dossier

Research

Structured intelligence dossiers on companies, people, markets, or domains, with source triangulation and fact/inference discipline. Use when preparing a deal-prep dossier, executive briefing, or due-diligence overview.

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Intelligence Dossier

A research skill for producing structured intelligence dossiers — the kind of document a CEO reads before a meeting, a PM reads before market-entry, or an investor reads before due diligence.

When to use this skill

Deal-prep dossier before a major partnership / acquisition meeting
Executive briefing ahead of a board, customer, or regulator meeting
Market-entry analysis for a new geography or vertical
Due-diligence overview for investment or M&A consideration
Competitor profile in depth
Person dossier ahead of executive recruiting or board engagement

Inputs the advisor expects

Subject (company / person / market / domain)
Purpose (deal-prep, due diligence, briefing — affects depth + emphasis)
Audience (exec, board, working team)
Timeline / deadline
Known starting sources
Sensitive areas to dig into

Clarify First

Before building the dossier, confirm these inputs. If any is unknown or vague, ASK — do not assume:

Subject + subject type (company / person / market) — selects the outline template and which sections apply
Purpose (deal-prep, due diligence, briefing, market-entry) — drives depth, emphasis, and the Implications section
Audience (exec, board, working team) — sets altitude and length of the executive summary
Key decision or risk to inform — drives the Risks + Open Questions and Recommendations sections

Stop rule: ask only the 2-3 that most change the output. If the user says "just draft it," proceed and list your assumptions at the top of the artifact.

Workflows

Workflow 1 — Generate dossier outline

Specify subject type + purpose.
Run dossier_outline_generator.py to produce a structured outline tailored to subject + purpose.
Assign owners + research targets per section.

python3 dossier/scripts/dossier_outline_generator.py \
  --subject-type company --purpose deal-prep --format markdown

Workflow 2 — Validate source triangulation

Capture claims with supporting sources.
Run source_triangulation_validator.py to check each claim has multiple independent supporting sources + source reliability.
Flag thinly-sourced claims for additional research.

python3 dossier/scripts/source_triangulation_validator.py \
  --input claims_with_sources.json --format markdown

Workflow 3 — Separate facts from inferences

Capture dossier statements.
Run fact_inference_separator.py to classify each statement and flag unsupported inferences.

python3 dossier/scripts/fact_inference_separator.py \
  --input dossier_statements.json --format markdown

Decision frameworks

The dossier hierarchy

A useful structure for any dossier:

Executive summary (1 page, lead with takeaway)
Subject overview (facts: what they are)
Context (market, history, environment)
Capabilities + assets (what they can do)
People + leadership (who runs it)
Performance + trajectory (numbers, trends)
Relationships + ecosystem (who they're with)
Risks + open questions (what we don't know)
Implications + recommendations (so what)
Sources + methodology (how we know)

Fact vs inference discipline

Three categories per statement:

Category	Definition	Example
Fact	Verifiable, sourced	"Founded 2018; HQ in Chicago"
Inference	Reasoned from facts	"Likely targeting enterprise segment based on hiring pattern"
Speculation	No supporting evidence	"Might pivot to AI next year"

A trustworthy dossier separates these clearly. Mixing them = loss of credibility.

Source reliability scoring (Admiralty Code adapted)

Reliability	Code	Description
Completely reliable	A	Established, history of completely reliable info
Usually reliable	B	History of mostly reliable info
Fairly reliable	C	History of reliable info with notable errors
Not usually reliable	D	Limited history; mixed accuracy
Unreliable	E	Known for inaccurate info
Cannot be judged	F	New / unknown source

Information credibility	Code	Description
Confirmed	1	Confirmed by other independent sources
Probably true	2	Not confirmed; consistent with other info
Possibly true	3	Not confirmed; reasonable but unsupported
Doubtful	4	Inconsistent with other info
Improbable	5	Contradicted by other info
Cannot be judged	6	New info; no validation possible

A "B-2" rated claim is "usually reliable source, probably true" — workable. An "F-6" claim is "unknown source, unverified" — barely worth including.

Triangulation principle

For each significant claim:

1 source: anecdotal; flag explicitly
2 independent sources: workable (most dossier claims should reach this)
3+ independent sources: confirmed; safe to assert

"Independent" means not derived from the same underlying source. Two news articles citing the same press release ≠ 2 independent sources.

Common engagements

"Build a dossier on company X before our acquisition meeting"

Run outline generator (subject=company, purpose=deal-prep).
Pull: financials, leadership, products, customers, IP, tech stack, regulatory posture.
Identify red flags: undisclosed litigation, key person dependencies, customer concentration, regulatory risk.
Recommendations: questions to ask in meeting; deal structure implications.

"Executive briefing for senator's office meeting"

Run outline (subject=person/organization, purpose=briefing).
Pull: voting record, recent statements, committee assignments, donor profile, alignment with our position.
Anticipate likely questions; prepare positions.

"Market-entry analysis for [country]"

Run outline (subject=market, purpose=market-entry).
Pull: market size, growth, competitive landscape, regulatory, distribution, cultural / business norms, talent.
Compare entry options (direct, partner, acquisition).

Anti-patterns to avoid

Mixing facts + inferences without labels. Reader can't calibrate trust.
Single-source claims presented as confirmed. Anecdote dressed as data.
Unsourced "everyone knows" claims. Often turn out wrong.
Padding with low-relevance facts. Bloated dossier loses signal.
Burying risks at the end. Risks should be surfaced upfront.
No update mechanism. Stale dossier on important subject = bad decisions.
Adversarial language about subject. Bias erodes credibility.

References

references/dossier-frameworks-and-structure.md — outline patterns per subject type
references/source-triangulation-and-reliability.md — source assessment, triangulation
references/fact-vs-inference-discipline.md — categorization + writing patterns

Related skills

research/litreview — academic literature search
c-level-advisor/ceo-advisor — strategic briefing patterns
c-level-advisor/general-counsel-advisor — legal due diligence overlap
marketing/competitive-teardown — competitive intel angle
business-growth/customer-success-manager — account research patterns