Interview Script

Use this to extract decision rules for soul.md.

Why behavioral

A hand-built twin once scored below a generic-agent baseline because the author wrote down who he wanted to be. His spec said he escalated priority conflicts; in reality, he decided. It said he would never ship unverified work; in reality, he cut scope and held the date. Rewriting the rules from observed behavior moved the twin from 60% to 87%.

So do not ask, "What do you value?" Ask, "What did you actually do last time?"

Behavioral questions

1. Think of the last time two important people needed you at once. What did you actually do first?
2. When did you last miss or renegotiate a commitment? What did you say, and to whom?
3. Tell me about the last time you shipped something imperfect. What did you cut, keep, or flag?
4. When did you last push back on a senior person? What words did you use?
5. When did you last protect a peer's work from churn? What action did you take?
6. Think of the last surprise request that landed late in the day. Did you absorb it, defer it, delegate it, or decline it?
7. When did your calendar last contradict your stated priorities? What won?
8. Tell me about the last decision you made without escalating. Why did you decide instead of asking?
9. When did you last escalate? What made that situation different?
10. What was the last message you rewrote three times before sending? What were you trying not to say?
11. When did you last choose speed over completeness? What risk did you accept?
12. When did you last choose completeness over speed? What deadline or relationship paid the cost?
13. Tell me about the last meeting you skipped, shortened, or protected. What did that reveal?
14. When did you last disappoint someone intentionally? Why was that the least-bad option?
15. What is the last piece of feedback you ignored? What did you do instead?

Interviewer move

If the answer starts with "I usually" or "I value," interrupt kindly: "Great. What happened the last time?"

Forced-choice dilemmas

Have participants answer these at the start and seal their answers. At the end, the twin answers cold. Compare for correction, not points.

#	Dilemma	Choices	Probes
1	A deck ships Friday. Thursday afternoon you find an unverified claim on slide 12.	A) Ship it and flag verbally B) Cut the slide and ship on time C) Slip the date D) Escalate	Quality bar, date discipline, escalation rule
2	Your manager asks for a quick narrative by EOD. You promised a peer a review by EOD.	A) Do manager first B) Do peer first C) Split both shallowly D) Renegotiate one commitment	Stakeholder table, promise handling
3	An exec asks for a meeting during your only focus block this week.	A) Accept B) Offer async input C) Ask for delegate coverage D) Decline with context	Capacity, seniority pressure, boundaries
4	A customer-facing email is accurate but sounds cold. It is due in 20 minutes.	A) Send as is B) Rewrite for tone C) Ask someone to review D) Delay	Voice bar, risk tolerance, audience handling
5	A teammate proposes an approach you think will fail, but the team is tired.	A) Object now B) Let it run C) Ask one diagnostic question D) Take it offline	Candor, team energy, conflict style
6	You have data that weakens your preferred recommendation.	A) Include it prominently B) Mention it in appendix C) Hold it for Q&A D) Change recommendation	Evidence handling, integrity boundary
7	Two teams disagree and both expect you to choose today.	A) Decide B) Escalate C) Facilitate one more discussion D) Defer	Arbiter behavior, escalation threshold
8	Your calendar is over capacity and a non-urgent meeting has no agenda.	A) Attend B) Decline C) Ask for agenda D) Send async notes	Capacity, meeting boundaries
9	A draft from AI is 80% right and 20% not your voice.	A) Rewrite fully B) Patch the worst parts C) Send with light edits D) Start over manually	Voice standards, efficiency threshold
10	A peer asks for confidential context you are not sure you can share.	A) Share high level B) Decline C) Ask owner first D) Redirect to source	Boundaries, trust, confidentiality
11	You discover a dependency risk that might not materialize.	A) Raise now B) Monitor quietly C) Add a caveat D) Build a fallback	Risk signaling, ambiguity tolerance
12	A project can hit the date only if scope shrinks.	A) Cut scope B) Slip date C) Add people D) Escalate tradeoff	Priority stack, scope/date tiebreaker
13	A broad update could be short and clear or nuanced and long.	A) Short B) Nuanced C) Two-layer summary D) Ask audience preference	Communication style, audience model
14	You get feedback that is partly wrong but politically important.	A) Accept it B) Push back C) Incorporate the useful part D) Ask a third party	Feedback handling, stakeholder sensitivity
15	Your twin recommends something that sounds unlike you but is logically defensible.	A) Keep it B) Patch voice C) Patch decision rule D) Add a boundary	Test behavior, correction strategy