--- name: csuite-agent-protocol source: https://app.decimal.ai/s/csuite-agent-protocol@1/SKILL.md source_sha256: b08fd1ce1bcd --- # C-Suite Inter-Agent Protocol ## Contract When C-suite advisor agents query each other or coordinate multi-agent analysis, every inter-agent message is a **literal bracketed token**, never prose and never a self-invented shape. Apply whenever one agent asks another for input, replies to a query, blocks a call, records an assumption, surfaces a conflict, broadcasts, or annotates a call chain. ## Rules (the complete token surface) ### R1 — Invocation One agent queries another on a single line: `[INVOKE:role|question]` - Square brackets wrap the whole thing. Literal uppercase word `INVOKE`, a colon, the lowercase role token, a `|` pipe, then the question text. Nothing before or after the brackets on that line. ### R2 — Role tokens (fixed, lowercase, exactly these 14) `ceo`, `cfo`, `cro`, `cmo`, `cpo`, `cto`, `chro`, `coo`, `ciso`, `gc`, `cdo`, `caio`, `cco`, `vpe`. Map the job to the token — never invent a name like `finance` or `FinanceAgent`: | Job | Token | Job | Token | |---|---|---|---| | CEO | `ceo` | security / infosec | `ciso` | | finance | `cfo` | legal / general counsel | `gc` | | revenue / sales | `cro` | data / data strategy | `cdo` | | marketing | `cmo` | AI / ML / evals | `caio` | | product | `cpo` | customer success / retention | `cco` | | technology | `cto` | VP of Engineering / delivery | `vpe` | | people / HR | `chro` | operations | `coo` | ### R3 — Response The invoked agent answers wrapped in tags, with these EXACT labels in THIS order: ``` [RESPONSE:role] Key finding: Supporting data: - - Confidence: Caveat: [/RESPONSE] ``` - `[RESPONSE:role]` opens, `[/RESPONSE]` closes. - The four labels are `Key finding:`, `Supporting data:`, `Confidence:`, `Caveat:` — in that order, spelled exactly. - `Supporting data:` carries at least one ` - ` bullet. - `Confidence:` value is exactly one of `high`, `medium`, `low` — no synonyms ("strong", "fairly sure", percentages). ### R4 — Loop prevention (hard, unconditional) - **No self-invocation:** an agent never emits `[INVOKE:|...]`. - **Max depth 2:** chains may go A→B→C; the third hop onward is blocked. - **No circular calls:** if A called B in this chain, B cannot invoke A back. - A blocked call emits, INSTEAD of invoking: `[BLOCKED: cannot invoke — ]` then states the fallback as `[ASSUMPTION: ]`. - Annotate the path with `[CHAIN: cro → cfo → coo]` (lowercase tokens, ` → ` separators). ### R5 — Other tokens - Unverified figure: `[ASSUMPTION: — not verified with ]`. - Disagreement between two agents: `[CONFLICT: says X; says Y]` — surface it; never silently adopt one side. - CEO fan-out to every role at once: `[BROADCAST:all|question]` (literal `all`, then a pipe). ### R6 — Isolation phases - **Independent-analysis phase:** NO invocations at all; each role forms its own view first. If a role needs another's data, it records `[ASSUMPTION: ...]` instead of invoking. - **Critique phase:** an agent may *reference* another role's output in prose but may NOT `[INVOKE:...]` it. ## Worked examples (BEFORE = base default → AFTER = conforming) ### R1/R2 — Invocation + role token - Task: revenue agent asks finance agent whether hiring 5 engineers next quarter is affordable. - BEFORE: `Hey CFO, can we afford to hire 5 engineers next quarter?` - AFTER: `[INVOKE:cfo|Can we afford to hire 5 engineers next quarter?]` - Task: CEO agent asks the HR agent for typical senior-engineer time-to-hire. - BEFORE: `@HR what's our usual time-to-hire for senior engineers?` - AFTER: `[INVOKE:chro|What is our typical time-to-hire for senior engineers?]` - Task: CEO agent asks the AI agent for eval coverage on the new model. - BEFORE: `[INVOKE:ai|eval coverage?]` (invented token `ai`) - AFTER: `[INVOKE:caio|What is the eval coverage and hallucination rate on the new model?]` ### R3 — Response format - Task: finance agent replies about runway impact of hiring 5 engineers. - BEFORE: ``` Hiring 5 engineers cuts runway from 14 to 9 months. I'm fairly confident, though it assumes a 3-month ramp. ``` - AFTER: ``` [RESPONSE:cfo] Key finding: Hiring 5 engineers in Q3 cuts runway from 14 to 9 months at current burn. Supporting data: - Monthly burn rises ~$280K → ~$380K fully loaded - ~$1.2M additional ARR needed within 12 months to offset Confidence: medium Caveat: Assumes a 3-month ramp and no change in revenue trajectory. [/RESPONSE] ``` ### R4 — No self-invocation - Task: finance agent is missing verified runway data mid-analysis; its only source is itself. - BEFORE: `[INVOKE:cfo|What's our exact current runway?]` (an agent calling itself) - AFTER: ``` [BLOCKED: cannot invoke cfo — self-invocation not allowed] [ASSUMPTION: runway ~12 months based on a typical Series A burn profile — not verified with cfo] ``` ### R4 — Depth limit - Task: chain is `cro → cfo → coo`; the operations agent wants to pull in HR for a 4th hop. - BEFORE: `[INVOKE:chro|What's the comp budget for these hires?]` - AFTER: ``` [BLOCKED: cannot invoke chro — chain already at depth 2 (cro → cfo → coo)] [ASSUMPTION: senior-eng comp ~$210K fully loaded based on market mid-point — not verified with chro] ``` ### R4 — Circular call - Task: revenue agent invoked finance agent; finance now wants to ask revenue back. - BEFORE: `[INVOKE:cro|What's the committed pipeline this quarter?]` - AFTER: ``` [BLOCKED: cannot invoke cro — circular call; cro is already upstream in this chain] [ASSUMPTION: committed pipeline ~$3M based on last quarter's close rate — not verified with cro] ``` ### R4 — Chain annotation - Task: record that an invocation went revenue → finance → operations. - BEFORE: `Chain so far: Revenue Agent, then Finance, then Ops` - AFTER: `[CHAIN: cro → cfo → coo]` ### R5 — Assumption - Task: an agent must use an unverified ~12-month runway figure in a budget analysis. - BEFORE: `Assuming runway is about 12 months...` - AFTER: `[ASSUMPTION: runway ~12 months based on a typical Series A profile — not verified with cfo]` ### R5 — Conflict - Task: finance projects 14-month runway; revenue's pipeline implies 18+ months. - BEFORE: `The runway is 18+ months once pipeline closes.` (silently picks one) - AFTER: `[CONFLICT: cfo says ~14-month runway; cro says pipeline close implies 18+ months]` ### R5 — Broadcast - Task: CEO wants every role to assess the impact of a missed fundraise at once. - BEFORE: `Everyone: what happens if we miss the raise?` - AFTER: `[BROADCAST:all|What is the impact if we miss the fundraise?]` ## Edge cases & exceptions - **Two-message exchanges** (query + reply): emit the `[INVOKE:role|...]` line first, then the full `[RESPONSE:role] ... [/RESPONSE]` block — both conform independently. - **Need data during the independent-analysis phase:** do NOT invoke; record an `[ASSUMPTION: ...]` and continue. Invocations resume only after that phase. - **Critique phase:** reference another role's output in prose ("the cfo projection assumes X") but never `[INVOKE:...]` mid-critique. - **Question contains a pipe character:** the FIRST `|` after the role token is the delimiter; the rest of the line is the question verbatim. - **A blocked call still owes an answer:** `[BLOCKED: ...]` alone is incomplete — it must be followed by the `[ASSUMPTION: ...]` fallback so the analysis still proceeds. - **Confidence is genuinely uncertain:** still pick exactly `low` — never write "unknown", "TBD", or a percentage. ## Do / Don't - DO write `[INVOKE:cfo|...]`. DON'T write `INVOKE cfo: ...`, `@cfo`, or prose. - DO use the lowercase token (`cfo`). DON'T use `CFO`, `finance`, `FinanceAgent`, or `cfo-advisor`. - DO close every response with `[/RESPONSE]`. DON'T leave the block open or use `[END]`. - DO set `Confidence:` to `high`/`medium`/`low`. DON'T write "very high", "80%", or "pretty sure". - DO emit `[BLOCKED: ...]` + `[ASSUMPTION: ...]` when a call is barred. DON'T silently invoke anyway. - DO surface disagreement with `[CONFLICT: ...]`. DON'T quietly choose one side. - DO keep the four response labels in order. DON'T reorder, rename, or drop `Caveat:`. ## Common mistakes (the base's wrong defaults) 1. Answering or asking in **prose** instead of the bracketed tokens. 2. Inventing role names (`finance`, `HR`, `engineering`) instead of the fixed tokens. 3. Uppercasing the token (`[INVOKE:CFO|...]`). 4. Putting `Confidence:` outside the `high|medium|low` vocabulary. 5. Reordering or omitting the response labels, or skipping the closing `[/RESPONSE]`. 6. Silently invoking itself / a 4th hop / an upstream agent instead of emitting `[BLOCKED]`. 7. Picking a winner on conflicting answers instead of emitting `[CONFLICT: ...]`. 8. Using a space or comma instead of the `|` pipe between role and question. ## Quick checklist - [ ] Inter-agent message is a bracketed token, not prose. - [ ] Role is one of the 14 lowercase tokens. - [ ] Invocation is `[INVOKE:role|question]` on one line. - [ ] Response uses `[RESPONSE:role] ... [/RESPONSE]` with the four labels in order. - [ ] `Confidence:` is exactly `high`, `medium`, or `low`. - [ ] Barred calls emit `[BLOCKED: ...]` + `[ASSUMPTION: ...]`. - [ ] Conflicts use `[CONFLICT: ...]`; broadcasts use `[BROADCAST:all|...]`; chains use `[CHAIN: ...]`.