research-brief

name	research-brief
description	Generate a 600-word executive brief + 5-bullet TLDR on any topic, person, company, or URL. Reads business-brain.md and _research-hot.md. Uses Perplexity Ask + Firecrawl. Plan-then-approve. Lands in reference/research/briefs/<slug>.md. Folds to vault/Notion per preferences.
when_to_use	["/research-brief","research brief on","write a brief on","executive brief","brand brief"]

/research-brief — v0.2.0

Generate a 600-word executive brief on any topic, person, company, or URL.

Inputs

• Required: topic (free-form text) OR URL
• Read on every run:
  • about-me/about-me.md (user identity)
  • about-me/business-brain.md (ICP, positioning, terminology)
  • reference/_research-hot.md (what user is actively researching)
  • reference/research/_index.md (to dedup — has user already briefed this topic?)
  • projects/research/research-preferences.md (brief length, TLDR style, citation style)

Logic

1. Read all input files
2. If topic already in _index.md (within last 30 days), surface that to user: "You briefed this on [date]. Want to refresh, or read the existing brief?"
3. Call Perplexity Ask for synthesis-style answer with citations
4. If URL provided, also call Firecrawl for the source page content
5. Generate brief using templates/brief-template.md shape
6. Plan-then-approve: show user the plan ("I'll write a 600-word brief covering X, Y, Z. Sources: A, B, C. Land in reference/research/briefs/.md. OK?")
7. On user approval, write the brief
8. Append one-line entry to reference/research/_index.md
9. Append one-line entry to projects/research/memory.md
10. If research-preferences.md has a fold-back destination, ask: "Fold this to too?" (default: no, ask each time in v0.1)

Output

• reference/research/briefs/<slug>.md (the brief)
• reference/research/sources/<source-slug>.md (one per cited source — accessed-on dated)
• Index + memory appends

Hard rules

• 3rd–4th-grade reading level in user-facing prompts (NOT in the brief itself — briefs are professional voice)
• Plan-then-approve before any write
• Never write outside safe-zones.md-declared paths
• Cite every source — no source = no claim

Voice for the brief itself

Professional, executive-ready. NOT 3rd-grade — the brief is the user's deliverable, not the wizard's voice. Short paragraphs, clear structure, scannable. The TLDR comes first; the brief supports it.

Self-improvement close (Foundation B)

After delivering the main output + Next Move block, ask:

"What would've made this 10% better?"

Accept a one-line answer. Then:

1. Append to projects/research/memory.md:

   <YYYY-MM-DD> | /research-brief | <answer verbatim>
   

2. Read memory.md and check if any pattern recurs 3+ times for /research-brief. Patterns matching by:

   • Substring overlap >= 60% with prior entries
   • Same keyword (e.g., "TLDR", "citations", "length", "Perplexity", "voice")

3. If recurrence detected:

   • Surface: "I've seen this 3+ times. Want me to update /research-brief itself?"
   • If yes → draft change to projects/research/skill-improvements.md in this format:

     | /research-brief | <pattern> | <first_seen_date> | <recurrence_count> | <suggested_change> | <reviewed: no> |
     

4. If no recurrence → silent. No noise.

Actionable close (Foundation C)

End every run with this exact block (the ⚡ NEXT MOVE: string is canonical — caps, leading lightning emoji, colon, space):

⚡ NEXT MOVE: <Subject> <Verb> <Timing>
   Why: <one-sentence reason tied to the brief's TLDR>

The Next Move MUST be the single highest-value action this brief unlocks. Pick from:

Brief type	Likely Next Move pattern
Brief on a person/prospect	"Send the brief to before — it answers <specific question/objection>."
Brief on a company/competitor	"Drop the 5-bullet TLDR into <doc/deck/email> by — it sharpens our positioning on ."
Brief on a topic/trend	"Run /research-brief on next — this brief surfaced that needs depth."
Brief on a URL	"Share the brief with before <upcoming meeting/decision> — they need section most."

✅ "⚡ NEXT MOVE: Send the Acme brief to John today before 5pm. Why: It answers his pricing-objection question from Monday's call." ❌ "⚡ NEXT MOVE: Review the brief and decide what to do." (no subject, no timing — fails the rule)

Validation pattern

The block MUST match: ⚡ NEXT MOVE: .+ .+ .+\n Why: .+

If it doesn't match, the skill output is incomplete — regenerate.