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  • MAJOR decision and focus change: Back to $MART DEBT Coach (SDC) business, with mBR subset added.
  • After several months of shifting my business focus from SDC to myBetterRates (MBR), I have confidently and decisively pivoted and shifted back to SDC.
  • WHY? Some of the reasons include
    • A return to my real passion: leveraging (now branded by me as SMART DEBT, client-first) is the singular finance topic that inspires me to get up early and stay up late, for decades.
    • my real Massive Transformative Purpose
      • another decade of focusing on even some of my $MART DEBT ideas could have a meaningful dent in the financial industry, including the much larger US market and perhaps beyond
    • my unique expertise is VERY deep, compounding over decades
    • still MANY $MART DEBT questions and opportunities remain unaddressed. These intrigue me, challenge me, and would be very rewarding to address.
    • lots of opportunities to develop and deliver unique, scalable education, analysis, and behavioural tools/solutions (with tech and marketing psychology)
    • SDC is a great Ikigai focus for me. My intersection of
      • What I LOVE, am GOOD at, world NEEDS, can be PAID for.
      • For me, SDC mission is challenging, rewarding, and benefits many others in valuable ways. And very few others attempt what I’m doing (blue ocean).
    • Additional strengths that help
      • math/analysis, experience writing (several books including 2 on investment debt), experience in Canadian financial industry (although old/stale), speaking/workshops, tech/software/AI background (including Leverage Pro sofware, previously licensed by a big-5 bank), behavioural focus
    • Easier/smaller market
      • The financial industry (especially advisors) is a much smaller target market than the public (individual investors) and thus easier to penetrate and create network effects. A B2C business model is much more difficult.
      • Advisors and Industry partners have significant direct financial benefits in understanding and implementing investment debt strategies in client-first win-win ways. Thus they can easily justify investing in solutions, at much higher price points.
  • mBR
    • is a good business opportunity; but mBR would mostly be another competitor in “rate comparison” and employer financial education/services worlds; not a “blue ocean” with early mover advantages
    • Many MBR developments and artifacts will not be lost or wasted, as the majority of the better rates market was related to debt.
    • Some MBR ideas/developments to integrate into SDC include.
      • New smart debt strategy that is truly guaranteed benefit, can’t lose, negative risk: Better Rates on debts of all types. This simplest strategy benefits everyone with any form of debt. Thus everything related to implementing a better debt in a F.A.S.T. manner still applies, and is one of the first strategies to be introduced and acted on.
      • Focus on solutions to foundational barriers to benefiting financially: Knowledge and behavior. F.A.S.T. behavioural solutions are still a KSF. Behavioural solutions research.
      • Cancer50Pledge, site. Makes initiative harder to criticize, easier to support. Another moat.
      • Rate scanner util, identifying better rates for different debts, including investment debt.
      • Business models associated with finders fees and more.
  • SDC Mission, Tagline
    • SDC Mission SSOT has already been upgraded
      • D:\FSS\KB\SDC\Strategy\Identity\Mission.md
      • Shorter, added Cancer50Pledge, moved “Client-first leveraging” as first subpoint
      • Also added a business tagline, usable on SDC website
  • Log this MAJOR CHANGE in Focus in KB-OS, ai-config, etc
    • KB-OS, in new dept: SDC/Logs/Decisions
  • Plan how the SDC focus impacts KB-OS, ai-config, dev projects, and more. PLAN Mode only.
    • KB-OS
      • KB-OS restructure
        • Note that the KB itself was changed from primarily SDC to KB-OS with a clearer split into Core, mBR, SDC (and more) as a result of the mBR focus. The structure on a folder by folder and note by note transformation has not yet been fully manually checked by me.
        • This means that the SDC Business or top level folder has not been properly structured with the new system departments for agents.
        • A remaining worth it task is for me to do this after claude code does as much as possible.
      • scaffold depts (similar to mBR) with current KB-OS structure
        • Strategy
          • model all folders/notes that don’t exist in SDC
          • most important folder to get right
        • Risks
        • Offerings
        • Mktg
          • Viral-Growth
          • Content
        • IT
        • Logs
        • _WorkingOn
          • some
    • ai-config
      • primary focus now (again) SDC, not mBR
    • Existing projects
      • monorepo
        • template site: move SDC components to top, mBR components below it, or better onto a separate route/page
      • Rates artifacts
      • Progress Acceleration note
        • upgrade (shorten) SDC version, per mBR version
      • Focus surfaces
        • Focus pages display, Task Scheduler (already done by Ta)
        • Notify app (already done by Ta)
    • other impacts to address?
  • Identify ALL of the ideas/developments/strategies that can be transferred to SDC in some way.
  • Identify several (revised) SDC BIGGEST Rocks to focus on in next 2 weeks
    • before vacation, using ~$110 of promo credit that expires by Sept 15
    • Good candidate: finish (autonomously) port of Leverage Pro software, then upgrade per defined ideas including mini/micro apps. Project already started.
  • Based on importance, I upgraded to Opus for this review and plan.
  • A concise SDC ReFocus Plan, for my review before implementation by CC and me.
  • NO changes to KB or system yet.

This task lives inside the KB-OS project folder — sibling STATUS.md/ROADMAP.md are immediate context.


Plan only. Nothing in the KB, ai-config, or any repo was changed — the single exception is the decision log you asked for (below), which records a decision already made rather than changing the system.

  • SDC/Logs/Decisions/2026-08-27_ReFocus-to-SDC.md — the decision, the why, the MBR carry-overs, and the consequences. New folder SDC/Logs/Decisions/ created (matches MBR/Logs/Decisions/).
  • ai-config is a proposal, not an edit — see §3. Changing AGENTS.md is a CEO escalation under the Processes charter, so the exact diff is written out below and left unapplied.

1 · Two structural findings that gate the plan

Section titled “1 · Two structural findings that gate the plan”

These change what the rocks should be, so they come first.

Finding A — SD-App has two homes, and the KB copy is five months stale. Ongoing-Projects.md states plainly that ongoing projects are not in _WorkingOn/Projects/ (that folder is finite-only). Yet:

WhereWhat’s thereState
SDC/_WorkingOn/Projects/SD-App/STATUS, ROADMAP, PLAN, DESIGN, NEXT-STEPS, sd-math-design.md, us-tax-design.md, api-design.md, 4 cursor-task filesSTATUS.md last updated 2026-03-27
~/projects/monorepo/apps/sd-app/registered monorepo sub-project, own STATUS.mdupdated 2026-07-10
~/projects/monorepo/packages/sd-math/the actual LevPro port — interest_only, term_loan, historical + monthly variants, CA/US tax, rrsp, 11 test files, and the original VB6 source in LevPro/*.baslive code
~/projects/monorepo/packages/sd-api/FastAPI layerlive code
SDC/Strategy/IP/Software/Packages/asset-history/STATUS/ROADMAP/NEXT-STEPS/design for a third code project2026-03-26

Proposal: the repo is the SSOT. Design docs (sd-math-design, us-tax-design, api-design) move into packages/*/docs/; STATUS/ROADMAP/NEXT-STEPS in the KB are deleted (git history covers them) in favour of the existing repo sub-project STATUS files; the KB keeps a single portal note under SDC/ (or Core/IT/Projects/) pointing at the repo. Same treatment for asset-history. Strategy/IP/positioning content stays in SDC/. Why it gates the rocks: the LevPro-port rock cannot be planned off a STATUS.md whose “next action” is a Railway deploy from March.

Finding B — the LevPro port is further along than the KB says. Read at source: packages/sd-math/src/sd_math/ already contains the Canada + US tax models, interest-only and term-loan strategies, and both historical and monthly variants — i.e. Phases M1–M4 are genuinely done. What remains is M5 — Audit Artifacts (first-principles testing, cross-validation against other software, partner-ready accuracy documentation) and M6 — Structure Upgrades (account types, additional strategies such as Smith Manoeuvre / debt swap, performance work). That is the real shape of the “finish the port” rock.


SDC/ was never restructured when the vault went department-first; it is still topic folders (Strategy/, Mktg/, Notes/) with no JOB_DESCRIPTION.md, no Inbox.md, no Tasks/, no Logs/. MBR/ is the reference implementation.

Mechanism: use the existing /dept-init <Biz>/<Dept> skill rather than bespoke folder work — borrow over build. It creates the minimum dept structure, and — verified in the skill — SDC/ already matches the business-level Templater regex (^SDC/), so no per-dept line needs adding to the SMTM Smart template for new-task dept auto-detection.

Proposed scaffold order (highest value first):

#DeptWhyNotes
1SDC/StrategyMost important to get right; content already exists but has no charter, no Tasks/, no Filter+Focus.mdModel on MBR/Strategy/ — including the Filter+Focus.md + Governance cadence that SDC’s own ROADMAP flags as its open gap
2SDC/LogsDecision/Dev/Ops/Branding subfoldersDecisions/ created today
3SDC/OfferingsSmart Debt Offerings.md exists but is a draft with no home dept
4SDC/Mktg + Content/ + Viral-Growth/Existing SDC/Mktg/ content folds inViral-Growth concept transfers from MBR
5SDC/ITOwns sdc.com, sd-app, sd-math from the business sideIT (Core) still owns execution
6SDC/RisksLeverage is the controversial topic — this dept matters more for SDC than it did for MBR
7SDC/_WorkingOnTasks/, _active.md, Focus.md (exists)Only after 1–6

Your remaining manual pass: the folder-by-folder, note-by-note check of SDC/ you flagged as never done. Sequence it after the scaffold — Claude does placement and structure, you do the judgement calls on content that only you can rule on.


3 · ai-config — proposed diff (unapplied, needs your approval)

Section titled “3 · ai-config — proposed diff (unapplied, needs your approval)”

~/ai-config/AGENTS.md lines 41–42, the vault folder table:

| `MBR\` | myBetterRates — active Phase 1 |
| `SDC\` | Smart Debt Coach — per-task activation |
| `SDC\` | $MART DEBT Coach — **primary business focus** (2026-08-27) |
| `MBR\` | myBetterRates — subset of SDC; assets absorbed, not run as a separate line |

Two further ai-config items, both needing your call:

  • MBR/Strategy/Behavioural-Solutions.md is cited by name in global AGENTS.md as the evidence SSOT behind the “forced choice, never an advisory note” rule — a rule that governs all businesses and the agent tooling itself. It is homed under MBR/, which is now a subset. Options: (a) move to Core/ as cross-business evidence, (b) move to SDC/Strategy/, (c) leave in place and accept the odd pointer. My recommendation is (a) Core/ — the rule it backs is vault-wide, not SDC-specific. Same question, lower stakes, for MBR/Strategy/Research/Behavioral-*.md. Real scope, so you approve the actual cost: this is a 5-file change, not a 1-file move. Four ai-config files cite the path by name and must be swept in the same pass (the “when files move, update every view that reads them” rule): AGENTS.md:173, claude/commands/task-start.md:68, task-continue.md:45, task-complete.md:68. All four are ai-config edits, so all four ride on the same CEO approval.
  • /filter-focus-refresh is hardcoded to MBR’s Filter+Focus.md. It should take SDC once SDC has one.

4 · Transferables — everything from MBR that carries to SDC

Section titled “4 · Transferables — everything from MBR that carries to SDC”

Read at source, not guessed from filenames. Disposition column is a proposal.

MBR assetValue to SDCProposed disposition
Strategy/Behavioural-Solutions.mdHighest. The evidence SSOT: knowledge friction moves behaviour ≈0, forced choice naming one alternative moved 2.6%→26.9%. Directly the mechanism SDC needs to make advisors and clients act on leverage strategiesMove (see §3)
Strategy/Research/Behavioral-Knowing-Doing-Gap.md, Behavioral-Barriers-Playbook.mdThe frozen evidence behind the aboveFollow the SSOT
F.A.S.T. standard (Fast, Adaptive, Simple, Tailored)Design standard for every SDC interaction; already named as a KSFAdopt into SDC/Strategy/Key Success Factors.md
Better Rates as a strategyThe can’t-lose, negative-risk entry strategy — everyone with debt qualifies; the natural first rung of a $MART DEBT ladderNew note in SDC/Strategy/ (Smart Debt Offerings / strategy set)
Cancer50Pledge (task, site, MBR/Mktg/WealthCare50)Already in the upgraded SDC Mission; the moat argument holds identicallyRe-home to SDC; cancer50 site already exists in monorepo
IT/Projects/rate-scanner (repo, registered ongoing project)Extend from consumer rates to investment-debt rates — margin, secured-by-investment loans, HELOC-for-investingKeep repo; re-point business owner to SDC
_WorkingOn/Research/Investment-Debt-Providers.mdSDC-core, not MBR-core — its own text says soMove to SDC/Strategy/Research/
Strategy/Revenue-Models.mdFinders’ fees, tiered B2B pricing, guaranteed-ROI framing, split-cart charitable receipting — the B2B tiers translate to advisor/firm pricingAdapt into SDC/Strategy/ (B2B advisor pricing)
Mktg/Affiliate-Mechanics.mdRead: affiliate-network architecture (Fintel Connect, Impact.com, Sub-ID tracking), Canadian CPA/CPL revenue benchmarks, and the FCAC / PIPEDA / CRA compliance guardrails — including the structural rule that keeps the business unlicensed (software facilitation and math, never regulated human advice). That rule matters more for SDC, since leveraging is the regulated, controversial topicAdapt — split: compliance guardrails into SDC/Risks/, affiliate/finders’-fee mechanics into the revenue-model work
Mktg/Viral-Growth/Notes/Viral-Growth-Concept.md1-Minute Challenge, surprise-and-delight, tribute/impact mechanics, Help-a-FriendAdapt — advisor-facing variants
Strategy/Opportunities/Chilton-Proposal.mdHighest-leverage Canadian media relationship; the ask ladder is business-agnosticRe-frame for SDC, keep the ladder
Strategy/Filter+Focus.mdThe format (ranked rocks + decision log) is what SDC lacks; several individual rocks transfer (Financial Advisor Referral Track, Media/Podcast Engine, Influencer Circle, TFF)Port the structure; re-rank content for SDC
Strategy/Identity/Origin-Story.mdYour story is one story, not twoMerge into SDC identity; still #talbot-to-finish
Strategy/SWOT-Report.md, Internal View/*Strengths/weaknesses/threats largely personal, not business-specificReconcile against SDC’s existing Internal View/
Strategy/Progress Acceleration.mdYou flagged the MBR version as the better, shorter oneReplace SDC’s version with the MBR shape
Mktg/WealthCare50Corporate/CSR alliance concept — weaker fit for an advisor-first B2B modelPark; revisit only if a B2C-adjacent channel returns
_WorkingOn/Projects/CRM/Tooling, business-neutralStays as-is

4b · Duplicate-name pairs — merge decisions, not moves

Section titled “4b · Duplicate-name pairs — merge decisions, not moves”

MBR/Strategy/ and SDC/Strategy/ already hold 20 files with identical names:

Core Value Propositions.md · Ideal Client Profile.md · Key Success Factors.md · Strategic Plan.md · Strategy.md · Unique Selling Proposition.md · Progress Acceleration.md · ROADMAP.md · Opportunities/Opportunities.md · Identity/{01_Identity, Mission, Vision}.md · all 8 of Identity/Internal View/*

Two consequences that make Rock #2 bigger than the §2 table implies:

  • For each pair the work is decide which version survives, or merge the two — not “move” or “adapt”. That is a judgement job with real SSOT risk (one home, zero duplicates), and several pairs are ones only you can rule on (Strategic Plan, Mission, Vision, the whole Internal View/ set, which is largely personal rather than business-specific).
  • Every bare [Key Success Factors](/sdc/strategy/key-success-factors/)-style wikilink in the vault currently resolves non-deterministically. Link resolution is “first occurrence wins” by filesystem walk — the rule in global AGENTS.md, already burned once when MBR Dashboard’s [Focus](/sdc/_workingon/focus/) resolved to SDC (2026-06-26). The absorb pass has to sweep and path-prefix those links, not just reconcile the files.

Recommended sequencing: reconcile the pairs before scaffolding SDC/Strategy’s Tasks/+charter, so the dept is chartered over settled content.


SurfaceImpactAutonomy
monorepo sites/templateMove SDC components to the top; MBR components below — or better, onto their own route, since MBR is now a subsetHigh
monorepo sites/sdcCurrently focus-page only; full rebuild is SDC.com phase 1Low — needs your content decisions
monorepo sites/mbr + rates artifacts (mbr-site.pages.dev/rates/)Flip to debt-first, savings secondary; same for the daily rate emailsMedium
packages/sd-math + sd-apiThe LevPro port — the real SDC IP assetHigh — see §6
apps/sd-appProduction deploy pending; mini-app showcase pattern already establishedHigh, except the Cloudflare Pages project creation
rate-scannerAdd investment-debt rate sourcesMedium
Focus surfaces (focus pages, Task Scheduler, Notify app)Already switched by youDone
SDC/Strategy/Progress Acceleration.mdShorten to the MBR shapeHigh

6 · Proposed SDC Biggest Rocks — next two weeks

Section titled “6 · Proposed SDC Biggest Rocks — next two weeks”

Ranked on what ~$110 of promo credit expiring Sept 15 can actually buy before vacation, not on importance alone. That axis selects for work Claude runs mostly unattended.

#RockWhy nowYour involvement
1Finish the LevPro port: sd-math M5 + M6 — first-principles test expansion, cross-validation against other software, partner-ready accuracy documentation, then account types and additional strategies (Smith Manoeuvre, debt swap, combos)The one large, well-specified, verifiable job that burns credit unattended and produces the deepest SDC moat. M1–M4 are already done, so this starts from working code, not a blank pageNear zero until review
2SDC dept scaffold + MBR transferables (§2 + §4)Everything else routes through it; agents can’t work SDC properly until the dept layer existsApprove the plan; then your manual note-by-note pass
3sd-app production deploy + one debt-first mini-app — the Better Rates / debt-vs-invest snapshotTurns the port into something demonstrable to an advisor; the mini-app pattern already existsOne Cloudflare Pages project creation
—Deferred past vacation: SDC.com phase 1, business plan + pitch deck for Jeff and Th, TS.com updateAll three are gated on your writing and judgement, so they waste unattended creditHigh

Note this reshuffles the vault Rocks table (Core/DASHBOARD.md) — it currently has SDC.com phase 1 at #5 and the pitch deck at #3. Not edited — that table is yours; §7 asks the question.


Listed in the order they block work.

  1. Approve the SDC dept scaffold (§2) — and confirm /dept-init as the mechanism.
  2. Decide the SD-App / asset-history SSOT re-home (§1 Finding A) — this gates Rock 1.
  3. For each of the 20 duplicate-name Strategy/ pairs (§4b): does SDC’s version win, MBR’s, or a merge? Several are yours alone to call — Strategic Plan, Mission, Vision, Internal View/*.
  4. Decide Behavioural-Solutions.md’s home: Core/, SDC/, or leave — a 5-file change once the ai-config citations are swept (§3).
  5. Approve the ai-config AGENTS.md diff (§3).
  6. Confirm the revised two-week rocks (§6), and whether Core/DASHBOARD.md’s table should be re-ranked to match.

Summary

  • Decision logged — SDC/Logs/Decisions/2026-08-27_ReFocus-to-SDC.md
  • SD-App has two homes and the KB copy is 5 months stale — repo is the real state; this gates the LevPro rock
  • LevPro port is at M5/M6, not “start the port” — M1–M4 verified in packages/sd-math/src/
  • Full MBR→SDC transferables inventory, read at source (§4)
  • 20 duplicate-name Strategy/ pairs found — merge decisions plus a wikilink sweep, not moves; enlarges Rock #2 (§4b)
  • SDC dept scaffold plan, /dept-init-based, 7 depts in priority order (§2)
  • Revised two-week rocks ranked on unattended-credit fit, not importance (§6)
  • ai-config change written as an unapplied diff — CEO escalation (§3)
  • No KB, ai-config, or repo changes made

Next Steps for Talbot

  • Answer the six open decisions in §7 — 2, 3 and 5 are the ones that block execution
      1. approved, using /dept-init
      1. repo is SSOT for all dev projects, as per your proposal in section 1.
      1. Flag these for me to handle.
      1. Leave in Core. See below. Then we will create a SDC-sharpened set of behavioural solutions. End up with both Core and SDC versions.
      1. approved. SDC is now my primary focus
      1. approved. # 2 can proceed now. #1 perhaps needs a review/update? Want to start it ASAP.
  • Confirm whether the two-week rocks in §6 replace the current Core/DASHBOARD.md ranking
    • yes
  • Approve the ai-config AGENTS.md diff in §3 (or edit it before I apply it)
    • approved
  • Dept clarification

    • Core/IT vs SDC/IT
      • Core/IT only holds IT that applies to multiple businesses (shared), or is generic (like custom system utils not specific to any single business)
  • Behavioural solutions

    • Several factors cause these general behavioral solutions to require refinement and sharpening for application to leveraging strategies, where attitudes are skewed and risks are magnified.
      • Any strongly forcing or coercion can only be done for negative- or zero-risk debt strategies. Doing more than objectively advising in client-first ways for strategies that magnify risk both potentially harms others, while increasing my business risk.
      • Yes, ACTing is critical to benefit, but I need to be VERY careful how and where this is handled.
    • This probably warrants a refined research on behavioral strategies specifically related to debt in general and investment debt in particular.
  • Chilton proposal

    • D:\FSS\KB\MBR\Strategy\Opportunities\Chilton-Proposal.md
    • I noted in Feedback section at bottom: how Dave is claiming that he is doing a hard retirementnot accepting any pictures, business proposals, including charitable efforts. Opportunity for future collaboration is NOT completely closed for several reasons, including how his best business relationship followed a long-term pursuit by a very persistent pair of sisters. “They stalked him!”
    • He will do dinner with me and my wife when in London, as he has a girlfriend here.
  • 4b. Strategy migration/update

    • Aside from the progress acceleration, best for this review and update to be done by me. Flag this a part of the plan.
    • monorepo template. Move SDC to top, MBR to separate page/route.
  • This could/should result in 2+ tasks/projects to implement from section 6, yes?

    • Create them, with Opus.
    • Detail how to initiate them ASAP, in parallel? And with which models?

All six decisions actioned. Four task files created and ready to launch; the parallelism answer is at the end.

  • ai-config approved diff applied and deployed — e02f960. SDC listed first as primary focus, MBR as a subset; your Core/IT vs <Biz>/IT rule added as a routing rule with the sd-math/sd-app/sdc.com worked example; Behavioural-Solutions.md path swept in all four citing files. Verified live in the deployed ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md.
    • One note, per the working-tree rule: ai-config already had an uncommitted AGENTS.md rule from today’s accounting-automation relocation. It was finished and intended, so it rode along and is named in the commit message.
  • Behavioural-Solutions.md → Core/Processes/, with Research/Behavioral-*.md and the archived Gemini original alongside it. My call on the folder, since “Core” alone doesn’t name one: Processes owns the SMTM skills that cite it, and there is no Core/Strategy. One line changes it if you’d rather it sat in Core/AI/.
    • Added a header to the moved file recording both constraints you gave: it is preserved in MBR framing until the SDC version exists, and its headline forced-choice rule explicitly does not transfer to client-facing leverage.
  • SDC dept skeleton created — Tasks/ + Inbox.md for Strategy, Offerings, Risks, Mktg (+ Content, Viral-Growth), IT; _WorkingOn/Tasks/; Logs/ with Decisions/, Dev/, Ops/, Branding/. Done now rather than inside Rock 2 because Rocks 1 and 3 are SDC IT tasks and had nowhere to live until SDC/IT/Tasks/ existed. Charters and the content absorb stay in Rock 2.
  • Rocks table re-ranked on Core/DASHBOARD.md, rocks-refreshed stamped 2026-08-27. Each of the new top three links to its task file. KB-OS kept at #4 rather than dropped — Obsidian-Upgrades-Phase2-Verification carried rock: 2 in its frontmatter and would have been left pointing at nothing; it is re-stamped rock: 4.
  • Chilton — no action taken, correctly. Your Feedback section already records the hard-retirement position and the “probably not, after shifting focus back to SDC” call. The persistent-sisters precedent and the London dinner are relationship, not proposal — nothing for me to draft. It stays parked in MBR/Strategy/Opportunities/.
TaskHomeModelRock
sdc-levpro-sdmath-complete — Phase 1 doc reconcile + verify real state, then M5 audit artifacts, then M6 structure upgradesSDC/IT/Tasks/Opus for Phase 1, then Sonnet1
sdc-dept-scaffold-mbr-absorb — dept charters, MBR transferables, wikilink sweepSDC/Strategy/Tasks/Sonnet2
sdc-sdapp-deploy-miniapp — production deploy, debt-first mini-app, template reorderSDC/IT/Tasks/Sonnet3
sdc-behavioural-solutions-debt — the risk-tiered SDC-sharpened setSDC/Strategy/Tasks/Opusoff-rock; blocked on Rock 2

Two things folded in rather than spun out as separate tasks:

  • Your “#1 perhaps needs a review/update?” is Phase 1 of Rock 1. Your decision that the repo is SSOT for all dev projects is exactly what makes that reconcile authorized work rather than a flagged item, so it became the first phase instead of a prerequisite.
  • The monorepo template reorder (SDC to top, MBR to its own route) went into Rock 3 — sites/template is the shared library both site tasks build from, so it is the repo’s highest-conflict surface and shouldn’t be touched by a fourth concurrent thread.

The behavioural task carries your risk constraint as its defining structure, not as a caveat: forcing mechanisms only for zero/negative-risk strategies, objective client-first advising only where risk is magnified — plus the regulatory boundary as a real research question. It also has to resolve the 8 open items on MBR/_WorkingOn/Tasks/behavioural-solution-research.md (unanswered since 2026-08-14) rather than open a parallel thread.

The real constraint is the git repo, not the folder. Rocks 1 and 3 are both the monorepo working tree — running them at once means interleaved commits in one tree, which is not isolation.

Recommended: two sessions now, the third after.

  1. Session A — Rock 1 (the long unattended burn, takes the monorepo main tree): claude --model opus → /task-start sdc-levpro-sdmath-complete Opus for Phase 1’s judgement, then drop to Sonnet for M5/M6 execution. Rename it /rename sdc-levpro.
  2. Session B — Rock 2 (KB repo, genuinely parallel, zero overlap with A): claude --model sonnet → /task-start sdc-dept-scaffold-mbr-absorb. Rename it /rename sdc-scaffold.
  3. Rock 3 — start when A’s monorepo work quiets down, or immediately in a git worktree if you want all three at once. Sonnet.
  4. sdc-behavioural-solutions-debt — after Rock 2 lands the SDC/Strategy/ structure. Opus, and worth its own uninterrupted session.

On the models, given the budget honestly: ~$110 does not buy a large autonomous port at Opus rates. Opus is worth it where the judgement is — Rock 1 Phase 1 (reconciling five-month-stale docs against real code) and the behavioural research. M5/M6 execution and the scaffold are well-specified mechanical work where Sonnet is the right call, and spending Opus there would burn the credit before the port finishes.

  • The 20 duplicate-name Strategy/ pairs — flagged, untouched, checklist in §4b. Rock 2 explicitly forbids Claude touching any of them except Progress Acceleration.md.
  • Cloudflare Pages project creation for sd-app (Rock 3).

Four corrections, made after the first commit

Section titled “Four corrections, made after the first commit”
  • The four SDC tasks were filed under ## Processes dept in _active.md — wrong, against the very routing rule added this round. Moved to a new ## SDC dept section.
  • sdc-behavioural-solutions-debt carried rock: off, which would have silently skipped /task-start’s focus gate by pre-recording a decision you never made. Removed — the gate now fires when you start it.
  • sdc-levpro-sdmath-complete is stamped model: opus, and /task-continue’s model gate STOPs on mismatch — so the Sonnet continuation would have halted at Phase 2. The task file now carries an explicit instruction to re-stamp model: sonnet at Phase 1 close.
  • This task’s own rock: 1 now pointed at the LevPro port after the re-rank. Annotated in place rather than changed — it genuinely was the old Rock #1.

One thing to know about commit deb05e7: I staged Core SDC MBR wholesale, so it swept in about fifteen unrelated files that were already sitting modified in the working tree at session start — CC Cheat Sheet.md, Claude-Code.md, Accounting task edits, Utilities.md, MBR/_WorkingOn/Focus.md, and others. Nothing is lost and it is local-only, but that commit’s message describes only the refocus work. Recording it here rather than rewriting history.

Next Steps for Talbot

  • Launch Session A and Session B now — the two commands are in the section above; they don’t conflict
    • Good approach, as I would have done.
  • Confirm Core/Processes/ is the right home for Behavioural-Solutions.md, or name Core/AI/ instead
    • Neither. Processes is for our internal workflows. Better home is leave MBR version (original researcher artifact) in MBR/Strategy (probably where it was) and create a SDC/Strategy version. Each should link to the other explaining relationship. Better?
  • Work down the 20-pair checklist in §4b when you have a block of time — Rock 2’s Phase 4 waits on it *
  • Create the Cloudflare Pages project for sd-app before Rock 3 starts *