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#holak-scale
9 posts
← all postsWhere the Holak Scale Fails - Self-Criticism
Every model is a tool, not a truth. Six places where the Holak Scale actually fails when working with teams, plus reader feedback to address in version 3.
Multi-Agent Orchestration - When One Agent Is Enough
Level 10 on the Holak Scale is attractive for a CV, expensive to maintain. A skeptical take on agent teams: when you actually need many, when one well-configured agent wins, and how to spot orchestrating mediocrity.
MCP, CLI or hook - which tool when, and when MCP is overengineering
MCP is a tool, not a status. Each connector is maintenance, risk and attack surface. Criteria for when MCP pays off, when CLI / slash command / hook is better, a decision tree, and the CLI → MCP migration path.
AGENTS.md vs CLAUDE.md vs .cursorrules - Which Context File for What
Three context-file formats for AI agents aren't chaos - each has a niche. What each agent reads, what to put in each, how to keep them in sync, and what not to copy 1:1.
A Prompt Library Is an Anti-Pattern. Yes, the 200-Line One
If you copy prompts from a document, you have a phase-4 problem, not a phase-3 one. Why prompt fetishism is a symptom of stalled evolution, and how to break a 200-line prompt down into custom instructions and project context.
Individual 9, Company 2 - What to Do About AI Maturity Gaps
Most companies measure the maximum instead of the median. How to detect a gap between individual and organisational maturity, how to compute the median, and what to actually do if you're a level-9 engineer in a level-2 company.
AI Adoption Anti-Patterns - 7 Ways to Get Stuck
Most teams don't get stuck because of missing tools - they get stuck on specific patterns of thinking. The seven most common anti-patterns from the Holak Scale, a recognition test, who gets caught, and how to get out.
The Trust Boundary - How to Actually Cross from 8 to 9 on the Holak Scale
The hardest jump on the Holak Scale isn't technical. Verifiability and reversibility as a framework, a readiness checklist, and two case studies - one team that made it, one that dropped back to 2.
How to Diagnose a Team's AI Maturity in 30 Minutes
A concrete protocol for scoring a team on the Holak Scale - 8 calibration questions, 5 minutes of live observation and a one-page report. No surveys, no workshops, no slides.