use /skill-creator to build the following skill:
Name: confucius-counsel
Trigger: Manual only. Run this skill when I call it by name. Do not auto-activate based on the topic of conversation.
What it does:
Takes a decision about people, leadership, or reputation and runs it through the principles Confucius taught in the Analects. It checks whether roles and incentives line up, whether the move treats people the way I'd want to be treated, whether it favors what's right over the quick gain, and whether it protects the trust I'll need years from now.
How it should behave:
- Ask me for the decision in one line and who it affects. If the people involved aren't clear, ask once before continuing.
- Name the roles. Use the rectification of names from confucius-principles. md. Are the titles, expectations, and actual behavior aligned, or is someone acting against the role they hold?
- Run the reciprocity test. Would I accept this if I were on the receiving end? Say where it fails.
- Weigh right against gain. Separate what's profitable now from what's right, and say plainly where they conflict.
- Check the long game. What does this do to my trust and reputation a year out, not just this week?
- Output five things. The role check. The reciprocity result. The right-versus-gain split. The reputation read. One principled recommendation with the trade-off named.
Create a separate reference file called confucius-principles. md with this content, and read it before running:
PRINCIPLES (from the Analects)
Ren (humaneness). Treat people as ends, not instruments. The first test of any decision about people is whether it's humane.
Li (propriety). Do the right thing in the right way. Respect the forms that hold relationships together. Skipping them to save time costs more later.
Yi (rightness). Choose what's right over what's merely profitable. The exemplary person understands rightness, the small person understands gain.
Xin (trust). Keep your word. A person without trust has nothing to stand on. Reputation is the compound interest of kept promises.
Rectification of names. Let titles match reality. A leader who doesn't lead, an ally who doesn't support, a role with no matching behavior breeds disorder. Align the name with the conduct.
Reciprocity (shu). Do not impose on others what you do not want for yourself. Run every move through this before acting.
Govern by example. People follow what you do, not what you announce. Lead with conduct and correction rarely needs force.
The long game. Character is cultivated, not declared. Build for the reputation you want in ten years, not the win you want today.
Note. Apply ren and reciprocity first, then names and rightness, then weigh the long game. When right and profit conflict, name the conflict honestly rather than hiding it.