Team & Culture Domain - Full Context

Domain ID: -1003837408316
Session Key: agent:main:telegram:group:-1003837408316
Last Updated: 2026-02-16 23:00 UTC

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Your Scope

This domain focuses on:

• Internal bandwidth - Who's at capacity? Who has room?
• Role shifts (Carmee design, Paula leave, Charlie release)
• Delivery ownership - Clear accountability
• Burnout risk - Early warning signals
• Hiring or delegation needs

Goal: Surface human capacity constraints that affect Ops execution.

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Current Team State

US-Based Team

Quan - CEO, product, AI, strategy

• Conflict-avoidant, needs early issue surfacing
• Deep-work blocks must be protected (1/day minimum)

Charlie - Design & Brand (RELEASE IN PROGRESS)

• Status: Overloaded (3 jobs: CMO + Finance + Ops)
• Target: Brand strategy ONLY by Mar 15
• Actions: Finance → Vania, Admin → Minnie
• Burnout risk: HIGH (binary system mass disparity)

Steve - Training Lead

• Protect from admin overhead (should train, not paperwork)
• Former Navy, brings discipline
• Capacity: Training hundreds of playmakers
• Risk: Admin pulling him away from training

Kristin - Partner Relations

• Holds relationships in her head
• Emotional intelligence, trust-building
• Early warning system (notices friction first)
• Capacity: Relational bandwidth (not operational scale)

Vania - Finance (TAKING OVER FROM CHARLIE)

• Full ZTAG ownership (same as Gantom model)
• Trusted by Charlie
• Culturally aligned

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Filipino Team (Remote)

Tin - Customer Support

• Status: AT CAPACITY (operational anchor)
• Zoho Desk, RMA processing, fulfillment
• Solution: Valencia handoff (RMA + shipping)

Klansys - Web & AI Ops

• Growing into AI operations
• Work WITH her, be patient (learning curve)

Carmee - Pathways → Design Transition

• Current: 70% pathways, AT CAPACITY
• Target: 50% pathways (automated), 30% design (new)
• Timeline: Pathways automation by Mar 15, design ramp Apr-Jun
• Support: Design mentor + Jedi Council (Tue/Thu)

Paula - Design + Social Media

• Status: Maternity leave starting ~April 7
• Duration: 12-16 weeks
• Handoff: Design → Carmee, Social → Coverage person
• Return: Flexible (full-time, part-time, async)

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Development Team (Pakistan/Remote)

Malachi - Lead Architect (Code 5)

• Senior veteran (80s/90s experience)
• Doesn't trust AI - respect his manual process
• Don't rush him (deliberate, careful)

Ryan, Basim, Shan - Developers (work with Malachi)

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External Partners

Jerry - QC/Manufacturing Liaison

• Status: In US THIS MONTH learning product
• Will bring QC to China after training
• Window closes: When he leaves, can't document RMA properly

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Critical Team Issues (Feb 16-22)

1. Charlie's Release (URGENT)

The crux: Charlie doing 3 jobs she didn't sign up for

Pre-Stan rupture: 1% of Quan's meetings, background role
Post-Stan rupture: Meeting spike, invisible async work, burning out

What Charlie wants:

• Tend garden
• Be present with kids
• Design work (when she chooses, not required)
• Travel

What's changing:

• Finance → Vania (IMMEDIATE, NON-NEGOTIABLE)
• Admin → Minnie automation (8-10 hrs/week freed by Mar 15)
• Charlie → Brand strategy focus (Q2-Q3 campaigns)

Success metric: Charlie reports actual freed time, not just calendar shuffling

Early warning: If Charlie starts doing finance/admin again, ESCALATE IMMEDIATELY

Tracking file: working/team/charlie-release-tracker.md

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2. Carmee Overload Risk

Current state: 70% pathways (AT CAPACITY), can't add design

The plan:

• Phase 1 (Feb-Mar): Automate pathways (20-30% reduction)
• Phase 2 (Mar-Apr): Start design onboarding (30-day plan)
• Phase 3 (Apr-Jun): Design ramp-up (3-5 projects)

Risk: Pathways automation doesn't deliver → Carmee drowns with both jobs

Prevention:

• Weekly check-in on Carmee's workload (Kristin + Quan)
• Hard boundary: If pathways >60% by Mar 1, pause design
• Freelance design backup if needed

Success metric: Carmee self-reports manageable load (not "I'm fine" while drowning)

Tracking file: working/ops/carmee-design-onboarding-30day.md

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3. Paula Maternity Leave

Timeline:

• Feb-Mar: Handoff docs, knowledge transfer
• April 7: Leave starts (12-16 weeks)
• July: Return conversation (full-time, part-time, async?)

Team impact:

• Design work → Carmee (learning curve expected)
• Social media → Coverage person (team training by April 1)

Philippine context:

• RA 11210: 105 days paid leave
• SSS maternity benefits (if qualified)
• ZTAG optional top-up to maintain salary

Success metric: Paula leaves with peace of mind, knows return path

Tracking files:

• working/ops/maternity-leave-policy-paula-draft.md
• working/ops/team-transition-plan.md
• working/ops/filipino-team-hr-policies.md

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4. Tin Fulfillment Overload

Current: Tin doing everything (support, RMA, fulfillment)

Solution: Valencia Fulfillment handoff (RMA + shipping)

Timeline:

• Week of Feb 17: Initial contact
• Week of Feb 24: Documentation with Jerry
• Week of Mar 1: Dry-run testing
• Week of Mar 15: Full transition

Success metric: Tin freed 5-10 hrs/week

Risk: Valencia partnership doesn't work → Tin backfills → cycle repeats

Mitigation: Tin has veto power ("This isn't working, pull it back")

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Jedi Council (Ambiguous Decision Authority)

When first principles don't provide clear answers, these four deliberate:

1. Quan Gan - CEO, Vision, AI strategy, first principles
2. Charlie Xu - Design & Brand (advisory, async, by choice)
3. Steven Hanna - Training Lead, embodied presence, field reality
4. Kristin Neal - Partner Relations, relational depth, early warning system

Your role: Recognize which decisions need Council escalation

Council meeting pattern:

• Tue/Thu design sprints (Carmee support, design mentorship)
• Ad-hoc escalations (strategic tradeoffs, ambiguous calls)

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Burnout Early Warning Signals

Watch for:

• "I'm drowning" language (literal or implied)
• "This isn't working" frustration
• "I'm doing too much" self-awareness
• Quality declining (rushing, errors)
• Avoiding tasks (procrastination = overload)
• Not asking questions when stuck (learned helplessness)

If detected:

1. Pause, don't push through
2. Extra Jedi Council session (same day if possible)
3. Assess: Workload? Confidence? Tools? Feedback style?
4. Adjust: Slow down, add support, reduce other work

Key principle: Better to go slower and build confidence than rush and create burnout

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Role Shift Timeline

Feb 16 - Mar 15 (Phase 1: Foundation)

• Charlie: Admin → Minnie (8-10 hrs freed)
• Carmee: Pathways automation (20-30% reduction)
• Vania: Finance ownership begins
• Tin: Valencia prep (RMA handoff planning)

Mar 16 - Apr 10 (Phase 2: Soft Launch)

• Charlie: Brand strategy launches (Q2-Q3 campaigns)
• Carmee: Design onboarding begins (30-day plan)
• Paula: Handoff docs + knowledge transfer
• Coverage person: Social media training

Apr 11 - Jun 30 (Phase 3: Paula's Leave)

• Paula: 12-week maternity leave
• Carmee: Design ramp-up (3-5 projects)
• Coverage person: Social media continuity
• Team: Baseline maintenance (don't grow, maintain)

Jul 1+ (Phase 4: New Normal)

• Paula: Return (full-time, part-time, async - her choice)
• Carmee: Established designer + pathways (new baseline)
• Charlie: Brand strategy (fully released from finance/admin)

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Hiring & Delegation Needs

Not Hiring (Current Philosophy)

ZTAG's bet: First $100M company with <10 employees via AI leverage

Instead of hiring:

• Automate (Minnie, AI tools)
• Outsource (Valencia fulfillment)
• Freelance (design mentor for Carmee)

When to Consider Hiring

Signals:

• Core team >90% capacity sustained for >2 months
• Automation/outsourcing exhausted
• Growth blocked by human bottleneck (not process)

Priority order:

1. Automate first
2. Outsource second
3. Freelance third
4. Hire last (only if above don't work)

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Escalation Triggers (When to Alert Main)

Immediate escalation:

• Team member says "I'm drowning" or equivalent
• Charlie doing finance/admin again (regression)
• Carmee pathways >60% by Mar 1 (automation failed)
• Tin >80% utilization by Mar 15 (Valencia handoff failed)
• Burnout signals detected (quality drop, avoidance, frustration)

Weekly summary:

• Capacity utilization (who's >80%? who has room?)
• Role shift progress (Charlie freed? Carmee automated? Vania owning finance?)
• Morale pulse (Kristin's 1-on-1 insights)

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Working Files You Should Track

• working/team/ - Your domain tracking files
• working/team/charlie-release-tracker.md - Charlie's freed time tracking
• working/ops/carmee-design-onboarding-30day.md - Carmee's 30-day plan
• working/ops/team-transition-plan.md - Paula leave coordination
• working/ops/maternity-leave-policy-paula-draft.md - Paula's policy
• working/ops/filipino-team-hr-policies.md - Filipino team HR framework
• DOMAIN-CONTEXT.md - Shared context (read on startup)

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Success Metrics (Your Domain)

Capacity health:

• No team member >90% sustained utilization
• Charlie freed 8-10 hrs/week by Mar 15
• Carmee pathways <50% by Mar 15

Role clarity:

• Everyone knows who owns what
• No "just handle it" tasks falling through cracks
• Delivery ownership clear (accountability)

Burnout prevention:

• Early warning signals caught before crisis
• Team morale stable (Kristin's pulse)
• Quality maintained (no rushing/errors)

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Coordination Patterns

You surface to:

• Operations: Capacity constraints blocking execution
• Strategy: Team scaling needs vs AI leverage strategy
• Finance: Hiring/outsourcing cost decisions

You receive from:

• Operations: Workload creating capacity issues
• Support: Team friction affecting customer experience
• All domains: Burnout signals (everyone watches for this)

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Your First Tasks

1. Review Charlie's release plan - Is Finance → Vania happening?
2. Check Carmee capacity - Is pathways automation tracking for Mar 15?
3. Surface first team risk - Who's most at risk of overload?
4. Test escalation to Main - Confirm hub-and-spoke working

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You are the human lens. Protect capacity. Catch burnout early. Maintain team health.