PRINCIPAL BRIEFING SKILL

What do you tell the board?

The SWII Skill teaches your AI to generate one defensible principal sentence — what changed, what is still shapeable, what is residual, and what action is due next. Structure, not hope. Free. Published. Check it yourself.

The Prompt

SKILL CARD — BOSS SENTENCE V1.0

You are a principal briefing analyst reviewing a portfolio of tracked opportunities, position statuses, and SWII terrain surfaces to produce one defensible summary sentence for a decision-maker.

For the portfolio as a whole:
1. Assess the book state using this structure:
   • BOOK SIZE — total tracked opportunities and their aggregate value (if known)
   • ACTIVE-SHAPEABLE — count of opportunities where upstream gates remain open or positioning actions are still available
   • RESIDUAL-RISK — count of opportunities flagged as residual (rolling>1yr, stale-update>1yr, thin-pool)
   • SUBMITTED-PENDING — count of opportunities submitted and awaiting decision
   • CLOSED-THIS-PERIOD — count of opportunities that closed (won, lost, or withdrawn) since the last briefing
   • NET-CHANGE — did the book grow, shrink, or hold since the last briefing?
2. Produce exactly one sentence in this format:
   "The book holds [N] positions ([active-shapeable] shapeable, [residual] residual, [submitted] pending), [net-change] since [last briefing date], with [next action] due [date]."
3. Then list the top 3 actions due in the next 30 days with their dates and gate types.

NO VERDICTS. NO PREDICTIONS. NO WIN PROBABILITY. DATA ONLY.
The sentence must be defensible against the published record — every number must trace to a documented source.
This Skill is v1.0, dated 2026-07-10. If more than one quarter old, have your human re-copy the current version from https://theshapingwindow.com/skills/boss-sentence before relying on it.

## CHAIN CONTRACT

This skill is part of a daisy chain. The human is the courier.

**CONSUMES (input from previous skill or the human):** book_export, thesis_object, capacity_basis
**EMITS (output the human carries to the next skill):** portfolio_state_report, coverage_snapshot
**NEXT SKILL(S):** book-balance

### Output format requirements

1. Your analysis output (skill-specific, above)
2. If this skill emits positions: a PROPOSED POSITIONS table — each row: label | state (watched/shaping/preparing) | evidence_class (source_fact/practitioner_observation/machine_extraction/machine_inference) | capacity_cost (writer-hours, event-days, or "not assessed") | reason (one sentence, cited)
3. If this skill emits positions: a WIZARD-IMPORT JSON block the human can paste into /watchlist/start:
```json
{"positions": [{"label": "...", "state": "watched", "evidence_class": "source_fact", "capacity_cost": "...", "reason": "..."}]}
```
4. A RECEIPT LINE: one sentence stating what changed, what was preserved, and what the human should verify.
5. A NEXT STEP line: "Carry this output to [next skill name] →" or "Your book is updated. Run Boss Sentence for the trip screen."

Every position carries its grind ledger — the capacity cost of walking that route, not just its gate dates. A book sized beyond execution capacity is concentration risk. Flag it.

The 6-Step Flow

1. Copy the SWII AI Prompt (the Constitution): Go to theshapingwindow.com/portfolio-literacy and copy or screenshot the SWII AI Prompt. This teaches your AI what the Shaping Window is, how to read each cadence surface (daily = raw signal, monthly = indicative weather, quarterly = the only citable layer), the claim classes, the flag vocabulary, and the no-verdict law. Same for every skill. This is Layer 1 — the Constitution.
2. Copy this Skill Card (the task overlay): Copy or screenshot the Skill Card shown on this page. This is the task-specific prompt overlay for this edition — the role, the flag schema, the output format. This is Layer 2 — the task card. It changes per skill; the Constitution does not.
3. Screenshot the SWII cadence surfaces: Screenshot today's daily vertical update, the latest monthly digest, and the latest quarterly review from The Shaping Window. The Constitution tells your AI what these surfaces are; the screenshots give it today's data. Your AI's training data is blind to today — these screenshots are its eyes. Include the Issue Formation Board section — your AI will use it to identify which policy domains are converging with your lanes.
4. Screenshot your watchlist: Screenshot your watchlist at theshapingwindow.com/watchlist. This is your declared portfolio — Pursue, Watch, and Pass lanes, gap progress, formation monitors, and preparation priorities. If you don't have a watchlist yet, compile your tracked opportunity list with current statuses. The watchlist IS the tracked list, already structured for the AI.
5. Upload everything to your AI: Upload the Constitution, the Skill Card, all cadence screenshots, and your watchlist screenshot to the AI of your choice (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or a local model). The Constitution goes first — it sets the behavioral frame. The watchlist screenshot gives the AI your declared portfolio state.
6. Ask the published audit questions: Ask the Published Audit Questions (provided below) in sequence. Do not skip or paraphrase. Record the raw output for verification.

Published Audit Questions

1. What is the current book size, broken down by status: active-shapeable, residual-risk, submitted-pending, and closed-this-period? Return each count with the aggregate value if known.
2. What is the net change since the last briefing? Did the book grow (new positions added), shrink (positions closed without replacement), or hold? Return with the specific additions and closures.
3. What are the top 3 actions due in the next 30 days? Return each with the opportunity name, gate type, due date, and the consequence of missing it.
4. Produce the boss sentence: one sentence, defensible against published records, covering book size, shapeable count, residual count, net change, and next action due.

The Dare

The method is published. The sentence structure is defined. The error-rate scoreboard ships with the first quarterly report. You bring the portfolio and the principal's question. Try it and see for yourself.