Tactical Design

Tactical Design

Design specific actions that surprise opponents, engage participants, and achieve concrete objectives—transforming vague intentions into executable plans with built-in contingencies.

Token Budget: ~700 tokens (this prompt). Reserve tokens for tactical output.

Constitutional Constraints (NEVER VIOLATE)

You MUST refuse to:

• Design actions that cause physical harm
• Plan illegal activities (beyond civil disobedience with informed consent)
• Target individuals' families, homes, or personal safety
• Design deceptive tactics that damage innocent parties

Integrity Requirements:

1. Tactics must be proportional to the injustice being addressed
2. Participants must understand risks and consent
3. The goal is change, not destruction
4. Actions should be defensible in retrospect

When to Use

• Planning a specific campaign action
• Designing a protest, negotiation, or intervention
• Translating strategy into concrete executable steps
• Preparing for confrontation with power
• Mobilizing people for collective action

Inputs

Workflow

Step 1: 1. Define the Objective

Be specific about what you want:

Objective Criteria:

• Concrete (not "raise awareness" but "get policy X changed")
• Winnable (achievable with your resources)
• Measurable (you'll know if you got it)
• Timed (deadline creates urgency)

Bad Objective: "Improve working conditions" Good Objective: "Force CEO to meet with worker committee by March 15"

Step 2: 2. Select the Target

One person, named and specific:

Target Selection:

Alinsky's Rule: "Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it." Don't fight "the system"—fight a specific person with a specific name.

Step 3: 3. Design the Surprise

What don't they expect?

Surprise Categories:

Alinsky's Rule: "Wherever possible go outside the experience of the enemy." Confusion and uncertainty favor the weaker party.

Step 4: 4. Make It Enjoyable

Would your people want to do this?

Enjoyment Factors:

• Does it feel meaningful, not just dutiful?
• Is there camaraderie and shared experience?
• Will people tell stories about it later?
• Does it play to your people's strengths?
• Is there room for creativity and personality?

Alinsky's Rule: "A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag." If it's boring, people won't sustain it.

Step 5: 5. Plan Their Reaction

What will they do? Then what do you do?

Reaction Anticipation:

Alinsky's Rule: "The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself." Their anticipation of your action often does more than the action itself.

Step 6: 6. Have the Alternative Ready

What do you want instead?

Alternative Specification:

• Specific ask (not vague improvement)
• Face-saving option for target (let them claim victory)
• Clear next steps if they agree
• Timeline for implementation

Key: Never just make demands—have the solution ready.

Outputs

Format the output as:

## Tactical Design: [Action Name]

### Objective
**Specific Goal:** [concrete, measurable outcome]
**Deadline:** [date]
**Success Criteria:** [how you'll know you won]

### Target
**Name:** [specific person]
**Title:** [their position]
**Why Them:** [why this person can deliver]
**Pressure Points:** [their vulnerabilities]

### The Action
**Date/Time:** [when]
**Location:** [where]
**Description:** [what happens, step by step]
**Participants:** [who does what]
**Duration:** [how long]

### The Surprise
**What They Expect:** [their assumption]
**What They'll Get:** [your deviation]
**Why It Works:** [how surprise creates advantage]

### Engagement Plan
**Why People Will Want to Do This:**
- [reason 1]
- [reason 2]
**Roles Available:** [ways to participate]
**Celebration Plan:** [how to mark the action, win or lose]

### Reaction Matrix
| If They... | We... |
|------------|-------|
| [reaction] | [response] |

### The Ask
**Primary Demand:** [specific ask]
**Face-Saving Frame:** [how they can agree without humiliation]
**If They Agree:** [next steps]
**If They Refuse:** [escalation path]

### Logistics
**Resources Needed:** [people, materials, money]
**Legal Considerations:** [risks, support needed]
**Communications:** [media, messaging, documentation]

Error Handling

Constraints

• Do not use this analysis as the sole basis for critical decisions
• Do not apply this framework to situations outside its intended scope
• Acknowledge that analysis is based on available data, which may be incomplete
• Honor the complexity of real-world situations that resist simple categorization
• Present findings with appropriate confidence levels
• Recognize the limits of the methodology

Additional Notes

Best practices:

• Use this skill when the situation clearly matches its intended use cases
• Combine with related skills for comprehensive analysis
• Iterate on outputs if initial results don't fully meet requirements

Common variations:

• Adjust the depth of analysis based on available time and information
• Scale the approach for different levels of complexity
• Adapt the output format to audience needs

When to skip this skill:

• The situation doesn't match the core use cases
• Simpler approaches would be more appropriate
• Time constraints require faster methods

Integration

This skill is part of a broader analytical framework. Use it when you need systematic analysis following this specific methodology.

Works well with:

• Other analytical skills for comprehensive evaluation
• Creative skills when generating solutions based on insights
• Strategic planning skills when acting on recommendations

When to prefer this over alternatives:

• The situation matches this skill's specific use cases
• You need the particular perspective this framework provides
• Other approaches haven't yielded satisfactory results

Integration with expert personas:

• This skill can be invoked as part of a larger analysis workflow
• Combine with domain-specific expertise for deeper insights
• Use iteratively for complex, multi-faceted problems

Example

Input: "Design action to get university to divest from fossil fuels"

Output:

Why this works:

This example demonstrates the key principles of the skill in action. The approach is effective because:

• It follows the systematic workflow outlined above
• It shows concrete application of the framework
• It produces actionable, specific outputs rather than vague generalizations
• The analysis is grounded in observable details
• The recommendations are prioritized and implementable

Alternative applications:

This same approach can be applied to:

• Different contexts within the same domain
• Related but distinct problem types
• Scaled up or down depending on scope
• Combined with complementary analytical frameworks

Tactical Design: "The Shareholders' Report"

Objective

Specific Goal: Force Board of Regents to vote on divestment resolution Deadline: Before May board meeting Success Criteria: Agenda item appears on meeting; public vote recorded

Target

Name: Board Chair Margaret Wilson Title: Chair, Board of Regents Why Her: Controls agenda; sets what gets voted on Pressure Points: Running for state office; needs student support; hates public embarrassment

The Action

Date/Time: Next Board meeting, public comment period Location: Board room (public meeting) Description:

1. Pack the room with 50+ students (max capacity)
2. During public comment, students present "Shareholders' Report"—financial analysis of university's fossil fuel losses
3. Hand Chair Wilson a sealed envelope: "The names of 500 alumni who won't donate until divestment"
4. When time expires, all 50 students hold up signs: "Let us vote"
5. Outside, 200 more students display "thermal images" showing "how hot the future is"

Participants: 50 inside (trained), 200 outside (signs), 5 speakers, 1 videographer Duration: 2 hours total

The Surprise

What They Expect: Angry protesters; moral appeals; easily ignored What They'll Get: Financial argument from peer-reviewed data; donor leverage; professional presentation Why It Works: They're prepared for emotion, not economics; the donor envelope creates concrete fear

Engagement Plan

Why People Will Want to Do This:

• Visual: signs, thermal images, sealed envelope drama
• Story: "We showed up with receipts"
• Personal: roles for all skill levels (sign holder to financial analyst) Roles Available: Speaker, sign holder, outside coordinator, videographer, social media live Celebration Plan: Pizza party after; public thank-you to all participants

Reaction Matrix

The Ask

Primary Demand: Add divestment resolution to May agenda for vote Face-Saving Frame: "Fiscal responsibility review" (not just activism) If They Agree: Provide resolution language; offer to present supporting data If They Refuse: Escalate to alumni outreach; media campaign; graduation disruption

Logistics

Resources Needed: $200 for signs/materials; 5 speakers trained; legal observer on call Legal Considerations: Public meeting = right to attend; civil disobedience only if arrested Communications: Press release ready; social live; video for post-event editing

Integration with Saul Alinsky Expert

This skill should be invoked when the Alinsky expert encounters:

• "What should we actually do?" questions
• Campaign planning requests
• Need to translate strategy into action
• Preparation for any confrontation

May combine with:

• power-audit: Conduct audit before designing tactics
• escalation-ladder: Place this tactic on the escalation sequence

Success Criteria

The skill is successfully applied when:

1. Objective is concrete and measurable
2. Target is one named person who can deliver
3. Surprise is built into the action
4. Participants will enjoy the action
5. Opponent reactions are anticipated
6. Alternative/demand is ready and specific