1 min lesson
The true / specific / quantified gate
Use "The true / specific / quantified gate" to explain each part and the role it plays.
Step 1 of 3
The true / specific / quantified gate
Run each story through three filters before it goes in your kit. Most stories fail on specificity - they describe a category of work instead of one Tuesday when you did the thing.
Gate every behavioral story
- True
- It happened, you can name the people and the system and the follow-up won't expose a stretch.
- Specific
- One incident with a date-shaped texture, not a vague account of what the team generally does. Name the people, tools and exact decision.
- Quantified
- At least one number - match rate, hours saved, time-to-route, leads handled - stated as a delta.
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Advanced table
Find your weakest stage and fix it
Find your weakest stage and fix it
You don't get to choose where you're weak, but you do get to choose what you drill last. Score yourself honestly across the loop and spend your remaining time on the lowest box, not the one that's already comfortable.
- Stage
- Screen
- Strong looks like
- 90-sec system story + grounded 'why Cursor'.
- If this is your weakest, drill
- Re-record the 90 seconds until it lands without notes.
- Stage
- Live design
- Strong looks like
- Capture→measure spine, tradeoffs out loud, a primitive.
- If this is your weakest, drill
- Whiteboard three different prompts cold, AI-barred, on a timer.
- Stage
- Practical build
- Strong looks like
- Survives the four failures; one guarded AI step.
- If this is your weakest, drill
- Rebuild the sample flow and break it on purpose.
- Stage
- Data drill
- Strong looks like
- Right grain, NULLs handled, honest limits.
- If this is your weakest, drill
- Write the dedup + funnel query from a blank editor twice.
- Stage
- Values
- Strong looks like
- True/specific/quantified, survives follow-ups.
- If this is your weakest, drill
- Have a friend hammer your stories with the follow-up column.
| Stage | Strong looks like | If this is your weakest, drill |
|---|---|---|
| Screen | 90-sec system story + grounded 'why Cursor'. | Re-record the 90 seconds until it lands without notes. |
| Live design | Capture→measure spine, tradeoffs out loud, a primitive. | Whiteboard three different prompts cold, AI-barred, on a timer. |
| Practical build | Survives the four failures; one guarded AI step. | Rebuild the sample flow and break it on purpose. |
| Data drill | Right grain, NULLs handled, honest limits. | Write the dedup + funnel query from a blank editor twice. |
| Values | True/specific/quantified, survives follow-ups. | Have a friend hammer your stories with the follow-up column. |
Rank the five honestly; your last 48 hours belong to the bottom two.