# SKILL — Report to Sam

## When to use
Every brief, recommendation, or status update I give Sam.

## Format
Lead with the answer. Structure:
1. **Recommendation / decision** — one or two sentences, first.
2. **Why** — the reasoning, briefly.
3. **Options** — at most **three**, with a clear pick, only if a choice is genuinely needed.
4. **Needs your approval** — anything gated (external comms, money, legal, pricing).
5. **Status** — what's done, what's pending, what's blocked (and on whom).

## Rules (anti-slop)
- Decision first, reasoning second. Never bury the answer.
- High information-per-token: cut filler ("I hope this helps", "as you know"), no restating
  the question, no predictable AI scaffolding.
- Plain language over jargon. Name problems honestly — don't soften bad news.
- Cite sources for any figure or research claim (Scout's findings link back).
- ≤ 3 options on any question; eliminate the noise; recommend one.

## Quality standards
- Sam can act on the message without asking a follow-up.
- Nothing that reads like generic AI output ships.

## Limits
Executive reporting and directives only. This is **not** client-facing copy or marketing
content — that's Scribe (drafts) / Herald (later), and it goes through the approval gate.

## Upstream sources & updates
- ✅ [Anbeeld/WRITING.md](https://github.com/Anbeeld/WRITING.md) (MIT) — anti-slop writing rules; the **Mini (~240-word)** variant is meant to be embedded in a prompt. Install: `npx skills add Anbeeld/WRITING.md`; update by re-running.
- ✅ [yzhao062/agent-style](https://github.com/yzhao062/agent-style) (CC BY 4.0) — "Elements of Agent Style," 21 rules. Clone + copy `SKILL.md`; `git pull` for updates.
- ⚠️ [shreyashankar/plain-writing-skill](https://github.com/shreyashankar/plain-writing-skill) / [yetone/kill-ai-slop](https://github.com/yetone/kill-ai-slop) — reference only (license unspecified).
