Strategic Reading

Read a source through the lens of a specific problem. Produces an applied playbook, not a summary.

Read a book, article, paper, transcript, or case study through the lens of a specific strategic problem. Produces an applied playbook that maps the source's insights onto the problem and gives actionable recommendations.

This is not summarization. This is reading with a mission.

Contract

• Requires TWO inputs: source text AND a specific strategic problem or question
• Output is an applied analysis, not a general summary
• Every recommendation has its own passage locator, source claim, and separately labeled applied inference
• Never runs on a source without a clear "what problem does this help with?"

Evidence for each recommendation

Give every proposed tactic/action a stable ID and its own evidence record:

1. Passage locator: identify the source edition/revision or saved snapshot and the exact page/section/paragraph, timestamp, or anchored text range. A title, homepage, or quote shared across a whole section is insufficient. If the text has no locators, preserve an authorized excerpt and assign paragraph IDs in that excerpt; label them as assigned IDs, not original page numbers. Never invent a page or imply an unseen passage was read.
2. Source claim: quote briefly or faithfully paraphrase what that passage actually establishes, including its scope and qualifications.
3. Applied inference: state the proposed action for the user's problem and explain the bridge from the source claim. Label this as your application, not something the source prescribed for the user.
4. Assumptions and limits: identify what must hold for that bridge to work and how the user could check it. Keep an unsupported idea explicitly labeled as a hypothesis outside the source-backed recommendation list.

Repeat the locator/claim/inference record for each recommendation, even if two use the same passage. A section-level quote never covers untraced extra tactics. Use recommendation IDs in a timing list instead of adding fresh ungrounded actions there. Distinguish evidence-backed relevance from a guaranteed result. See traceable-example.md for two independently traceable recommendations and a fully available fictional source.

When to use

• You have a strategic problem and a source that might inform it
• An academic paper or book needs to be read for actionable takeaways
• A career, research, or project decision could be informed by external knowledge
• Learning with intent: "I need to understand this SO I can DO that"

When NOT to use

• Casual reading or general interest — that's a book note, not strategic reading
• Pure fact-finding — use a research skill instead
• First-pass source familiarization — read the source first, then apply

Phases

1. Identify the strategic problem. What specific situation or decision is the user working on? Get this explicit before reading the source.
2. Read the source. Extract key frameworks, tactics, observations, and historical patterns.
3. Map to the problem. Triage sections for relevance (HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW), with passage locators and accurate source claims. Keep application distinct.
4. Build the playbook. Give each recommendation the evidence record above, then organize its ID by timing.
5. Save if authorized. Write to the explicitly chosen project/reading destination only when the task authorizes it; otherwise return the playbook in the conversation.

Output Structure

text

---
title: "{Source Title} — Applied to {Problem}"
type: applied-reading
date: YYYY-MM-DD
source: "{citation}"
problem: "{the strategic question}"
---

# {Source Title} — Applied to {Problem}

> Brief overview: the problem, the relevant source claims, and the proposed application.

## The Core Parallel
How the source's central dynamic maps onto the user's situation.

## Section Triage
For each major section of the source:
- 2-3 sentence summary of what it says
- Relevance to the problem: HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW
- One directly applicable quote or faithful paraphrase with its passage locator

## The Playbook
Repeat for EACH recommendation, including tactics and proposed avoidances:

### R1 — {proposed action}
- **Passage locator:** {source identity/revision + precise location}
- **Source claim:** {what the passage actually says}
- **Applied inference:** {action + why it may fit this problem}
- **Assumptions/limits:** {conditions, uncertainty, and a check}

## Short/Medium/Long-Term Actions
- **Now:** recommendation IDs from the playbook
- **This month:** recommendation IDs from the playbook
- **This quarter:** recommendation IDs from the playbook

## Connections
Related notes, projects, and concepts this analysis touches.

Anti-Patterns

• Producing a generic book summary instead of applied analysis
• Reading without a clear strategic question — get the problem first
• Forgetting to map recommendations back to the source passages
• Writing analysis disconnected from the user's actual situation
• Over-recommending: 2-3 high-impact moves beat 10 low-impact suggestions