Creative Standard

Telos

Dual-context Life OS skill.

03
Workflows
00
References
11
Triggers
medium
Effort

The Problem

Generic AI has no durable model of who you are, where you're headed, or what you've decided. Every session starts from scratch — your goals, your life context, your mental models, your wrong beliefs you're tracking — all gone. When you ask 'what should I work on?' or 'am I still on track?' the answer is guesswork, not grounded in any actual understanding of your trajectory. The same problem shows up for organizations: strategy documents, OKRs, team structures, and project lists exist in separate files with no map between them.

How This Skill Approaches It

The skill operates in two modes from a single interface. Personal TELOS reads and updates a structured life-context system in USER/TELOS/ — missions, goals, problems, strategies, narratives, challenges, mental models, wrong beliefs, and accumulated wisdom — via the Update workflow with timestamped backups and a changelog. Every change is versioned, nothing is lost. Project TELOS scans any directory of .md and .csv files, extracts dependency chains (PROBLEMS→GOALS→STRATEGIES→PROJECTS), identifies bottlenecks and alignment gaps, and generates outputs ranging from executive summaries to McKinsey-style reports via WriteReport to full interactive Next.js dashboards built by up to 10 parallel engineers. CreateNarrativePoints produces 24 crisp slide-ready bullets from the analysis. InterviewExtraction pulls structured content from raw interview transcripts.

  • Personal TELOS: read and update goals, beliefs, wisdom, books, movies, challenges, narratives, strategies, mission, models, predictions, traumas, frames, lessons, wrong-beliefs in USER/TELOS/ via Update workflow with timestamped backups
  • Project TELOS: analyze .md/.csv directories to extract dependency chains (PROBLEMS→GOALS→STRATEGIES→PROJECTS), bottlenecks, alignment, progress metrics; generate McKinsey-style WriteReport, n=24 CreateNarrativePoints, or Next.js dashboards via parallel engineers
  • Also InterviewExtraction
Not for conversational constitutional review (use Interview)

In Action

What you say to your DA, and what the Telos skill actually does.

  • You say "add project hail mary to my telos books"
    Runs the Update workflow: creates a timestamped backup of BOOKS.md, appends the entry with formatted metadata, and logs the change in updates.md so the modification is traceable.
  • You say "build a dashboard for our company's strategy documents"
    Scans the target directory for all .md and .csv files, extracts entities and dependency chains (PROBLEMS→GOALS→STRATEGIES→PROJECTS), then launches up to 10 parallel engineers to build an interactive Next.js dashboard with shadcn/ui showing dependency graphs, progress tables, and metrics cards.
  • You say "write a telos report for the acme corp engagement"
    Runs WriteReport: first invokes CreateNarrativePoints to generate 24 crisp story beats from the analysis, maps them to McKinsey report structure, then produces a web-based report with cover page, executive summary, findings, recommendations, and roadmap — viewable via bun dev.

Inside the Skill

The thinking, frameworks, and architecture that distinguish this skill from a generic version of the same task.

What It Does

Reads and updates two kinds of context. Personal TELOS: the principal's life context — goals, beliefs, wisdom, books, movies, challenges, narratives, strategies, mission, models, predictions, traumas, frames, lessons, wrong-beliefs — at ~/.claude/PAI/USER/TELOS/, updated through the Update workflow with timestamped backups. Project TELOS: analyzes a directory of .md/.csv files to extract dependency chains (PROBLEMS→GOALS→STRATEGIES→PROJECTS), bottlenecks, alignment, and progress, then produces a McKinsey-style report, n=24 narrative points, or a Next.js dashboard built by parallel engineers.

The Problem

Life context and project state both sprawl across many files, and acting on them by hand is error-prone. Personal goals, beliefs, and lessons drift out of date, and hand-editing them risks losing history or corrupting structure. Project documentation hides the dependency chains, bottlenecks, and misalignments that decide whether the work is on track — you can read every file and still not see how PROBLEMS connect to GOALS connect to PROJECTS. This skill gives both a single safe way in: structured updates with backups for the personal side, and automated relationship analysis plus rendered outputs for the project side.

How It Works

TELOS (Telic Evolution and Life Operating System) is a context-gathering system with two applications:

  1. Personal TELOS - {PRINCIPAL.NAME}'s life context system (beliefs, goals, lessons, wisdom) at ~/.claude/PAI/USER/TELOS/
  2. Project TELOS - Analysis framework for organizations/projects (relationships, dependencies, goals, progress)

The skill detects which context a request means (see Context Detection below), then routes to the right workflow. Personal updates always go through the Update workflow so backups and changelog entries happen automatically. Project analysis scans the target directory, builds a relationship graph, and renders the output format you asked for.

Examples

Example 1: Update personal TELOS

User: "add Project Hail Mary to my TELOS books"
--> Invokes Update workflow
--> Creates timestamped backup of BOOKS.md
--> Adds book entry with formatted metadata
--> Logs change in updates.md with timestamp

Example 2: Analyze project with TELOS

User: "analyze ~/Projects/MyApp with TELOS"
--> Scans all .md and .csv files in directory
--> Extracts entities, relationships, dependencies
--> Returns analysis with dependency chains and progress metrics

Example 3: Build project dashboard

User: "build a dashboard for TELOSAPP"
--> Launches up to 10 parallel engineers
--> Creates Next.js dashboard with shadcn/ui + Aceternity
--> Returns interactive dashboard with dependency graphs, metrics cards, progress tables

Example 4: Generate narrative points

User: "create TELOS narrative for Acme Corp, n=24"
--> Invokes CreateNarrativePoints workflow
--> Analyzes TELOS context (situation, problems, recommendations)
--> Returns 24 crisp bullet points (8-12 words each)
--> Output is slide-ready for presentations or customer briefings

Example 5: Generate McKinsey-style report

User: "write a TELOS report for Acme Corp"
--> Invokes WriteReport workflow
--> First runs CreateNarrativePoints to generate story content
--> Maps narrative to McKinsey report structure
--> Generates web-based report with professional styling
--> Output at {project_dir}/report - run `bun dev` to view
--> White background, subtle Tokyo Night Storm accents
--> Includes: cover page, executive summary, findings, recommendations, roadmap

Context Detection

How {DA_IDENTITY.NAME} determines which TELOS context:

User Request Context Location
"my TELOS", "my goals", "my beliefs", "add to TELOS" Personal TELOS ~/.claude/PAI/USER/TELOS/
"Alma", "TELOSAPP", "analyze [project]", "dashboard for" Project TELOS User-specified directory
"analyze ~/path/to/project" Project TELOS Specified path

Part 1: Personal TELOS ({PRINCIPAL.NAME}'s Life)

Location

CRITICAL PATH: All personal TELOS files are located at:

~/.claude/PAI/USER/TELOS/

Personal TELOS lives in the CORE USER directory, NOT directly under the Telos skill directory.

Personal TELOS Framework

All files located in ~/.claude/PAI/USER/TELOS/:

Core Philosophy

  • TELOS.md - Main framework document
  • MISSION.md - Life mission statement
  • BELIEFS.md - Core beliefs and world model
  • WISDOM.md - Accumulated wisdom

Life Data

  • BOOKS.md - Favorite books
  • MOVIES.md - Favorite movies
  • LEARNED.md - Lessons learned over time
  • WRONG.md - Things {PRINCIPAL.NAME} was wrong about (growth tracking)

Mental Models

  • FRAMES.md - Mental frames and perspectives
  • MODELS.md - Mental models used for decision-making
  • NARRATIVES.md - Personal narratives and self-stories
  • STRATEGIES.md - Strategies being employed in life

Goals & Challenges

  • GOALS.md - Life goals (short-term and long-term)
  • PROJECTS.md - Active projects
  • PROBLEMS.md - Problems to solve
  • CHALLENGES.md - Current challenges being faced
  • PREDICTIONS.md - Predictions about the future
  • TRAUMAS.md - Past traumas (for context and healing)

Change Tracking

  • updates.md - Comprehensive changelog of all TELOS updates

Working with Personal TELOS

Read Files

# View specific file
read ~/.claude/PAI/USER/TELOS/GOALS.md
read ~/.claude/PAI/USER/TELOS/BELIEFS.md

# View recent updates
read ~/.claude/PAI/USER/TELOS/updates.md

Update Personal TELOS

CRITICAL: Never manually edit. Use the Update workflow.

Workflow: Workflows/Update.md

The workflow provides:

  • Automatic timestamped backups
  • Change logging in updates.md
  • Version history preservation
  • Proper formatting and structure

Valid files for updates: BELIEFS.md, BOOKS.md, CHALLENGES.md, FRAMES.md, GOALS.md, LEARNED.md, MISSION.md, MODELS.md, MOVIES.md, NARRATIVES.md, PREDICTIONS.md, PROBLEMS.md, PROJECTS.md, STRATEGIES.md, TELOS.md, TRAUMAS.md, WISDOM.md, WRONG.md


Part 2: Project TELOS (Organizational Analysis)

Capabilities

For any project directory, TELOS provides:

  1. Relationship Discovery - Find how files/entities connect
  2. Dependency Mapping - Identify what depends on what
  3. Goal Extraction - Discover stated and implied objectives
  4. Progress Analysis - Track advancement and metrics
  5. Narrative Generation - Create executive summaries
  6. Visual Dashboards - Build beautiful UIs with data

Target Directory Detection

Flexible file discovery - no required structure:

# User specifies directory
"Analyze ~/Projects/<your-org-tree>"
--> {DA_IDENTITY.NAME} scans for .md and .csv files anywhere in tree

# {DA_IDENTITY.NAME} automatically finds all .md and .csv files regardless of structure

Analysis Workflow

Step 1: Identify Target

Auto-detection:

  • User mentions project name (TELOSAPP, Alma, etc.)
  • User provides path explicitly
  • {DA_IDENTITY.NAME} looks for common project locations

Step 2: Scan Files

Discover all markdown and CSV files:

find $TARGET_DIR -type f \( -name "*.md" -o -name "*.csv" \)

Index:

  • Markdown structure (headings, sections, links)
  • CSV schema (columns, data types)
  • Cross-references and mentions
  • Entities (people, teams, projects, problems)

Step 3: Relationship Analysis

Build relationship graph:

  1. Entity Extraction - Identify unique entities
  2. Connection Discovery - Find explicit/implicit links
  3. Dependency Mapping - Trace dependencies
  4. Network Construction - Build directed graph

Step 4: Generate Insights

Produce analytics:

  • Dependency Chains: PROBLEMS --> GOALS --> STRATEGIES --> PROJECTS
  • Bottlenecks: What blocks progress?
  • Goal Alignment: Projects aligned with objectives?
  • Progress Metrics: Completion percentages
  • Risk Areas: Overdue items, blocked work

Step 5: Create Outputs

Output Formats:

  1. Markdown Report - Static analysis with Mermaid diagrams
  2. Web Dashboard - Interactive app with shadcn/ui + Aceternity
  3. JSON Export - Structured data
  4. Executive Summary - Narrative overview
  5. Custom Format - As requested

Building Dashboards

Parallel Engineer Strategy

CRITICAL: When building UIs, use up to 16 parallel engineers.

Launch Strategy: Use single message with 10 Task calls in parallel:

Engineer 1: Project structure + layout + navigation
Engineer 2: Overview page with metrics cards
Engineer 3: Projects page with progress tracking
Engineer 4: Teams page with performance tables
Engineer 5: Vulnerabilities/issues page
Engineer 6: Progress timeline visualization
Engineer 7: Data parsing library (MD/CSV)
Engineer 8: Shared components (cards, badges, tables)
Engineer 9: Design polish and theme
Engineer 10: Integration and testing

Dashboard Requirements

Tech Stack:

  • Next.js 14 + TypeScript
  • shadcn/ui for UI components
  • Aceternity UI for layouts
  • Tailwind CSS
  • Tokyo Night Day theme (professional light)

Features:

  • Dependency graphs (Mermaid or D3.js)
  • Progress tables (sortable, filterable)
  • Metrics cards (KPIs, stats)
  • Timeline visualizations
  • Relationship networks

Design:

--background: #ffffff
--foreground: #1a1b26
--primary: #2e7de9
--accent: #9854f1
--destructive: #f52a65
--success: #33b579
--warning: #f0a020

Common TELOS Files

Standard Project TELOS Structure (auto-detected):

Context Files

  • OVERVIEW.md - Project overview
  • COMPANY.md - Organization context
  • PROBLEMS.md - Issues to solve
  • GOALS.md - Objectives
  • MISSION.md - Mission statement
  • STRATEGIES.md - Strategic approaches
  • PROJECTS.md - Active initiatives

Operational Files

  • EMPLOYEES.md - Team members
  • ENGINEERING_TEAMS.md - Team structure
  • BUDGET.md - Financial tracking
  • KPI_TRACKING.md - Metrics
  • APPLICATIONS.md - App inventory
  • TOOLS.md - Tooling
  • VENDORS.md - Third parties

Security Files

  • VULNERABILITIES.md - Security issues
  • SECURITY_POSTURE.md - Security state
  • THREAT_MODEL.md - Threats

Data Files (CSV)

  • data/VULNERABILITIES.csv - Vuln tracking
  • data/INCIDENTS.csv - Incident log
  • data/VENDORS.csv - Vendor data

Note: Files are optional. TELOS adapts to whatever exists.

Visualization Types

Available Visualizations:

  • Dependency Graphs - Mermaid or D3.js network
  • Progress Tables - shadcn/ui tables with filters
  • Metrics Cards - Aceternity card layouts
  • Timeline Charts - Progress over time
  • Status Dashboards - KPI overviews
  • Relationship Networks - Force-directed graphs
  • Bar Charts - Recharts for comparisons
  • Line Charts - Trend analysis

Security & Privacy

Personal TELOS:

  • NEVER commit to public repos
  • NEVER share publicly
  • Always backup before changes
  • Use Update workflow only

Project TELOS:

  • May contain sensitive data
  • Ask before sharing externally
  • Redact sensitive info in examples
  • Follow PAI security protocols

Key Principles

  1. Dual Context - Handles both personal and project TELOS seamlessly
    • Personal TELOS: ~/.claude/PAI/USER/TELOS/ (in CORE USER directory)
    • Project TELOS: User-specified directories
  2. Auto-Detection - Determines context from user question
  3. Flexible Discovery - Finds files regardless of structure
  4. TELOS Methodology - Applies relationships, dependencies, goals, narratives
  5. Parallel Execution - Up to 10 engineers for dashboard builds
  6. Visual Excellence - Beautiful outputs with shadcn/ui + Aceternity
  7. Privacy-Aware - Respects sensitive data
  8. Integrated - Works with development, research, and other skills

TELOS is {PRINCIPAL.NAME}'s life operating system AND project analysis framework. One skill, two powerful contexts.

Remember: Personal TELOS files live at ~/.claude/PAI/USER/TELOS/ (in the CORE USER directory)

Gotchas

  • Telos data is personal and private. Never include in public repos, skills, or outputs.
  • Goals and dependencies change — always read current state before advising. Don't rely on cached knowledge.
  • Project dashboards pull from multiple sources. Verify data freshness before presenting.

Workflows · 3

  1. 01
    Update Workflows/Update.md

    add to TELOS, update my goals, add book to TELOS

  2. 02
    `Workflows/CreateNarrativePoints.md` Workflows/`Workflows/CreateNarrativePoints.md`.md

    create narrative, narrative points, TELOS report, n=24

  3. 03
    `Workflows/WriteReport.md` Workflows/`Workflows/WriteReport.md`.md

    write report, McKinsey report, create TELOS report, professional report

How to Invoke

Say any of these to your DA and PAI activates the Telos skill automatically:

  • "Telos"
  • "life goals"
  • "projects"
  • "dependencies"
  • "update TELOS"
  • "narrative points"
  • "McKinsey report"
  • "dashboard"
  • "what am I wrong about"
  • "life frames"
  • "mental models"

Or invoke explicitly:

Skill("Telos")

References & Credits

The thinkers, books, frameworks, and research this skill is built on. The ideas belong to them — the integration belongs to PAI.

Want PAI to do this for you?

Install PAI on your machine — your DA gets the Telos skill plus 44 others, all hooked into one Life OS.