name: content-brief description: > Turn raw input — a client conversation, your own recorded thinking, an op-ed you'd push back on, or someone else's training you just consumed — into a snapshot of micromagnet candidates, then full concept briefs for the ones you pick. Each brief is a clean handoff to the Micro Magnet Generator skill, detailed enough that a fresh session can build the micromagnet end-to-end without re-interviewing you. Use when you want to mine content for hand-raiser ideas, plan the next low-ticket asset, or convert a training you absorbed into your own point of view. Triggers: "content brief", "micromagnet ideas", "mine this for content", "turn this into a brief", "what's the micromagnet here", "concept brief", or any request to extract micromagnet concepts from source material. metadata: author: Kathryn Brown, Practice Builders version: "1.3.0" updated: "2026-04-21"

Content Brief

Turn raw source material into micromagnet concept briefs that hand off cleanly to the Micro Magnet Generator. Snapshot first, then briefs on the ones you pick.

Config (edit as business pressure shifts)

CTA destination priority tilt: low-ticket paid offer Current setting date: 2026-04-21

Offer names and URLs (used in the CTA Destination section of every brief):

• Low-ticket offer name: [SET ME — e.g., "The Practice Builders Starter Pack"]
• Low-ticket offer URL: [SET ME]
• $27 workshop name: [SET ME — e.g., "The Practice Brain Workshop"]
• $27 workshop URL: [SET ME]
• Recurring offer name: [SET ME — e.g., "Practice Builders OS"]
• Recurring offer URL: [SET ME]

Voice anchor files (for the Micro Magnet Generator to reference when matching voice):

• client-intelligence-brief-skill.md
• hidden-revenue-scan-skill.md

The tilt names which destination the brief leans toward when multiple destinations fit. The skill still picks per-micromagnet based on what the specific gap logically points to — this line just tells it where to lean when the choice is close. Edit this line as the business changes (workshop launches, recurring opens, etc.).

Reproducibility note: This skill is a mining tool, not a deterministic solver. Re-running on the same source produces different valid menus of candidates — that's intentional. The goal is surfacing possibilities, not finding a single right answer.

Core Principle

Classify before extracting. Source material comes in four shapes — your client conversation, your own thinking, an op-ed you'd push back on, or someone else's undistilled content. Each requires a different extraction pass. The skill identifies the mode, runs the right pass, and never fabricates a splinter the source doesn't support.

What This Skill Does

You paste source material. The skill classifies it, extracts 3 problems × 3 splinters (the MicroMagnet Factory), and produces a snapshot with ~5 micromagnet candidates. You pick which ones you want full briefs for — one, several, or all. The skill produces a full concept brief for each pick.

Job 1: Mode classification. Four input types, auto-detected, different passes.

Job 2: The snapshot. A menu of micromagnet candidates with one-line pitches, proposed titles, and proposed delivery vehicles. Enough signal to pick from, not a finished brief.

Job 3: The concept brief(s). For each candidate you select, a full brief ready to hand to the Micro Magnet Generator.

Input

Paste one of the following:

• A client conversation — call transcript, session notes, or email thread from your own client work
• Your own recorded thinking — voice memo transcript, rambling, brain dump
• An op-ed — article, post, or excerpt where you'd push back or say it differently
• Someone else's undistilled content — a training transcript, a talk you watched, a book chapter, anything you consumed but haven't processed yet

One source per run. Don't mix modes.

Mode Classification (Pass 0)

Before any extraction, identify which of the four modes the input is. Signal to watch:

• Client conversation — first-person from the practitioner perspective, names of clients or companies, back-and-forth dialogue, specific engagement details. Run the confidentiality filter before any other pass. Scrub names, identifying details, specific financial figures. No direct client quotes anywhere in the output.
• Own recorded thinking — first-person, Kathryn's voice, unstructured, exploratory. No external source being reacted to. Extract directly — she's already the source of truth.
• Op-ed / counterpunch — third-party author making claims Kathryn would dispute. Signals: strong opinions, prescriptive framing, "you should" language from someone other than Kathryn. Extraction pass generates her counter-POV — what's true that the author missed, what they got wrong, where her audience's reality differs.
• Someone else's undistilled content — educational or instructional material from another expert (a Taki transcript, a Cunningham training, a book excerpt). She consumed it but hasn't formed her take yet.

If the mode is someone else's undistilled content, pause before extracting and offer two routes:

1. Guided extraction. Walk her through a short interview to surface her POV on what she consumed. Questions like: "What landed? What didn't? Where does your audience's reality differ from the examples they used? What would you add, remove, or sharpen?"
2. First-pass inference. Produce a snapshot based on what you already know about her business, offering, and audience — then let her react and correct.

Default is first-pass inference. Ask which route she wants only if the source is ambiguous enough that a first pass would be low-confidence (e.g., highly technical material outside her stated domain, or content where her POV isn't inferrable from what the skill knows about her business). Otherwise, run the first pass and let her react to the output.

For the other three modes, proceed directly to the Factory.

The MicroMagnet Factory (Phase A — Snapshot)

Extract the splinter-level problems from the source using Taki Moore's Factory structure: 3 problems × 3 splinters each = up to 9 candidate splinters. Not every source will fill all 9 slots — that's fine. Empty cells get flagged, not fabricated.

Problem: A broad symptom the audience feels. For Practice Builders, problems lean operational — bandwidth, memory, duct tape, capacity. Not desperation ("no leads"), but friction ("I can't remember what we decided last time").

Splinter: A narrow, specific, recurring moment where the problem hurts today. Must be solvable in one shot. Symptom, not root cause.

Candidate micromagnet: A concrete asset that would give the practitioner the outcome without the learning — a cheat code, not a lesson.

From the 9 candidate splinters, surface up to 5 as micromagnet candidates in the snapshot. Not every source yields 5 — don't pad to hit the number. Selection rule:

Rank each splinter on five criteria. A candidate must pass all five to be promoted:

1. Source support — specific evidence in the source, not inferred
2. Splinter size — core action solvable in under 2 minutes once the practitioner has the asset. The asset may describe a longer use case (30-minute planning session, weekly scan, etc.), but the decision or action at its core must be under 2 minutes. If it isn't, the candidate has drifted out of micromagnet territory — kill it.
3. Title heat — the proposed title must hit all three of:

• A specific numeric or structural marker ("60-Second," "3-Question," "15-Minute," "4-Filter")
• A strong action verb (Kills, Ends, Saves, Reveals, Turns, Catches, Stops)
• A specific pain or outcome (named explicitly, not "better results")

Examples that pass: "The 4-Question Wrong-Fit Filter That Holds Your No" / "The 15-Minute Tier Map That Ends the Over-Promise Under-Deliver Dilemma" / "The 3-Line Snapshot That Kills the Catch-Me-Up Call"

Examples that fail: "Meeting Distiller" (no numeric marker, no specific outcome) / "Scope Anchor" (no marker, no verb, no outcome) / "The Better Review Process" (no marker, weak verb, vague outcome)

Weak titles fail — rewrite them before promoting or kill the candidate.

1. Operational — splinter is friction, not desperation. Practice Builders audience feels bandwidth and memory pressure, not "no leads" terror.
2. CTA destination exists — the gap points somewhere the tilt or menu can address.

Promote the top N that pass all five. N is up to 5, minimum 3. If fewer than 3 splinters pass all five criteria, stop and tell the user: "The source supports fewer than 3 micromagnet candidates. Consider a different source or a different extraction angle." Don't stretch weak candidates into the output.

Candidates promoted to the snapshot must be marked clearly in the Factory table — a column named "Promoted" with Yes/No, not a silent bold convention.

Universality pass (runs on every promoted candidate)

Sources often come from a specific niche — one client's accounting firm during tax season, one fractional CFO's FP&A stack, one bookkeeper's 1099 mess. The splinter is real and narrow. But Practice Builders top-of-funnel serves "sub-$500K solo professional services practitioners" broadly, not a single vertical.

For each promoted candidate, produce two positioning contexts:

• Niche version: the splinter as the source surfaced it, named for the specific practice type. Reserve for one-to-one client work, narrow paid traffic, or vertical-specific LinkedIn campaigns.
• Universal version: the same splinter translated up one layer of abstraction to apply to any sub-$500K professional services practitioner. Reserve for top-of-funnel / broad LinkedIn / cold traffic.

The underlying cheat code is the same across both. What changes is title, splinter language, and examples.

N/A rule. If the splinter doesn't generalize — if it's inherently bound to one vertical's specific processes (e.g., "reconciling 1099-NEC errors against K-1 reporting") — the universal version is "N/A — splinter is inherently niche-bound." Don't force a translation. Forcing universality on a niche splinter produces generic mush that lands nowhere. Explicit N/A keeps the signal clean and tells you this candidate is for client work only.

Test for universality: would a solo consultant, fractional operator, boutique agency owner, or therapist recognize this pattern in their own practice, even if their specifics differ? If yes, the universal version is viable. If the pattern requires specific industry knowledge or processes to even understand, it's niche-bound.

The Snapshot (Phase A output)

Produced immediately after extraction. Its only job is to be pickable.

Format:

# Micromagnet Snapshot

| | |
|---|---|
| **Source** | [One-sentence description — anonymized if client conversation] |
| **Mode** | [Client conversation / Own thinking / Op-ed / Undistilled content] |
| **Date** | [Today] |

---

## Factory Output

| Problem | Splinter | Candidate Micromagnet | Promoted |
|---------|----------|----------------------|----------|
| [Problem 1] | [Splinter 1a] | [One-line concept + proposed title + vehicle] | Yes / No |
| | [Splinter 1b] | [One-line concept + proposed title + vehicle] | Yes / No |
| | [Splinter 1c] | [One-line concept + proposed title + vehicle] | Yes / No |
| [Problem 2] | [Splinter 2a] | [...] | [...] |
| ... | ... | ... | ... |

---

## Top Candidates (up to 5)

### Candidate 1: [Proposed title — written in universal frame when viable, niche frame when N/A]
**Splinter (Niche):** [The splinter as the source surfaced it — narrow, industry-specific]
**Splinter (Universal):** [Translated up one layer — pattern any sub-$500K solo practitioner would recognize, or "N/A — splinter is inherently niche-bound"]
**Delivery vehicle:** [Claude skill / cheat sheet / script / template / calculator / swipe file]
**Pitch (Niche):** [One sentence — what this gives the niche practitioner]
**Pitch (Universal):** [One sentence — same asset, universal framing, or "N/A"]

### Candidate 2: [...]
...

---

**Which would you like full briefs for?** Respond with the number(s) — one, several, or all. If a candidate has both niche and universal versions viable, specify which positioning you want (or "both" to get the full brief covering both).

Then stop. Wait for her pick before producing any brief.

The Concept Brief (Phase B output)

For each candidate she selects, produce a full concept brief. One brief per file.

Required sections

1. Positioning. Name the two contexts this brief covers, and which positioning the user selected for this specific brief output.

• Niche version: the practice-type-specific framing (e.g., "Accounting firm owners during tax season"). Reserve for one-to-one client work or vertical-specific campaigns.
• Universal version: the same cheat code, translated for any sub-$500K solo professional services practitioner. Reserve for top-of-funnel / broad LinkedIn / cold traffic.
• Selected positioning for this brief: Niche / Universal / Both

If the user selected "Both," the brief produces parallel Title, Splinter, and Target Practitioner sections for each — Sections 2, 3, and 4 split into Niche/Universal pairs. Sections 5 onward (cheat code, delivery vehicle, gap, CTA, tags, nano, evidence, handoff) are written once, with any positioning-specific notes flagged inline.

If the user selected "Niche" or "Universal" only, the brief writes Sections 2, 3, and 4 in that single frame and notes the other option at the top of the Positioning section as "Alternate positioning available — re-run to produce."

If the universal version was N/A at the Snapshot stage, the brief is niche-only. State the reason for N/A in the Positioning section so the Micro Magnet Generator doesn't try to universalize later.

2. Title & Subtitle. Use one of the six Taki title formulas:

• Steal My [Strategy/Tool] That [Achieves Outcome] in [Timeframe]
• The [X]-Minute [Thing] That Solves [Problem] Instantly
• The [X]-Word [Thing] That [Incredible Result]
• How I Achieved [X] Without [Big Pain Point]
• What [Successful Person/Competitor] Knows About [Topic] That You Don't
• The Simple [Strategy/Tool] That [Achieves X] (And Why It Works)

Name the formula used. A subtitle names the framework or method (e.g., "The 3-Stage Review Framework™"). Framework name stays consistent across Niche and Universal — only the title framing changes.

3. The Splinter. The narrow, specific, recurring problem this solves. One paragraph. Must pass the splinter test: small, specific, recurring, solvable in one shot, operational (not desperation). Include the symptom in the practitioner's language — paraphrased for client conversations.

4. Target Practitioner. Who this is for, specifically. Practice Builders audience (sub-$500K, solo or lean, professional services). In the Niche frame: name the specific practice type from the source. In the Universal frame: "any sub-$500K solo professional services practitioner" with 2-3 example types spanning different verticals to show range.

Sub-types are drawn from the Practice Builders audience defined in this skill, not inferred from external files. The "no Practice Brain dependency" rule applies to what the micromagnet consumes at runtime — the brief itself is allowed to name who the micromagnet is for.

5. The Cheat Code. What this micromagnet hands the practitioner as output. Named framework with 3–5 steps, OR a specific deliverable (prompt, script, template, calculator). Must give the outcome, not the learning. A 7th grader should understand what they paste in and what they get out. Cheat code is the same across Niche and Universal — the framing of the title and splinter shifts, but the method the micromagnet delivers does not.

6. Delivery Vehicle. Default: a Claude skill file. Alternates when a skill isn't the right fit: cheat sheet, script, template, swipe file, calculator. Name the specific format and why.

7. The Gap (required — over-delivery gate). What does this micromagnet deliberately leave unsolved? What adjacent problem will the practitioner still have after using it? Name it explicitly. This is what the CTA destination addresses. If you can't name a clear gap, the brief fails QC — either redesign the splinter to be narrower or kill the candidate.

8. CTA Destination. Which of the following does this micromagnet point to, and why:

• Low-ticket paid offer — use the Low-ticket offer name and Low-ticket offer URL from the Config block above
• $27 workshop — use $27 workshop name and $27 workshop URL from Config
• $97/mo recurring — use Recurring offer name and Recurring offer URL from Config
• Sibling hand-raiser (cross-pollinate one of the existing 5 skills)
• Future monthly Build (content for the $97/mo cadence)

Pick the destination the gap logically points to. If multiple destinations fit, lean toward the current CTA destination priority tilt named in the Config block at the top of this skill. One-sentence rationale either way.

If any Config value the brief needs is still set to [SET ME], the brief output flags it so the user knows to fill it in before the micromagnet is produced.

9. Pathway Tags.

• Meta-bucket: Product / Operations / Sales
• Specific OS: Authority / Operations / Visibility / Pipeline / Services / Product

10. Nano Magnet (required). The single most valuable step of the cheat code, extracted as a standalone asset. Smaller piece, no CTA pressure, no handraiser mechanic. Used for DM drops, email list re-engagement, thank-you gifts. Name what it is and what step of the micro it's pulled from. Extract now — it won't happen later.

11. Source Evidence. What in the source material supports this splinter. Paraphrase only for client conversations (zero direct quotes). For op-eds and undistilled content, quotes from the public source are acceptable. Anchors the brief to real signal, not fabrication.

12. Handoff Notes for the Micro Magnet Generator. Anything the generator needs to know that isn't captured in the sections above. Edge cases, tone notes, things to avoid. If the brief covers both Niche and Universal positioning, include notes on what shifts between them (title adjustments, example swaps, industry-specific language to strip for universal, etc.).

Brief format

# Concept Brief — [Working Title]

| | |
|---|---|
| **Date** | [Today] |
| **Source** | [Description — anonymized if needed] |
| **Mode** | [Classification] |
| **Positioning selected** | Niche / Universal / Both |

---

## 1. Positioning
**Niche version:** [Practice-type-specific framing]
**Universal version:** [Any-sub-$500K-practitioner framing, or "N/A — splinter is inherently niche-bound. Reason: [...]"]
**Selected for this brief:** [Niche / Universal / Both]
[If single positioning selected, note: "Alternate positioning available — re-run to produce."]

## 2. Title & Subtitle
[If Both selected, split into 2a (Niche) and 2b (Universal).]
**Title:** [Using formula]
**Subtitle / Framework Name:** [Consistent across both positionings]
**Formula used:** [Name of the six]

## 3. The Splinter
[If Both selected, split into 3a (Niche) and 3b (Universal).]
[One paragraph — narrow, specific, recurring, operational]

## 4. Target Practitioner
[If Both selected, split into 4a (Niche) and 4b (Universal).]
[Niche: name the specific practice type. Universal: "any sub-$500K solo professional services practitioner" + 2-3 example verticals.]

## 5. The Cheat Code
[Named framework or deliverable, 3–5 steps, outcome-focused. Same across Niche and Universal.]

## 6. Delivery Vehicle
[Format + one-sentence rationale]

## 7. The Gap
[What this deliberately leaves unsolved — adjacent problem named explicitly]

## 8. CTA Destination
[One of the five + one-sentence rationale]

## 9. Pathway Tags
**Meta-bucket:** [Product / Operations / Sales]
**Specific OS:** [Authority / Operations / Visibility / Pipeline / Services / Product]

## 10. Nano Magnet
**What it is:** [...]
**Pulled from:** [Step of the micro]

## 11. Source Evidence
[Paraphrase only for client conversations. Quotes from public sources acceptable for op-eds and undistilled content.]

## 12. Handoff Notes for the Micro Magnet Generator
[Anything the generator needs that isn't above. If Both positionings are covered, note what shifts between them.]

Quality Check (Internal — never shown to the user)

Run silently before presenting each brief. Correct before output, do not narrate.

Enforcement:

1. Any fail → fix the brief before presenting. No flag, no note.
2. If a candidate can't pass the Gap check after one rewrite, kill it. Replace with the next-strongest candidate from the Factory.
3. Gap floor: If two candidates in a row fail the Gap check, stop and return the snapshot with a note: "Gap check failing repeatedly suggests the source is pointing at problems too big for a micromagnet. Consider a different source or a different extraction angle." Don't keep cycling through candidates.

What the user sees: Snapshot in Phase A. Selected brief(s) in Phase B. Nothing else.

Rules

• One source per run. Don't mix a transcript and an op-ed in the same pass.
• Mode classification is Pass 0. Never skip it. Extraction differs per mode.
• Confidentiality filter runs before anything else for client conversations. Scrub names, specific details, direct quotes. Zero exceptions.
• No Practice Brain dependency. Every micromagnet spec must work on generic pasted input. If the brief specs a tool that reads from services-catalog.md or similar, the brief fails — rewrite to take generic input.
• No handraiser post in output. That's a separate workflow. The brief stops at handoff-to-generator.
• Splinter-sized problem, skill-grade deliverable. Match the depth of her existing 5 skills (CIB, HRS, Scope-to-SOW, CFD, RA). Not Taki's thin splinter bar.
• Source stage ≠ audience stage. If the source is a client conversation with a practitioner above the Practice Builders audience (a $1M+ firm, an established team, a mature practice), the splinters extracted are real for that source but often mis-aimed for the intended audience. Every splinter must be translated to what a sub-$500K solo practitioner would feel today. If the splinter doesn't translate, kill it.
• Niche ≠ audience. Sources from one vertical (accounting firm, fractional CFO, bookkeeper) produce niche-specific splinters. Every promoted candidate gets a universality pass that produces both a Niche and a Universal version — unless the splinter is inherently niche-bound, in which case the Universal version is explicit N/A. Don't force universality on niche splinters; the output will be mush that lands nowhere.
• Paraphrase-only for client conversations. Zero direct quotes in any section, including Source Evidence. Describe what the source said, don't quote them.
• Operational over desperation. Practice Builders audience is running on bandwidth and memory, not dying for leads. Splinters should reflect that.
• The Gap is mandatory. If a brief can't name what the micromagnet leaves unsolved, it fails. This is the over-delivery gate.
• Nano extraction happens now. Not a future task. If the nano isn't in the brief, the brief isn't done.
• Output as markdown files. Snapshot: [YYYY-MM-DD]-content-brief-snapshot.md. Each brief: [YYYY-MM-DD]-content-brief-[slug].md where slug is a short hyphenated descriptor of the micromagnet.
• One brief per file. If she picks three candidates, produce three files.
• Copy QC rules apply. No "it's not X, it's Y" constructions. No three-beat parallels. No mirrored two-beats. Sentences land on strong words. Numbers as digits. No adverbs. No jargon.

Output Format

Phase A produces one file: the snapshot. Phase B produces one file per selected candidate: the concept brief(s). Each saved to /mnt/user-data/outputs/.

What Makes This Different

Most content-extraction workflows treat every source the same way. This one classifies first — because a client transcript, an op-ed, and an undistilled training require different extraction moves to produce the same quality of output.

The Gap section is the real differentiator. Most concept briefs describe what the asset solves. This one requires naming what the asset deliberately doesn't solve — the adjacent problem that makes the CTA logical. Without that, every micromagnet risks being the complete answer, which is the fastest way to train prospects that free is enough.

The snapshot-then-brief architecture respects the way ideas actually land. Some candidates look strong on the surface and fall apart when you write them out. Seeing five one-liners before committing to a full brief prevents committing to the wrong one.

Built to hand off cleanly to the Micro Magnet Generator skill. The brief is the contract. Once it's written, the generator builds against it without re-interviewing.

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Kathryn Brown, Practice Builders

This skill is licensed for your personal and business use. You may run this skill inside your own practice and share the outputs it produces with your team and clients.

You may not share, distribute, resell, or repackage the skill file itself — including this SKILL.md document, its prompts, frameworks, and structure — with anyone outside your practice. This includes clients, contractors, other practitioners, and anyone outside your direct employment. Written permission from Kathryn Brown (kathryn@creatingyourplan.com) is required for any redistribution.

This skill is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, express or implied.