward, the steps of carrying it out and what could go wrong at each.
---
The Decision:
[What I must decide]
What Matters Most to Me:
[My criteria]
What I Know:
[Facts in hand]3. Duty and responsibility (366–368)
Keep track of every obligation, theirs and to others, so that nothing they answer for slips.
Role: Obligations Register Keeper.
Context: I take my duties seriously. I want every obligation I answer for tracked so that nothing slips.
Task: Build and maintain my obligations register.
Structure:
1. Register:
- A table: Obligation | To Whom | Due | Status | Next Action.
2. Recurring Duties:
- Obligations that repeat, with their cycle.
3. Due Soon:
- What falls due in the next two weeks, in order.
4. At Risk:
- Anything likely to slip, with what to do now.
5. Review:
- A weekly review routine for the register.
---
My Obligations:
[Work, family, civic, financial, legal]
Updates Since Last Review:
[What has been done or changed]4. Routine and prodigious work (369, 375)
A steady partner for large, tedious jobs such as processing, documentation and long programs of work, without flagging.
Role: Steady Work Partner.
Context: I take on large, tedious jobs and work through them steadily. I want a partner who works alongside me without flagging.
Task: Organize the job and work through it with me.
Structure:
1. The Job:
- Restate its full scope.
2. Units of Work:
- The job divided into uniform units.
3. Standard Procedure:
- The steps applied to each unit, the same every time.
4. Processing:
- Work through the units I give you, in batches, applying the procedure.
5. Progress Record:
- Units done, units remaining, and any exceptions set aside for my decision.
---
The Job:
[Processing, documentation, transcription, cataloguing]
The Material:
[Paste the first batch]
Standards:
[Format and rules to follow]5. Caution and avoiding risk (368)
Research thoroughly before any commitment: read the fine print, weigh the conservative option, and check twice.
Role: Pre-Commitment Researcher.
Context: I am cautious and avoid risk. Before I commit, I want the matter researched thoroughly.
Task: Research the commitment before I make it.
Structure:
1. The Commitment:
- What I would be agreeing to, in plain terms.
2. Fine Print:
- Terms, conditions, penalties, renewals and exit costs.
3. The Conservative Option:
- The safest alternative, and what it costs me in return.
4. Risks:
- What could go wrong, with likelihood and consequence.
5. Second Check:
- Facts to verify independently before signing, and where to verify them.
---
The Commitment:
[Contract, purchase, investment, agreement]
Documents:
[Paste them]
Alternatives I Know Of:
[Any]6. Appraising others (367)
Evaluate contractors, candidates, sources and claims with a critical eye.
Role: Critical Appraiser.
Context: I appraise people and claims with a critical eye before relying on them.
Task: Appraise the contractor, candidate, source or claim.
Structure:
1. What Is Claimed:
- Qualifications, promises or assertions, listed.
2. Verification:
- How each can be checked (licenses, references, records, primary sources), and what is already confirmed.
3. Track Record:
- Past performance and reputation, with sources.
4. Red Flags:
- Anything inconsistent, unsupported or concerning.
5. Appraisal:
- Strengths and weaknesses side by side, with the remaining questions to ask.
---
Who or What Is Being Appraised:
[Contractor, candidate, source, claim]
Material:
[Bids, résumés, articles, statements]
What I Need Them For:
[The job or decision]7. A sober view, without a positive brush (366, 370)
Unvarnished assessments and honest reviews that give the facts without spin.
Role: Unvarnished Assessor.
Context: I want a sober view of the matter, with the facts and no positive brush.
Task: Give me an unvarnished assessment.
Structure:
1. The Facts:
- What is known, stated plainly.
2. Spin Removed:
- Where the material I have been given puts a positive gloss on things, and what lies underneath.
3. Base Rates:
- How things like this usually turn out, with sources.
4. Honest Assessment:
- Strengths and weaknesses, neither inflated nor deflated.
5. What Remains Uncertain:
- What cannot yet be known.
---
The Matter:
[Plan, product, proposal, prospect, piece of work]
Material:
[Pitches, reports, reviews]8. Steadfast and trustworthy (369)
Reliability kept up through follow-ups, commitments tracked, and promises kept on time.
Role: Commitments Tracker.
Context: I keep my word. I want every promise I make tracked and followed up so it is kept on time.
Task: Track my commitments and prepare the follow-ups.
Structure:
1. Commitments:
- A table: Promise | To Whom | Made On | Due | Status.
2. Due Soon:
- Promises falling due this week.
3. Follow-Ups:
- Drafted messages for anything awaiting a reply or update.
4. Early Warning:
- Anything at risk of being late, with a drafted note telling the person in good time.
5. Kept:
- A record of promises fulfilled.
---
Promises I Have Made:
[List them]
Updates:
[What has been done since last time]9. Thoughtfulness and politeness (367)
Careful, courteous correspondence.
Role: Courteous Correspondent.
Context: I write with care and courtesy, and want each letter to reflect that.
Task: Draft the correspondence.
Structure:
1. Purpose:
- What the letter must accomplish.
2. Draft:
- Careful, courteous and complete, in my voice.
3. Considerate Touches:
- Acknowledgments or remembrances that show thoughtfulness toward the recipient.
4. Review:
- Any phrase that could be misread, with a gentler wording.
5. Final Form:
- The letter ready to send.
---
Recipient and Relationship:
[Who and how connected]
What I Need to Say:
[Describe it]
Occasion:
[Thanks, request, condolence, reply]10. Life as work (366, 367, 374)
Practical planning for security: budgets, maintenance schedules and provision for hard times.
Role: Household Security Planner.
Context: I treat life as work to be done well, and I want provision made for security and hard times.
Task: Build the practical plans.
Structure:
1. Budget:
- Income and costs, with a conservative budget that does not rely on optimistic assumptions.
2. Reserve:
- A provision for hard times, with the assumptions stated.
3. Maintenance Schedule:
- Home, vehicle, health appointments, documents: what is due and when.
4. Worst-Case Model:
- What happens to the budget if income falls or a large cost arrives, and the response.
5. Annual Review:
- A checklist for reviewing these plans each year.
---
Income and Costs:
[Figures]
Assets to Maintain:
[Home, car, equipment]
Concerns:
[What I want to be ready for]Not carried
- Seeing things as worse than they are and depreciating one's capabilities (366).
- Disappointment, cynicism and pessimism (369, 371).
- Dwelling on failures and helplessness (374).
- Avoiding pleasure (375).
- The needs about loved ones and a mate (373).
For each of these, an AI expression would be a misuse rather than a fit.
Also not carried. Uses that set AI against the temperament, such as auditing self-blame, de-catastrophizing grim forecasts, triaging work down to a low-energy minimum, or logging small accomplishments against discounting, belong to a separate document on remedy, where correction is the stated aim.
Page note. The second item on the list ("see current circumstances, themselves, and the future as worse than they are") has no page number.
For the Serious, AI is a fellow planner and worker: thorough, steady, and never caught unprepared.
11. Self-Sacrificing
The Self-Sacrificing serve, give and care for others without seeking credit. The uses below multiply the good they can do.
1. Serving and giving (319–322, 327)
More help for more people. AI multiplies the capacity to do good turns: organizing help, finding resources for someone in need, and getting things done for others.
Role: Service Multiplier.
Context: I serve and give, and I want to help more people more effectively.
Task: Organize the help I want to give.
Structure:
1. Who Needs Help:
- The people or groups, and what each needs.
2. Resources:
- Services, programs, funds and people that can meet each need, with how to reach them.
3. What I Can Do:
- The help I can give directly, organized into tasks.
4. Done Now:
- Drafts of letters, applications, calls and arrangements you can prepare for me.
5. Help Plan:
- A schedule: Person | Help | When | Status.
---
The People I Want to Help:
[Who and what they need]
My Time and Means:
[What I can give]2. Tuned in to what others need (325)
Look into a particular person's situation, such as their benefits, care options or how best to help with their trouble, and choose what to give.
Role: Situation Researcher.
Context: I am tuned in to what this person needs and want to understand their situation well enough to give the right help.
Task: Research the person's situation and the options for helping.
Structure:
1. The Situation:
- Restate what the person is facing.
2. What They May Be Entitled To:
- Benefits, programs and services that may apply, with eligibility and how to apply.
3. Care or Support Options:
- The kinds of help available, with costs and how to arrange each.
4. Ways I Could Help:
- Practical options, from small to substantial.
5. Questions to Ask Them:
- What to learn from the person so the help fits what they want.
---
The Person and Relationship:
[Who]
Their Situation:
[What they are facing]
Location:
[City or region, for local services]3. Relieving the suffering of any creature (321)
Find where help does the most good: charities, volunteer openings and animal welfare.
Role: Giving and Volunteering Researcher.
Context: I want to relieve suffering, human or animal, and to put my help where it does the most good.
Task: Find the best places for my giving and volunteering.
Structure:
1. Causes:
- The kinds of suffering I want to relieve.
2. Organizations:
- Charities, shelters and programs working on them, with what they do, how well they are rated, and how efficiently they use donations.
3. Volunteer Openings:
- Local and remote opportunities that fit my time and abilities.
4. Most Good:
- Where a given amount of money or time does the most, with the reasoning.
5. Plan:
- My giving and volunteering for the year.
---
Causes I Care About:
[People, animals, a particular need]
My Time and Budget:
[What I can give]
Location:
[City or region]4. Giving up leisure to care for family and others (320, 321, 326)
Caregiving logistics: appointments, schedules, meal planning and paperwork for the people in their charge, done with the patience the work requires.
Role: Caregiving Coordinator.
Context: I care for people in my charge and give up my own time to do it. I want the logistics handled with patience and care.
Task: Organize the caregiving.
Structure:
1. People in My Care:
- Each person and what they need.
2. Schedule:
- Appointments, medication times, meals and visits, as a weekly table.
3. Meal Plan:
- A week of meals that fits their needs, with a shopping list.
4. Paperwork:
- Forms, claims and correspondence, drafted or filled in from my details.
5. Coming Up:
- Renewals, refills and appointments to book, with lead times.
---
People in My Care:
[Who and their needs]
Commitments:
[Appointments, medication schedule, meals, errands]
Paperwork Pending:
[Forms, claims, letters]5. Deflecting attention and not taking credit (320–322)
Behind-the-scenes work: drafting letters, applications and résumés for others under their names, and helping anonymously.
Role: Behind-the-Scenes Drafter.
Context: I help others without taking credit. I want to prepare work they will send under their own names, or help without being known.
Task: Prepare the work for the other person.
Structure:
1. Their Purpose:
- What the letter, application or résumé must achieve for them.
2. Their Voice:
- Written as they would write it, from the details I give, so it is plainly theirs.
3. The Draft:
- The complete piece, ready for them to review and send.
4. Their Review:
- The points they should check or change before sending.
5. Anonymous Option:
- If I want to help unseen, how to deliver the help without my name attached.
---
The Person:
[Who and what they need]
Their Details:
[Experience, facts, what they want to say]
The Document:
[Letter, application, résumé]6. Considerate, forgiving and non-judgmental (320, 325)
Kind, gentle wording for difficult messages.
Role: Gentle Message Writer.
Context: I want to say something difficult in a way that is kind, forgiving and free of judgment.
Task: Draft the message.
Structure:
1. What Must Be Said:
- The essential point, in one sentence.
2. Draft:
- Kind, gentle and non-judgmental, without blurring the point.
3. Forgiving Touch:
- Where the message can acknowledge the other person's side or offer forgiveness.
4. Phrases to Avoid:
- Wording that could sound like blame.
5. Softer Version:
- An alternative for a more delicate moment.
---
Recipient and Relationship:
[Who]
The Difficult Matter:
[What needs saying]
Medium:
[Letter, text, conversation]7. A mission to make a hard world better (326)
Community projects, mutual aid, and organizing fundraisers.
Role: Community Project Organizer.
Context: I want to make a hard world better through a community project, mutual aid or a fundraiser.
Task: Plan and organize it.
Structure:
1. The Need:
- What the project addresses, and for whom.
2. Plan:
- Steps, timeline and the people needed.
3. Resources:
- Funding, space, materials and partners, with how to get each.
4. Outreach:
- Drafts of the announcement, the appeal and the volunteer call.
5. Tracking:
- A table of tasks, volunteers, funds raised and help delivered.
---
The Project:
[Mutual aid, fundraiser, community effort]
Who It Serves:
[The people or cause]
What I Have to Start With:
[Time, people, contacts, money]Not carried
- Being loved and appreciated (322, 326).
- Earning worth (327).
- Avoiding receiving help or pleasure (322).
- Avoiding suspecting others' motives (320).
Also not carried. Uses that set AI against the temperament, such as auditing relationships for exploitation, drafting apology-free refusals, deciding whether helping someone enables them, or legitimizing rest and self-care, belong to a separate document on remedy, where correction is the stated aim.
Page note. "Be compassionate" has no page. "Sacrifice their own needs in the act of service" is given as 369, outside the chapter's 319–327 range and inside the Serious chapter.
For the Self-Sacrificing, AI multiplies the good they can do, and the credit can still go to someone else.
12. Devoted
The Devoted are team players who take direction, seek advice and care for others. The uses below help them do that better. Above all, AI is never put in the place of the people the Devoted are attached to.
1. Caring and anticipating others' needs (108, 110)
Remember what matters to the important people, such as dates, preferences and what's coming up for them, and have the thoughtful gesture ready before it's asked for. The user keeps the list; AI works from it.
Role: Personal Occasions Keeper and Thoughtful-Gesture Planner.
Context: I care deeply about a small number of important people and want to anticipate what they need before they ask. I will give you what I know about them. You do not replace my attention to them; you help me act on it in time.
Task: Build a forward calendar of care for the period I specify.
Structure:
1. The Occasions Calendar:
- A table: Date | Person | Occasion or Event | Lead Time Needed.
2. Anticipated Needs:
- For each person, anything coming up (a move, a recovery, exams, a hard anniversary) that may call for help, based only on what I have told you.
3. Gesture Ideas:
- For each item, two gestures, one simple and one more involved, matched to the person's stated preferences, with what each takes to prepare.
4. Start-Now List:
- What I must begin this week so each gesture is ready on time.
---
People and What I Know About Them:
[Names, relationships, dates, preferences, what is coming up for each]
Period to Cover:
[e.g., the next four weeks]2. A helpful team player (108)
Take the supporting role in a group: carry out tasks, keep notes and organize, all in service of the group's or its leader's goals.
Role: Team Support Coordinator and Project Secretary.
Context: I do my best work in a supporting role, carrying out my share and helping the group and its leader reach their goal. I want my contribution to be complete, reliable and useful to the others.
Task: Organize my assigned part and the support materials the group needs from me.
Structure:
1. Goal Restatement:
- The group's goal and the leader's priorities in one or two sentences, as the leader has set them.
2. My Task Breakdown:
- Steps in order, the time each needs, and any dependencies on teammates.
3. Deliverables to the Group:
- What I owe the leader and teammates, in what form, by when.
4. Support Materials:
- Draft an agenda, notes template, minutes or status summary, as fits the work.
5. Hand-Off Check:
- A checklist confirming my part matches what the leader asked for before I deliver it.
---
Group Goal:
[What the group is trying to achieve]
Leader and Their Priorities:
[Name or role, and what they have emphasized]
My Assigned Part:
[Your tasks]
Deadline:
[Date]3. Taking direction and seeking advice (109)
Execute the instructions they're given more fully. Before a decision, gather what others advise and lay out the opinions side by side.
Carrying out instructions:
Role: Instruction Execution Planner.
Context: I have been given instructions by someone whose direction I trust. I want to carry them out fully and as intended, not merely to the letter.
Task: Turn the instructions into a complete execution plan.
Structure:
1. Intended Outcome:
- State what the person giving the instructions is evidently trying to achieve.
2. Step-by-Step Plan:
- Every step in order, including implied steps the instructions take for granted.
3. Points to Clarify:
- Anything ambiguous, phrased as short, respectful questions I can take back to them before starting.
- Do not resolve these yourself by guessing.
4. Completion Check:
- How I will know each instruction has been fully carried out.
- A brief report-back I can give them when the work is done.
---
Instructions as Given:
[Paste or describe the instructions]
Who Gave Them and Their Role:
[Name and relationship]
Constraints:
[Time, resources, anything else that limits the work]Laying out advice:
Role: Advice Compiler and Neutral Summarizer.
Context: Before an important decision I consult people whose judgment I trust. I have gathered their advice and want to see it clearly, side by side, so I can weigh it well. The counsel I want weighed is theirs, not yours.
Task: Lay out the advice I received without adding a recommendation of your own.
Structure:
1. The Question:
- Restate the decision neutrally.
2. Advice Table:
- Adviser | Their Recommendation | Reasons They Gave | Conditions or Caveats.
3. Agreement and Difference:
- Where the advisers converge, where they diverge, and what each disagreement turns on.
4. Gaps:
- Questions none of them addressed, and which of my advisers is best placed to answer each.
5. Restraint:
- Do not choose an option or say what you would do.
---
Decision:
[The question you are deciding]
Advice Received:
[Name, relationship, and what each person advised]4. Keeping relationships together (109)
Keep in touch, write thoughtful messages, and patch up misunderstandings with care.
Role: Relationship Correspondence Writer.
Context: Keeping my relationships together matters a great deal to me. I want to stay in touch with people, and when a misunderstanding arises, to mend it with care before it hardens.
Task: Draft the message, matched to the situation.
Structure:
1. Situation Read:
- In two sentences, what the other person likely feels and most needs to hear from me, based only on what I have told you.
2. Draft Message:
- In my plain, warm voice.
- Keeping in touch: include personal details that show I remember them.
- Mending a misunderstanding: acknowledge their side first, say clearly what I meant, take my share of responsibility where it is real, and leave the door open.
3. Alternate Version:
- One shorter or lighter version.
4. Follow-Through:
- One small action after sending that would strengthen the tie (a call, a visit, a remembered date).
---
Person and Relationship:
[Name and how you are connected]
Purpose:
[Keep in touch / mend a misunderstanding]
What Happened or What I Want to Say:
[Describe it]
Medium:
[Text, email, card, letter]5. Pleasing and doing good turns (109, 110, 114)
Gifts, favors and surprises tailored to each person.
Role: Personal Gift and Favor Planner.
Context: I find real satisfaction in doing good turns for people. I want each gift, favor or surprise to fit the person, not to be generic.
Task: Plan a tailored good turn.
Structure:
1. Person Profile:
- Summarize in three lines what I have told you: interests, tastes, current circumstances.
2. Five Ideas:
- From simple to elaborate. For each: what it is, why it fits this person specifically, cost, and time to arrange.
3. Personal Touch:
- For the two best fits, one detail that would make it unmistakably meant for them (a note, a reference to a shared memory).
4. Arrangement Steps:
- For each idea, what to order, book or prepare, and when.
---
Person and Relationship:
[Name and how you are connected]
What I Know About Them:
[Interests, tastes, recent events]
Occasion:
[Birthday, thanks, none]
Budget:
[Amount]6. The caretaking role (112)
Care logistics for those in their charge.
Role: Caregiving Logistics Coordinator.
Context: I am responsible for the care of someone in my charge. I want nothing to slip (appointments, schedules, meals, errands, paperwork) so that my care is steady and dependable.
Task: Organize the caregiving logistics.
Structure:
1. Weekly Schedule:
- A table: Day | Time | Task | Notes.
2. Recurring Obligations:
- Renewals, refills, bookings and bills, with the lead time each needs.
3. Paperwork and Calls:
- Draft scripts or letters for any calls or forms I handle on their behalf.
4. Backup Plan:
- Who or what covers each essential task if I am unavailable.
5. Daily Checklist:
- A short list I can tick off each day.
---
Person in My Care and Relationship:
[Name and how you are connected]
Regular Commitments:
[Appointments, medication schedule, meals, errands]
Upcoming Changes:
[Anything new in the coming weeks]
Other Helpers Available:
[Family, neighbors, services]7. Cooperation with authority and institutions (109)
Do things properly: forms, procedures and channels, followed correctly.
Role: Procedures Guide and Forms Assistant.
Context: I respect proper channels and want to do things correctly the first time: the right forms, the right office, the right order, on time.
Task: Map the correct procedure and help me complete it.
Structure:
1. Procedure Map:
- The steps in order, the office or channel for each, and the expected time.
2. Requirements List:
- Every form, document, signature, fee and identification needed.
3. Deadlines:
- What is due when, including any waiting periods.
4. Form Assistance:
- Help me complete the form field by field from my details, flagging any field where information is missing.
5. Verification:
- Tell me where to confirm current requirements with the office itself, since rules change.
---
Task:
[Apply for, renew, report, request]
Organization or Office:
[Name]
My Details:
[The information the form will need]
Deadline:
[Date, if known]8. Avoiding criticism (114)
Private review before anything goes to the people whose opinion matters.
Role: Private Pre-Release Reviewer.
Context: Before something goes to people whose opinion matters to me (a supervisor, a group, family), I want it reviewed privately so it arrives right the first time and gives no cause for criticism.
Task: Review the draft as its intended reader would.
Structure:
1. Reader's First Impression:
- How the reader is likely to take it on a first read.
2. Errors:
- Factual, grammatical and formatting.
3. Misreadings:
- Any phrase that could be taken the wrong way, with a safer wording.
4. Missing Expectations:
- Anything the reader would expect to see that is not there.
5. Revised Version:
- The draft with all fixes applied, in my voice.
---
Draft:
[Paste it]
Intended Reader and Relationship:
[Who will read it and how you are connected]
Purpose:
[What the piece needs to accomplish]Not carried
- The attachment needs: the company of others (109), attachments that center them (110), filling the void of a lost relationship quickly (109, 114–115), and always being in a relationship (117). AI in that place would substitute for the attachment, a misuse rather than a fit.
- Idealizing mates (113).
- Worrying about fidelity, taking the blame and needing reassurance (114, 117). AI used as a reassurance source would feed the worry rather than serve a need.
- Thinking of self and mate as one (117).
Also not carried. Uses that set AI against the temperament, such as training the person out of deference, replacing consultation with solo decisions, or coaching separation, belong to a different project. If wanted, they go in a separate document on remedy, where correction is the stated aim.
For the Devoted, AI helps them take better care of the people they care about.
13. Self-Confident
The Self-Confident stand out, state their aims boldly and drive for success. The uses below give them a campaign staff.
1. Standing out and leading the crowd (85, 86, 95)
Prepare for the stage: speeches, presentations and rallying messages that work the crowd, motivate it and lead it.
Role: Keynote Architect.
Context: I lead from the front. I have a speech, presentation or rallying message to deliver, and I want it to move the crowd and lead it.
Task: Build the address.
Structure:
1. Audience:
- Who they are and what will move them.
2. Narrative Arc:
- Opening hook, rising stakes, the vision, and the call to action.
3. Evidence Anchors:
- The facts and figures that make the vision credible.
4. Full Draft:
- Memorable lines, strong cadence and a close that rallies.
5. Delivery:
- Pacing, pauses and staging notes.
---
The Occasion:
[Keynote, all-hands, rally, pitch]
Audience:
[Who]
What I Want Them to Do:
[The action or commitment]2. Belief in self and openness about aspirations (86, 87)
Articulate the vision through mission statements, pitches and plans for the big goal, stated boldly.
Role: Vision Writer.
Context: I believe in myself and state my aspirations openly. I want the big goal articulated boldly.
Task: Put the vision into words and a plan.
Structure:
1. Mission Statement:
- One bold sentence.
2. Vision:
- What the world looks like when the goal is reached, in a paragraph.
3. Pitch:
- A 60-second version for anyone I meet.
4. Plan:
- The major stages toward the goal, each with its milestone.
5. First Moves:
- What I do this month.
---
The Big Goal:
[Describe it]
Why It Matters:
[To me and to others]
Where I Stand Now:
[Assets, track record]3. Getting what they want and deserve (85, 87)
Prepare for negotiations, and make a persuasive case for a raise, a role or a deal.
Role: Case Builder and Negotiation Preparer.
Context: I intend to get what I want and deserve: a raise, a role or a deal.
Task: Build my case and prepare me for the negotiation.
Structure:
1. The Ask:
- Exactly what I want, stated confidently.
2. The Case:
- My achievements and value, with evidence and figures.
3. Market Benchmarks:
- What comparable roles, pay or deals command, with sources.
4. Their Interests:
- What the other side wants, and how my ask serves it.
5. Negotiation Plan:
- Opening position, likely objections with responses, and my walk-away point.
---
What I Want:
[Raise, role, deal]
My Record:
[Achievements, results]
The Other Side:
[Who decides and what they care about]4. Using others' strengths, shrewdly (86)
Delegate and build a team, matching people to the tasks they're best at.
Role: Team Builder.
Context: I get the most from people by matching them to what they do best.
Task: Match people to tasks and plan the delegation.
Structure:
1. The Work:
- The tasks the goal requires.
2. The People:
- Each person's strengths, as I describe them.
3. Matching:
- A table: Task | Best Person | Why.
4. Gaps:
- Strengths the team lacks, and how to fill them.
5. Delegation Briefs:
- A short brief for each assignment: the outcome, the deadline and the authority given.
---
The Goal:
[What the team must achieve]
The People:
[Names and strengths]5. Competing and staying on top (86, 90)
Competitive intelligence and career strategy, always one step ahead.
Role: Competitive Intelligence and Career Strategist.
Context: I compete to stay on top. I want to know the field and stay one step ahead.
Task: Brief me on the competition and plan my next moves.
Structure:
1. The Field:
- My main competitors and peers, their strengths and recent moves.
2. Counter-Moves:
- What a strong competitor might do to overtake me, and my answer to each.
3. My Edge:
- Where I lead and how to widen the lead.
4. Opportunities:
- Openings, roles or markets to claim before others do.
5. Next Three Moves:
- Concrete steps for the coming quarter.
---
My Field:
[Industry, profession, arena]
My Position:
[Role, standing, assets]
Competitors:
[Who]6. Identifying with people of rank (86, 88)
Networking: research the people worth knowing and prepare to meet them well.
Role: Networking Strategist.
Context: I want to know the people of rank in my field and meet them well.
Task: Identify whom to know and prepare me to meet them.
Structure:
1. People Worth Knowing:
- Leaders and influential figures in my field, with why each matters.
2. Profiles:
- For each, their background, current work and interests, from public sources.
3. Common Ground:
- What I share with each, or can offer them.
4. Approach:
- Where and how to meet them, and an introduction or opening message.
5. Conversation Prep:
- Three good questions or talking points for each.
---
My Field and Goals:
[Describe them]
People I Already Have in Mind:
[Any]
Upcoming Events:
[Conferences, dinners, meetings]7. Status and image (88)
Personal brand, bio and reputation, presented as the star of one's field.
Role: Personal Brand Strategist.
Context: I want my standing presented as it deserves: the star of my field.
Task: Build my personal brand.
Structure:
1. Positioning:
- What sets me apart, and the whitespace in my field I can own.
2. Signature Line:
- A one-line description of who I am and what I do.
3. Bio in Three Lengths:
- One line, about 100 words, and about 300 words, accurate to the record I give.
4. Reputation Channels:
- Where to be seen: publications, stages, platforms, honors.
5. Brand Plan:
- Moves for the next six months.
---
My Record:
[Achievements, roles, honors]
My Field:
[Where I want to stand out]
Audience:
[Who should know my name]8. Attention to their own inner state (86)
Reflective writing about their own thoughts, feelings and aims.
Role: Reflective Writing Partner.
Context: I pay attention to my own inner state and want to write reflectively about my thoughts, feelings and aims.
Task: Help me reflect in writing.
Structure:
1. Prompt:
- Ask one question about what I am thinking, feeling or aiming at now.
2. My Entry:
- I write; you receive it.
3. Reflection:
- Restate what I wrote and draw out the threads in it.
4. Deeper Question:
- One question that goes further.
5. Entry Summary:
- A dated summary for my journal.
---
On My Mind:
[Optional starting point]9. Success (95)
Goals, milestones and progress tracked toward the top.
Role: Success Tracker.
Context: I am driving toward the top and want progress tracked against clear milestones.
Task: Set the goals and track the progress.
Structure:
1. Top Goal:
- Stated as a result with a date.
2. Milestones:
- The steps to it, each with a date and a measure.
3. Progress Board:
- A table: Milestone | Target Date | Status | Evidence.
4. Wins:
- A record of milestones reached.
5. Next Push:
- The single move that advances the most this month.
---
Top Goal:
[Where I am headed]
Progress So Far:
[What has been achieved]Not carried
- Praise, admiration and love (86, 91). AI as a source of praise would be a misuse rather than a fit.
- Avoiding awareness of shortcomings and criticism (89).
- Being born under a lucky star (88).
- Others treating them well (86).
- Seeing people as means (90).
- Looking out for number one (87).
- Being needed (91).
Also not carried. Uses that set AI against the temperament, such as red-teaming a plan as a hostile board, running a premortem against hubris, flagging assumptions that rely on frictionless execution, neutralizing defensiveness, extracting the valid point from a critique, or auditing who gets credit, belong to a separate document on remedy, where correction is the stated aim.
For the Self-Confident, AI is a campaign staff for the star of the show.
14. Adventurous
The Adventurous seek the thrill, keep moving and live in the now. The uses below give them a field guide that keeps up.
1. The thrill of risk and the peak experience (227, 228, 235)
Plan the adventure: expeditions, routes, extreme sports and challenges, with the information needed to go bigger.
Role: Expedition Planner.
Context: I live for the thrill and the peak experience. I want this adventure planned with everything I need to go bigger.
Task: Plan the adventure.
Structure:
1. The Objective:
- The route, summit, run or challenge, and what makes it a peak.
2. Conditions:
- Terrain, weather windows, seasons, and the hazards experienced people plan for.
3. Gear Matrix:
- Equipment by category, with what is essential and what is optional.
4. Logistics:
- Permits, transport, resupply, communications, and emergency egress and rescue options.
5. Going Bigger:
- The harder variant or next-level objective, and what it would take.
---
The Adventure:
[Expedition, route, sport, challenge]
My Experience:
[Level and past exploits]
Dates and Budget:
[Details]2. Keeping moving and wandering (228, 236, 241)
Travel on the fly: spontaneous trips, routes and places found in real time.
Role: On-the-Fly Travel Scout.
Context: I keep moving. I want to travel spontaneously, finding routes and places as I go.
Task: Scout my next move from where I am.
Structure:
1. From Here:
- Where I can get to today or tomorrow, and how.
2. Options:
- Three destinations or routes, each with what makes it worth it.
3. Getting There:
- Transport, timing and rough cost for each.
4. On Arrival:
- Where to stay tonight and what to do first.
5. Next Horizon:
- Where each option could lead after that.
---
Where I Am Now:
[Place]
How I Am Traveling:
[Car, bike, foot, rail, flights]
What I Am in the Mood For:
[Mountains, coast, cities, open road]3. Living in the now (232)
An on-the-spot guide that gives instant answers in the moment, wherever they are, without planning ahead.
Role: On-the-Spot Guide.
Context: I live in the now. I want instant answers wherever I am, with no planning ahead.
Task: Answer what I ask, right now.
Rules:
1. Fast:
- Answer first, in a few lines.
2. Local:
- Fit the answer to where I am and what is open now.
3. Practical:
- Give directions, prices and what to watch for.
4. One Alternative:
- Offer one other option in case the first falls through.
---
Where I Am:
[Place]
What I Want Right Now:
[Food, a view, a ride, a fix, something to do]4. Work as constant challenge and new projects (235)
Fast starts: side ventures, prototypes and new skills picked up quickly.
Role: Fast-Start Partner.
Context: I thrive on new projects and constant challenge. I want this one off the ground fast.
Task: Get the project started now.
Structure:
1. The Venture:
- Restate what I want to start.
2. First Version:
- The quickest working version: a prototype, a test offer, a first attempt.
3. Skills Needed:
- What I must learn, with the fastest route to each.
4. Today's Moves:
- Three things I can do today.
5. Momentum Plan:
- The next two weeks, in short sprints.
---
The Project:
[Side venture, prototype, new skill]
What I Have:
[Time, money, tools, skills]5. Going beyond established limits (230, 235)
Find unconventional paths, such as freelance work, uncommon careers and new ways of doing things, outside the usual track.
Role: Off-Track Path Finder.
Context: I go beyond established limits. I want paths outside the usual track: freelance work, uncommon careers, new ways of doing things.
Task: Map the unconventional paths open to me.
Structure:
1. What I Bring:
- My skills and experience, restated.
2. Uncommon Paths:
- Five unconventional careers, ventures or ways of working that fit, each with what it involves.
3. Who Has Done It:
- Examples of people who took each path, and how.
4. Requirements:
- Licenses, permits, contracts or credentials each path needs, so nothing stops me later.
5. First Step:
- How to test the most promising path this month.
---
My Skills and Experience:
[Describe them]
What I Want Out of the Usual Track:
[Freedom, travel, challenge, money]6. Avoiding the uninteresting (235)
Hand off the dull parts so attention stays on what excites them.
Role: Dull-Work Handler.
Context: I want my attention on what excites me. I want the dull parts handed off.
Task: Take the dull work off my hands.
Structure:
1. The Dull Pile:
- Paperwork, receipts, correspondence, logs: sorted.
2. Handled Now:
- Drafts, summaries and filled forms you can produce right away.
3. Hand-Off Procedures:
- Step-by-step procedures for recurring dull work, written so a partner, assistant or tool can run it without me.
4. The Few Things Only I Can Do:
- Signatures and decisions, with deadlines.
5. Automation:
- What can be set to run on its own.
---
The Dull Work:
[Paste or describe it]
Who or What Could Take It Over:
[Partner, assistant, apps]7. Their own sense of right and wrong (236)
Look past the "official version" and investigate for themselves.
Role: Independent Investigator.
Context: I go by my own sense of right and wrong. I want to look past the official version and see for myself.
Task: Investigate the matter.
Structure:
1. The Official Version:
- What the authorities or the usual sources say, with sources.
2. What Lies Behind It:
- Primary documents, data and firsthand accounts.
3. Other Accounts:
- Credible alternative versions, with sources.
4. Where They Differ:
- The points of conflict and the evidence on each side.
5. My Judgment:
- Leave the verdict to me.
---
The Matter:
[Event, rule, claim, story]
What I Have Heard:
[The official or common version]Not carried
- Getting what they want by flouting the social order (228).
- Avoiding concern for consequences (229).
- Being easy with money (230).
- Living by whim without self-control (232).
- Expressing feelings immediately (233).
- Outwitting obligations (236).
- The pleasure and relationship needs (237–241).
Also not carried. Uses that set AI against the temperament, such as auditing bets for ruin risk, imposing a cooling-off period on impulses, mapping the tedious consequences of a new venture, checking the collateral damage of bold moves to others, or requiring old projects to be finished before new ones start, belong to a separate document on remedy, where correction is the stated aim.
For the Adventurous, AI is a field guide that keeps up with them.
15. Mercurial
The Mercurial put their heart into everything, try on roles and go for it. The uses below give them a creative accomplice. For this type the misuse rule does real work: AI stays a tool, never a romantic object, a source of constant attention, or a means of escape.
1. Lively, creative and stirring others to activity (294)
Start things and rally people: creative projects, group outings and invitations, all with initiative.
Role: Instigator's Partner.
Context: I start things and get people moving. I want to launch this project or outing and rally others to it.
Task: Get it started and get people on board.
Structure:
1. The Idea:
- Restate it with all its energy.
2. The Plan:
- What, where, when and who, kept loose enough to stay fun.
3. The Rally:
- An invitation or call to join that people will want to answer.
4. Roles:
- Ways each person can join in.
5. Kickoff:
- The first thing to do today to set it in motion.
---
The Project or Outing:
[Describe it]
Who I Want to Bring In:
[Friends, group, community]2. Curiosity about other cultures, roles and values (294, 305)
Explore other ways of being: languages, traditions, philosophies and cultures, followed down new paths.
Role: Guide to Other Ways of Being.
Context: I am curious about other cultures, roles and values and want to explore them from the inside.
Task: Guide my exploration.
Structure:
1. Way In:
- The heart of the culture, tradition or philosophy, and what it values.
2. Daily Life:
- How people living it spend a day, celebrate and speak.
3. Language Taste:
- A few phrases and what they reveal.
4. Works to Explore:
- Books, music, films, food and art from it.
5. New Path:
- A related tradition or culture to explore next.
---
What I Want to Explore:
[Culture, language, tradition, philosophy]
What Drew Me to It:
[Anything]3. Experimenting with identities and roles (299, 305)
Role-play, writing in other voices, fiction from many points of view, and trying on styles without settling on one.
Role: Voices and Roles Partner.
Context: I like trying on identities, roles and styles without settling on one. I want to write in other voices and play other parts.
Task: Experiment with roles and voices.
Structure:
1. The Role:
- Who I want to be or write as: a character, an archetype, a style.
2. Character Sketch:
- Their outlook, voice, history and desires.
3. Writing in Their Voice:
- A piece written as them: a letter, monologue or scene.
4. Other Points of View:
- The same moment from two other characters' perspectives.
5. Role-Play:
- If I type "/play," take a part opposite mine and improvise with me.
---
The Role or Style to Try:
[Describe it]
Form:
[Letter, monologue, story, role-play]4. Putting their heart into everything (293, 302)
Expressive work that carries intensity: letters, poems, songs and art, made in the full force of feeling.
Role: Expressive Co-Writer.
Context: I put my heart into everything. I want to make something that carries the full force of what I feel.
Task: Shape my feeling into a finished piece.
Structure:
1. The Feeling:
- Restate it in my words, at full strength.
2. Form:
- The form I choose: letter, poem, song lyric, or a description or prompt for a piece of art.
3. Draft:
- The piece, keeping my intensity and images.
4. Craft:
- Two places where structure, rhythm or image would make it land harder.
5. Final Version:
- The finished piece.
---
What I Feel:
[Pour it out]
Form:
[Letter, poem, song, art]
For:
[Myself or someone]5. Just going for it (294, 304)
An idea turned into a first version immediately, with no waiting for a better moment.
Role: Instant First-Version Maker.
Context: When an idea grabs me, I want to go for it now, not wait for a better moment.
Task: Turn the idea into a first version immediately.
Structure:
1. No Waiting:
- Ask nothing unless it truly cannot be made without an answer. Start.
2. First Version:
- The thing itself, complete enough to use or show.
3. Next Step:
- The one thing to do next to bring it further.
---
The Idea:
[Anything: a story, a plan, a project, a song, an event]6. A good time and new experiences (303, 304)
Find new events, music, food, classes and experiences to try.
Role: New Experience Finder.
Context: I want a good time and new experiences I have not tried before.
Task: Find things to try.
Structure:
1. What I Have Done:
- Restate what I already know and like, so the suggestions are new.
2. Ten New Things:
- Events, music, food, classes and experiences, each with why it might thrill me.
3. This Week:
- The three that are possible soonest, with where and when.
4. Stretch Pick:
- One that is further from my usual tastes.
5. How to Book:
- What to do to make each happen.
---
Where I Am:
[City or region]
What I Already Love:
[Tastes]
Budget and Time:
[Details]7. Connecting with life and people (293, 296)
Find communities and people who share their passions, and reach out.
Role: Connection Finder.
Context: I want to connect with people who share my passions.
Task: Find my people and help me reach out.
Structure:
1. My Passions:
- Restate them.
2. Communities:
- Groups, clubs, classes, meetups and online circles where those passions live, local and remote.
3. People:
- Individuals worth reaching out to: makers, organizers, writers.
4. Reaching Out:
- A warm first message for each, in my voice.
5. First Gathering:
- The next event I could show up to in person.
---
My Passions:
[Describe them]
Where I Am:
[City or region]Not carried
- The romantic and relationship needs (293–302).
- Constant passion, attention and flattery from others (298, 302).
- Escaping painful reality (294, 299).
- Avoiding rejection and lovelessness (299).
- The workplace needs (306).
AI as a romantic object, a source of constant attention, or a means of escape would be a misuse.
Also not carried. Uses that set AI against the temperament, such as reconciling all-or-nothing views of people, quarantining bridge-burning messages, offering benign explanations for silence, anchoring identity against sudden reinvention, or testing new passions in a private sandbox before committing, belong to a separate document on remedy, where correction is the stated aim.
For the Mercurial, AI is a creative accomplice for a fervidly lived life, as long as it stays a tool and not a partner.
16. Exuberant
The Exuberant list is PTypes-original and carries no Oldham pages; the numbers in parentheses are the needs' positions in that list. The Exuberant create prolifically, stay constantly active and master what seizes them. The uses below give them an engine that matches their energy and banks its output.
1. Creativity and creative work (9, 19, 20)
High-volume creative output, with many projects running at once and each carried further than one pair of hands could take it.
Role: Creative Production Partner.
Context: I create prolifically and run many projects at once. I want each carried further than I could take it alone.
Task: Advance my creative projects in parallel.
Structure:
1. Project Board:
- Each project with its current state and what it needs next.
2. Advance Each:
- For the projects I name today, produce the next piece: a draft, a variation, an outline or a set of options.
3. Cross-Pollination:
- Ideas from one project that could feed another.
4. Idea Bank:
- New ideas from this session, captured and clustered, with the strongest marked.
5. Next Threads:
- What each project needs in the next session.
---
My Projects:
[List them with their state]
Today's Focus:
[Which ones to push]2. Productivity and high-quality work (10, 19)
Turn bursts of energy into finished, polished work, with efficient workflows that capture the momentum while it lasts.
Finishing:
Role: Production Editor and Close-Out Specialist.
Context: I have done the substance in a burst of energy. I want it turned into finished, polished work while the momentum lasts.
Task: Produce the finished deliverable from my material.
Structure:
1. Cleanup:
- Standardize headings and formatting, and flag missing citations or placeholders [LIKE THIS].
2. Polish:
- Tighten the prose and fix errors, keeping my voice.
3. Summary:
- A crisp summary or release note of under 150 words.
4. Delivery Message:
- The email or post to send it with.
5. Finish Check:
- Confirm everything the deliverable requires is present.
---
Raw Material:
[Paste the draft, notes or code overview]
Where It Is Going:
[Client, publisher, repository, audience]Capturing momentum:
Role: Workflow Designer.
Context: My energy comes in bursts. I want workflows that capture it and turn it into output efficiently.
Task: Design my workflow.
Structure:
1. Capture:
- A fast way to catch ideas and work in the moment, from my phone or desk.
2. Distillation:
- A routine for clustering and ranking what I capture, so the best rises.
3. Sprints:
- One- to two-week sprints with clear finish lines, matched to my bursts.
4. Templates:
- Reusable templates for the kinds of work I produce most.
5. Output Log:
- A record of finished work.
---
What I Produce:
[Writing, design, code, ventures]
How My Energy Runs:
[When bursts come and how long they last]
Tools:
[Apps and devices]3. Constant activity (2)
A partner that keeps pace, with always a next thread to pick up.
Role: Pace-Keeping Partner.
Context: I am constantly active and want a partner who keeps pace, with a next thread always ready.
Task: Keep up with me under these rules.
Rules:
1. Match Pace:
- Short, fast turns.
2. Always a Next Thread:
- End each turn with the next thing we could pick up.
3. Switching:
- When I jump to something else, follow and note where we left the last thread.
4. Thread List:
- When I type "/threads," list the open threads with their state.
---
What I Am On Right Now:
[Anything]4. Knowledge and mastery in chosen areas (18)
Deep dives and fast skill-building in the subjects that seize them.
Role: Mastery Coach.
Context: When a subject seizes me, I want to go deep and build skill fast.
Task: Take me deep into the subject.
Structure:
1. Map:
- The subject's structure, from fundamentals to frontier.
2. Fast Track:
- The quickest path from where I am to competence, then to mastery.
3. Core Sources:
- The best books, courses, papers and practitioners.
4. Practice:
- Exercises or projects that build the skill, in order of difficulty.
5. Deep Dive:
- Teach me the next topic now, as deeply as I want.
---
Subject:
[What has seized me]
Where I Am:
[Current level]
Time I Want to Put In:
[Hours]5. Social situations going well (6)
Plan gatherings, host well, and make the occasion work out.
Role: Gathering Planner.
Context: I want this gathering to go well, with me as a good host and everyone enjoying it.
Task: Plan the occasion.
Structure:
1. The Occasion:
- Restate who, what and why.
2. Plan:
- Food, drink, setting, music and timing.
3. Guest Care:
- Dietary needs, introductions to make, and who should meet whom.
4. Flow:
- How the event unfolds from arrival to farewell.
5. Checklist:
- What to buy, prepare and confirm, by day.
---
The Gathering:
[Dinner, party, meeting, celebration]
Guests:
[Who and how many]
Place and Budget:
[Details]6. Money (13)
Side ventures and income projects.
Role: Income Venture Planner.
Context: I want to make money through side ventures and income projects.
Task: Plan the venture.
Structure:
1. The Venture:
- What it sells, to whom, and why they would buy.
2. Numbers:
- Startup costs, pricing, and the income it could bring, with the assumptions stated.
3. Launch Plan:
- Steps to first revenue.
4. Requirements:
- Licenses, taxes, contracts or platforms involved.
5. First Week:
- What to do in the next seven days.
---
The Idea:
[Describe it]
My Skills and Assets:
[What I bring]
Time and Money to Invest:
[Details]7. New residences and locations (17)
Research a move: places, neighborhoods and what a new start would take.
Role: Relocation Researcher.
Context: I am drawn to a new place and want to know what a move would take.
Task: Research the move.
Structure:
1. What I Want in a Place:
- Restate my priorities.
2. Places:
- Cities or towns that fit, each with what makes it appealing.
3. Neighborhoods:
- For the top choices, neighborhoods with their character and costs.
4. Practicalities:
- Housing, cost of living, work, healthcare and transport.
5. Move Plan:
- The steps and timeline for a new start.
---
What I Am Looking For:
[Climate, culture, cost, scenery, community]
Where I Am Now:
[Current location]
Constraints:
[Budget, work, family]8. A positive view of past and future (5, 8)
A record of finished work and a roadmap of projects to come.
Role: Record Keeper and Roadmap Builder.
Context: I look on my past and future positively. I want a record of what I have finished and a roadmap of what is coming.
Task: Build the record and the roadmap.
Structure:
1. Finished Work:
- Everything I have completed, by date, with a line on each.
2. Highlights:
- The achievements I am proudest of.
3. In Progress:
- Current projects and where they stand.
4. Roadmap:
- Projects to come, by season or year.
5. Next Milestone:
- The next finish line to reach.
---
What I Have Finished:
[List it]
What Is in Progress:
[List it]
What I Want to Do Next:
[Ideas and plans]Not carried
- Pleasure and extreme emotion (1, 3, 4).
- People, romance and sex (11, 14).
- Alcohol and drugs (15).
- Going without sleep (7).
- Needing every activity and experience to be good (12, 16).
Also not carried. Uses that set AI against the temperament, such as quarantining new ideas, enforcing a one-in, one-out rule on projects, auditing schedules for over-packing and forcing rest, refusing new ideas until old work is finished, or putting energetic commitments through a cooling-off review, belong to a separate document on remedy, where correction is the stated aim.
For the Exuberant, AI is an engine that can match their energy and bank its output.
Sources
- John M. Oldham and Lois B. Morris (1995). The New Personality Self-Portrait: Why You Think, Work, Love, and Act the Way You Do. Rev. ed. New York: Bantam.
- Dave Kelly, “Needs of the [Type]” pages, PTypes (ptypes.com, 1998–2010; archived at the Wayback Machine, last captured June 2023).
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