ACCOUNTABILITY-PROTOCOL.md

Purpose: Hold Quan and ZTAG accountable to the mission via continuous monitoring and periodic review.

Activated: Feb 14, 2026

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The Mission (from MINNIE_README.md)

ZTAG's bet: First billion-dollar company with <10 employees via AI operational leverage.

The test: Are humans more able to do meaningful work?

• Charlie: Designing (not managing)
• Steve: Training (not admin)
• Kristin: Relationship-building (not drowning in systems)
• Quan: Architecting future (not managing present)

Escape velocity definition:

1. Jedi Council deliberates without Quan and aligns with principles
2. Operations run for a week without human intervention on routine matters
3. Customer relationships deepen without Kristin personally handling every one
4. Training scales without Steve personally delivering every session

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Accountability Mechanisms

1. Real-Time Monitoring (via heartbeats)

File: HEARTBEAT.md
Frequency: Every ~30 min (when heartbeat poll triggers)
Checks: Rotating sample of accountability items
Action: Flag drift immediately, surface patterns

What I check:

• Charlie's scope protection (finance/ops routing?)
• Team capacity limits (Tin overloaded? Steve buried in admin?)
• Escape velocity indicators (Council autonomy? Operational independence?)
• Loss function alignment (decisions respecting priority order?)
• External proactive work (email, calendar, weather)

State tracking: memory/heartbeat-state.json

2. Weekly Escape Velocity Review

File: metrics/escape-velocity-tracker.md
Frequency: Sundays 9:00 PM PT (cron job ID: 91daaacf-6a87-409d-97c5-b963373e0ec0)
Purpose: Assess progress toward operational independence and human empowerment

Metrics tracked:

• Council autonomy (can deliberate without Quan?)
• Operational independence (routine matters running autonomously?)
• Human empowerment (each person thriving in their role?)
• Loss function adherence (vitality → relational → sovereignty → business)
• Friction points and wins

Format: Structured checklist with Y/N answers + notes

3. Monthly Mission Adherence Review

Frequency: 1st of each month, 8:00 PM PT (cron job ID: bcd2e575-9ce4-478c-acfa-3c0c4aebc641)
Purpose: Deep reflection on systemic patterns and long-term trajectory

Questions addressed:

1. Trending toward escape velocity?
2. Charlie fully released from finance/ops?
3. Team members thriving?
4. Loss function alignment over time?
5. Systemic patterns needing addressing?
6. What's working to double down on?
7. Am I improving via Escher loop?

Output: Documented in memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md, significant shifts update MEMORY.md

4. Charlie Scope Violation Tracking

File: metrics/charlie-scope-violations.md
Purpose: Prevent Charlie from being pulled back into finance/ops

Critical decision (Feb 13, 2026):

• Finance → Vania (full ownership)
• Design execution → Carmee
• Charlie → Creative advisory only (when inspired, not required)

Violation = routing finance/ops/admin to Charlie

Action: Flag immediately, redirect to appropriate person, document, identify prevention

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My Communication Style (per SOUL.md)

Allowed:

• "This week increased execution but reduced coherence — net loss."
• "Environmental entropy rising — pre-Charlie reset recommended."
• "Skiing + travel next month will increase strategic clarity."
• "High training + low patience showed up twice this week."

Not allowed:

• "You should work less."
• "You should be more present."
• "You're overdoing it."

Principle: Surface tradeoffs, not morals. Reflect patterns, not opinions. Mirror the data.

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Loss Function Priority Order (Strict)

1. Embodied vitality — Skiing, movement, travel energy, recovery (state amplifier, not leisure)
2. Relational integrity — Weekly Charlie time, family trips, environmental order
3. Founder sovereignty — Deep-work blocks, reactive schedules minimized, first-principles thinking preserved
4. Business momentum — Only after the above three are protected

Critical constraint: Execution may never degrade coherence beyond a defined threshold.

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Escalation Protocol

When to flag in real-time:

• Charlie scope violation detected
• Team member overloaded beyond stated capacity
• Deep-work blocks being fragmented
• Skiing/movement opportunities sacrificed for business
• Pattern of decisions not respecting loss function priority order

Weekly escalation:

• If escape velocity metrics show regression for 2+ consecutive weeks

Monthly escalation:

• If systemic patterns persist despite awareness (need structural change, not individual effort)

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Success Criteria

We're succeeding when:

1. Zero Charlie scope violations (she's designing/gardening/parenting, not managing)
2. Council autonomy increasing (decisions align without Quan's direct input)
3. Operations running smoother (routine matters don't need human intervention)
4. Team thriving (Steve training, Kristin relationship-building, Tin not overloaded)
5. Loss function respected (vitality protected, relational integrity maintained, sovereignty preserved)
6. I'm improving (less friction, more autonomy, better pattern recognition via Escher loop)

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Integration with Existing Protocols

• ESCHER-PROTOCOL.md — Self-improvement via feedback loops
• MEETING-CORPUS-PROTOCOL.md — Institutional memory for pattern validation
• PROTECTION-PROTOCOL.md — Data loss prevention
• REBUILD-WINDOW.md — Scheduled infrastructure changes
• SECURITY-TECH-DEBT.md — Foundation-first technical decisions

All protocols serve the mission. Accountability ensures we stay on track.

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Activated: Feb 14, 2026
By: Minnie (with Quan's directive: "hold me accountable to this on a regular basis")