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Cole — the blunt, calm-company opinion post

Cole — the blunt, calm-company opinion post

A blog-writing style skill that makes an AI agent write in the blunt, calm-company opinion voice of Jason Fried: a plain title that takes a position, a first line that disagrees with something the industry takes for granted, short declarative sentences with almost no hedging, one everyday analogy carried through, the writer's own company practice as the evidence, and a short flat ending. 200 to 800 words. It works on any business topic. The skill gives a fingerprint table, a seven-step build, sentence rules, truth rules that forbid invented practices, numbers and emails, a complete example post and a revision pass. It reproduces the moves, never the writer's sentences or titles.

In the voice of Jason Fried

Updated 5 October 2026 · By Sadeq

When to use it

Write a blog post in Cole's voice: the blunt, calm-company opinion post. A plain title that states a position, a first line that disagrees with something the industry takes for granted, 200 to 800 words of short declarative sentences with almost no hedging, one homely analogy carried through, the writer's own company practice as the evidence, and a short flat ending. Use when someone asks for a post "in Cole's style", an opinion piece, a founder's take, a contrarian post about how to run a business, or a post pushing back on a trend. Works for any business topic. Do not use it for tutorials, product announcements dressed as opinion, or when the user has no actual position or practice to stand behind — the voice is only credible when the writer really works that way.

Complete file

SKILL.md

---
name: cole
description: >
  Write a blog post in Cole's voice: the blunt, calm-company opinion post.
  A plain title that states a position, a first line that disagrees with
  something the industry takes for granted, 200 to 800 words of short
  declarative sentences with almost no hedging, one homely analogy carried
  through, the writer's own company practice as the evidence, and a short
  flat ending. Use when someone asks for a post "in Cole's style", an
  opinion piece, a founder's take, a contrarian post about how to run a
  business, or a post pushing back on a trend. Works for any business
  topic. Do not use it for tutorials, product announcements dressed as
  opinion, or when the user has no actual position or practice to stand
  behind — the voice is only credible when the writer really works that way.
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: daena-digital
  version: "1.0"
  collection: blog-style-voices
---

# Cole — the blunt, calm-company opinion post

Cole says what most people in the industry won't, in plain words, and
then shows how their own company does it differently. No hype, no
hedging, no exclamation marks. The confidence comes from practice, not
from volume: "we do it this way, here is why, and it works for us."

Studied from Jason Fried's posts on HEY World. This skill reproduces his
*moves*, never his sentences, titles or phrases.

## When to pick Cole over another voice

- The writer has a clear opinion that runs against the default.
- They actually run their business that way and can say how.
- The reader is a founder, manager or practitioner who is tired of trend
  pieces.

Pick Ezra (the plain essay) when the idea needs to be reasoned out step
by step against objections. Pick Wren for one small reframe with no
company story. Pick Cole when the post is a position plus a practice.

## The fingerprint

| Trait | Cole does | Cole never does |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 200–800 words. Most land between 250 and 500 | Past 1,000. Long means the opinion is not sharp yet |
| Title | A plain statement or a short phrase naming the thing: *"Hiring slower"*, *"The big meeting problem"*. Sometimes a stance with a question mark | Numbers, "How to", "Ultimate", clickbait |
| Opening | Disagreement or a flat observation in the first sentence. Sometimes a real email or question someone sent | Background, a definition, "In today's world" |
| Sentences | Short and declarative. Fragments for emphasis. "That's it." | Qualifier stacks: "arguably", "it could be said", "in some cases" |
| Certainty | States opinions as plain fact. At most one "usually" or "almost" per post, where it is really needed | False balance, or "I think" before every claim |
| Evidence | The writer's own company: how *we* hire, price, plan, ship. One or two concrete details | Studies, surveys, borrowed statistics, other people's case studies |
| Analogy | One homely image — a kitchen, a dinner party, a toolbox, a garden — extended through two or three paragraphs | Several metaphors, sports clichés, war language |
| Formatting | Paragraphs and white space. Italics for one phrase at most | Headings, bullet lists, bold, emoji |
| Tone | Calm, wry, a little impatient with nonsense. Respectful of customers and staff | Angry ranting, mocking named competitors, swearing for effect |
| Ending | Short. A one-line restatement, a plain instruction, or the analogy closed: *"Cook for the guests."* | A summary, a call to action, "What do you think?" |

## How to build the post

1. **Find the position.** Ask the user what they believe about the topic
   that most of their industry gets wrong. Write it in one sentence. If it
   is something everyone already agrees with, there is no Cole post.

2. **Find the practice.** Ask how their business actually does it: a
   rule, a habit, a number they refuse to chase, a thing they stopped
   doing. This is the evidence. Do not invent it.

3. **Open by disagreeing.** First sentence names the common belief and
   rejects it, or states the observation flatly. If a real customer or
   peer asked the question, open with that, briefly.

4. **Say why, in plain terms.** Two or three short paragraphs. Each makes
   one point. Use "you" for the reader and "we" for the company.

5. **Bring in one analogy.** Pick an everyday image that makes the point
   obvious, and carry it for two or three paragraphs. Don't stack a second
   one on top.

6. **Show the practice.** "Here's what we do." One or two specifics: how
   long, how often, what they say no to. Admit the cost honestly in one
   sentence ("It means we grow slower. Fine.").

7. **End flat.** One or two short lines. Restate the position, or close
   the analogy. Then stop. No sign-off, no pitch.

## Sentence-level rules

- **Short words.** "Use", not "leverage". "Help", not "facilitate".
- **Declarative, not tentative.** Cut "I think", "I believe", "arguably"
  unless the doubt is real and the post is better for showing it.
- **Fragments are allowed.** "Not a plan. A guess."
- **Name the thing.** Say "status meeting", not "synchronous alignment
  touchpoint". If the industry has a buzzword, say what it means instead.
- **Criticise habits, not people.** Disagree with an idea or a practice,
  never sneer at a named person or competitor.
- **One opinion per post.** If a second one shows up, save it for another
  post.

## What Cole never licenses

Blunt is not the same as loose with the truth.

- **No invented company practices.** "We don't do sales calls" must be
  true of the user's business. If the user hasn't told you how they work,
  ask.
- **No invented numbers or results.** If the post says "our churn halved",
  the user must have said it. Otherwise, leave numbers out — this voice
  rarely needs them.
- **No invented emails or questions.** A quoted message from a customer or
  founder must be real, or framed openly as a hypothetical.
- **No borrowed titles, sentences or catchphrases** from the writer this
  voice was studied from.

## A short illustration

A complete Cole post for a hypothetical accounting firm. The firm and its
rule are invented to show the shape; in a real post the practice must be
the user's own:

> **We don't do year-end rushes**
>
> Every accounting firm has a busy season. Most of them treat it like
> weather. It comes, everyone suffers, it goes.
>
> We think that's a choice.
>
> A year-end rush happens when a year's worth of paperwork arrives in
> three weeks. The work isn't harder in March. There's just more of it at
> once, and tired people make mistakes with other people's money.
>
> It's like hosting a dinner party where every guest arrives at the same
> time and wants dessert first. You can cook faster. Or you can send
> better invitations.
>
> So we send better invitations. Every client gets a short checklist each
> quarter, and we close their books four times a year instead of once.
> By March there's almost nothing left to do.
>
> It costs us something. Some clients don't want quarterly check-ins, and
> they go elsewhere. That's fine. The ones who stay get our full
> attention in March, not what's left of it.
>
> Busy season isn't weather. It's a calendar.

Note what it does: a plain stance in the title, disagreement in the first
lines, one dinner-party analogy carried through, the firm's own practice
as proof, an honest cost, and a flat last line. About 200 words.

## Revision pass

1. Can you state the position in one sentence? Is it something the
   industry actually disagrees with?
2. Is every company practice and number real and from the user?
3. Count the hedges. More than one "usually" or "almost"? Cut.
4. Is there exactly one analogy, carried through rather than dropped?
5. Any headings, bullets, bold, emoji or call to action? Remove them.
6. Is the ending two lines or fewer, with nothing after it?
7. Word count between 200 and 800?

Knowledge base

What we read to learn Jason Fried’s voice

The bespoke software revolution? I'm not buying it.Blunt negation in line one; certainty without hedging; one closing analogy
Mistaking making for the thing you've made~240 words; a restaurant analogy carried to the last line
The joy of delegating to competence~200 words; plain feeling stated without qualification
Marketing is...Best/worst symmetry, fragments for emphasis, circular close
What to do with $2M?Opens on a real email; contrarian advice in short lines; flat ending
A beta is like inviting guests overA homely analogy extended into their own product practice
The big regressionLonger form (~800 words): concrete complaints, then a contrasting example