clg

name	clg
description	Handler for goals that require building collectives, communities, or movements.
output	{"format":"prose"}

Collective and Movement Goals Handler

Input: $ARGUMENTS

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Overview

Handler for goals that require building collectives, communities, or movements. These are distinct from relationship goals (dyadic/small group) and multi-party goals (navigating existing institutions). Collective goals are about CREATING new coordination among strangers.

Steps

Step 1: Classify the Collective Goal

Type	Core Challenge	Example
Community	Getting people to belong and participate	Online forum, local group
Movement	Getting people to act toward shared cause	Activism, advocacy
Audience	Getting people to pay attention	Content, thought leadership
Network	Getting people to connect to each other	Professional network, ecosystem
Market	Getting people to transact	Marketplace, platform

Step 2: Define the Value Proposition

Why would a stranger join/participate?

1. What do members GET? (Value received)
   • Connection, information, status, opportunities, belonging, fun, meaning
2. What do members GIVE? (Cost of participation)
   • Time, attention, money, effort, data, vulnerability
3. Is the value immediate or delayed?
   • Immediate: people join and get value right away
   • Delayed: value comes after critical mass (harder to bootstrap)
4. Is the value competitive or cooperative?
   • Competitive: members compete for scarce resource
   • Cooperative: members create value for each other

Step 3: Solve the Cold Start Problem

Every collective faces: "Why join when no one else has?"

Bootstrap strategies:

Strategy	How It Works	Best For
Single-player value	Useful even with 0 other members	Tools, content platforms
Seed with creators	Recruit content/value producers first	Media, marketplaces
Exclusive launch	Scarcity creates desire to join	Status-oriented communities
Event-based	Gather around a shared experience	Local communities, movements
Celebrity/influencer	Borrow someone else's audience	Broad-appeal communities
Solve a pain point	People join to fix an immediate problem	Support groups, utilities

Step 4: Design for Growth

How does the collective grow beyond the initial seed?

Growth mechanisms:

1. Network effects: Each new member makes it more valuable for existing members
2. Viral loops: Members naturally invite others (sharing, referral, collaboration)
3. Content: Public content attracts new members via search/social
4. Events: Regular events create moments of entry
5. Word of mouth: Members tell others because of genuine enthusiasm

Growth blockers to avoid:

• High barriers to entry (too many steps, too much info required)
• No visible activity (ghost town effect)
• Insider culture that excludes newcomers
• No clear "what do I do first?"

Step 5: Design for Retention

Growth without retention is a leaky bucket.

1. First experience: What happens in the first 5 minutes? (Must be positive)
2. Habit loop: What brings people back regularly?
3. Investment: What do members build that they'd lose if they left? (Profile, reputation, relationships)
4. Progression: Is there a path from newcomer to core member?
5. Belonging signals: How do members know they're "in"?

Step 6: Design Governance

As collectives grow, governance becomes critical:

Size	Governance Style	Key Challenge
< 50	Informal, founder-led	Maintaining culture
50-500	Documented norms, moderators	Scaling culture
500-5000	Formal rules, elected leaders	Preventing fragmentation
5000+	Institutional structures	Preventing capture

Key governance decisions:

• Who can join? (Open vs closed vs curated)
• Who can speak/post? (Moderation policy)
• Who makes rules? (Autocratic vs democratic vs consensus)
• How are conflicts resolved? (Process)
• How are bad actors handled? (Enforcement)

Step 7: Report

COLLECTIVE GOAL ANALYSIS:
Type: [community/movement/audience/network/market]
Value proposition: Members get [X] by giving [Y]

Cold start strategy: [bootstrap approach]
Growth mechanism: [how it spreads]
Retention design: [what keeps people]
Governance: [how it's managed]

Key metrics:
- Members: [total, active, growth rate]
- Engagement: [participation rate]
- Retention: [30-day, 90-day]
- Value: [are members getting what was promised?]

Biggest risk: [most likely failure mode]
Next milestone: [specific target]

When to Use

• Goal requires many strangers to coordinate
• Building something that scales beyond personal relationships
• Creating culture, norms, identity for a group
• → INVOKE: /net (networking) for building initial connections
• → INVOKE: /vm (viral mechanics) for growth design
• → INVOKE: /sms (social media) for platform-specific tactics

Verification

• Collective type identified
• Value proposition clear (what members get AND give)
• Cold start strategy defined
• Growth mechanism beyond direct recruitment
• Retention designed (not just acquisition)
• Governance appropriate to size