GOST Participant Enablement — Terminology
This file is the canonical vocabulary for GOST enablement production. This file wins over any other usage, including client documents, training decks, or session transcripts.
GOST Framework Terms
| Term | Definition | Do Not Use |
|---|---|---|
| GOST | Goals, Objectives, Strategies, Tactics — a strategic planning framework that cascades company direction into individual quarterly actions | GHOST, G.O.S.T., "the framework" (too vague) |
| Goal | A 3-year aspirational statement of company direction. One per company. Set by leadership. | Mission, vision, purpose |
| Objective | A 3-year measurable outcome that supports the Goal. Multiple per company. SMART-formatted. Set by leadership. | Target, KPI, metric (objectives contain metrics but are not metrics themselves) |
| Strategy | An annual set of choices for how a department will achieve its Objectives. 2–5 per department. Set by department leaders. | Plan, initiative, project list |
| Tactic | A quarterly individual action that rolls up to a department Strategy. SMART-formatted. Set by individuals. | Task, to-do, action item, deliverable |
| Strategy Card | A one-page document capturing a department strategy's hypothesis, scope, approaches, KPIs, dependencies, and risks | Strategy template, strategy form |
| GOST cascade | The vertical alignment from Goal → Objectives → Strategies → Tactics | Alignment, rollup, hierarchy |
Planning Terms
| Term | Definition | Do Not Use |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Week Tactics Planner | The planning document where an individual maps out the execution of one tactic across a 12-week quarter using backward planning | Quarterly plan, action plan, work plan, project plan |
| Backward planning | Planning method that starts from the end state and works backward to Week 1 — defining what must be true at each phase to reach the goal | Reverse engineering, working backwards (use "backward planning" consistently) |
| End state | The specific, observable condition that exists on the last day of the quarter if the tactic succeeds | Goal, outcome, deliverable (end state is the situation, not the thing produced) |
| KPI | Key Performance Indicator — a specific measurable outcome with a numeric target | Metric, measure, goal (KPI always has a target attached) |
| Checkpoint | A monthly assessment point in the backward plan — confirms whether the tactic is on track | Milestone, gate, review (checkpoint is the question "are we on track?", not the thing delivered) |
| Capacity analysis | The calculation of hours allocated vs. hours available, including buffer | Resource planning, workload analysis |
| Buffer | 20% of available hours reserved for emergencies and unplanned work (team size × 40 hrs × 12 weeks × 0.8) | Slack, contingency |
| Dependency | Something you need from another person, team, or system before you can complete a step — with a specific date and a backup plan | Blocker, prerequisite (dependency has an owner and a date; blocker is reactive) |
SMART Criteria
| Term | Definition | Do Not Use |
|---|---|---|
| Specific | The tactic describes a clearly defined action — who, what, where | Clear, detailed |
| Measurable | The tactic has a countable or scorable outcome | Trackable, observable |
| Achievable | The tactic is realistic given the person's capacity, resources, and constraints | Realistic, attainable (use "achievable" consistently) |
| Relevant | The tactic directly supports a department strategy and at least one company objective | Aligned, connected |
| Time-bound | The tactic can be completed within the quarter (12 weeks) | Deadline-driven |
Kit Production Terms
| Term | Definition | Do Not Use |
|---|---|---|
| Enablement prompt | The self-contained text block that a participant pastes into an LLM to be guided through building their 12-Week Tactics Planner | AI tool, chatbot, template, form |
| Participant document | The .docx file distributed to participants containing instructions and the enablement prompt | Prompt sheet, handout, guide |
| Consultant brief | The .docx file for the consulting advisor explaining how to send, what to expect, and how to review output | Advisor guide, instruction sheet |
| Golden example | The original deployment (March 2026, for a mid-market B2B services company) used as the structural benchmark for prompt design, output format, and participant instructions. Never used for client-specific content. | Template, sample, model (golden example is a benchmark, not a fill-in-the-blank template) |
| Gap | A required input that is not available in the source material. Gaps are flagged and escalated — never filled or invented. | Missing info, unknown, TBD |
| Gap report | The formal document listing all gaps, what they block, and what resolution is needed | Issue log, open items list |
| Deployment | The act of delivering the participant document and consultant brief to the consulting advisor for distribution | Launch, rollout, release |
Participant Experience Terms
| Term | Definition | Do Not Use |
|---|---|---|
| Conversational flow | The step-by-step question-and-answer sequence the LLM uses to walk the participant through building their planner | Wizard, workflow, guided form |
| Push-back | The LLM's built-in instruction to challenge vague, overly ambitious, or disconnected answers | Validation, error checking |
| Output format | The exact structure of the completed 12-Week Tactics Planner that the LLM produces at the end of the conversation | Template, report, result |