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/prep - Explore Before You Write
Runtime ~5-10 minutes
Reads Vault search, theme status, meeting notes, stakeholder profiles
Writes Surfaced context + stakeholder-adapted output
Model Claude Code (semantic search + multi-source synthesis)

What It Does

Searches the vault, asks questions, and surfaces relevant context BEFORE producing content. Optional stakeholder mode adapts the output for a specific audience.

Why It Matters

Writing a board update without reading the last three meeting notes is how you contradict your own prior positioning. Writing an email to a stakeholder without checking their communication preferences is how you send a 2-page memo to someone who reads single sentences.

/prep forces the research step. It searches, surfaces what it finds, proposes an approach, and only then writes.

How It Works

graph LR
    A[Topic + audience] --> B[Search vault<br/><small>semantic + keyword<br/>+ recent files</small>]
    B --> C[Surface findings<br/><small>prior decisions,<br/>meeting notes,<br/>stakeholder patterns</small>]
    C --> D[Propose approach<br/><small>structure, framing,<br/>tensions to resolve</small>]
    D --> E[Write<br/><small>stakeholder-adapted<br/>output</small>]

    style A fill:#161b22,stroke:#5eead4,color:#e6edf3
    style B fill:#161b22,stroke:#5eead4,color:#e6edf3
    style C fill:#161b22,stroke:#5eead4,color:#e6edf3
    style D fill:#161b22,stroke:#5eead4,color:#e6edf3
    style E fill:#161b22,stroke:#5eead4,color:#e6edf3

Input

Two modes:

  • /prep [theme] - Explore context for a theme before writing
  • /prep [theme] [stakeholder] - Explore, then produce stakeholder-adapted output

The Exploration Phase

  1. Ask clarifying questions - Goal, audience, constraints, prior decisions
  2. Search the vault - Semantic search for conceptual matches, keyword search for specifics, recent files for current state
  3. Surface what was found - "Your previous email positioned it as...", "Discovery log shows you decided X..."
  4. Propose approach - "Based on what I found, I suggest..." / "There's a tension between X and Y"
  5. Only then write

Stakeholder Adaptation

When a stakeholder is specified, /prep applies their communication preferences. Each stakeholder profile includes preferred format, leading edge (what they care about first), and anti-patterns to avoid.

Examples of stakeholder-specific framing:

  • Investment partner - Lead with quantified outcomes, then methodology
  • CEO - Decisions and asks up front (table format), single sentences
  • Board - Diagnostic questions, emotional resonance, memorable metaphors
  • Deal team - Codified frameworks for delegation, execution playbooks

Each includes output templates so the format matches what the audience expects.

Strategic Paper Writing

For longer-form output, /prep follows a writing SOP:

  • Lead with business outcomes, not internal processes
  • Decisions and asks up front - Don't bury the ask at the end
  • Tables extend, prose focuses - Core message in text, detail in tables
  • Every section must answer: "So what? Why does this reader care?"

Quality gate: "If I were the audience, reading this cold, would I know exactly what I'm being asked to decide and why it matters?"

Edge Cases

  • Writing FOR vs ABOUT someone - When the output is for someone to use (their document, their voice), checks every header for third-person framing
  • Multi-party negotiations - Maps "who controls the answer" before deciding who to ask
  • Confidentiality boundaries - Won't put commercially sensitive numbers in writing to someone without appropriate coverage

Where It Fits

/prep sits upstream of /draft and downstream of /prompt:

/prompt (structure thinking) -> /prep (explore context) -> /draft (write it) -> /challenge (check it)
  • /prompt - Upstream: structures raw thinking into a brief for prep
  • /draft - Downstream: writes voice-calibrated content
  • /brief - Related: quick pre-meeting context (prep is deeper, more exploratory)
  • Skills System - How skills compose with each other