1:1 — Andrew / Ben (first 1:1) — 2026-06-08

First 1:1 with Andrew (lead). Source: founder-shared AI meeting summary, logged with founder's explicit greenlight ("phData is the main bet — okay to log all of this," 2026-06-08). phData is now treated as the primary bet, not a side bet.

Recap

Status/plans across: dataware gear, training progress, client work (Lionsgate), Anthropic certifications, capabilities documentation (playbooks/runbooks), SDLC + AI/automation workflow, platform-tailored presentations (Snowflake), hiring, referrals, and adapting materials per client. Ended on exploring CAF tools + prepping upcoming presentations/client engagements.

Action items — Ben (track these)

Run CAF on a sample company (Andrew to provide) + experiment with CAF on other use cases before next meeting (Ray-assistable: analysis/prep once template arrives)
Set up 1:1 with Taylan — build working relationship (human)
Connect with Josh Blackhurst re Cloudflare deployment details (Ray-assistable: I have our CF setup — can prep your questions)
Complete DSA training (sent via email) (his learning)
Configure Cortex CLI as shown by Paulo (Ray-assistable if wanted)
Review Anthropic self-healing post when received (his reading)
Reach out to Murray (MLE team, AWS) — relationship (human)
Begin Snowflake certification (note: summary said "architecture certification" — founder's stated target is the specialty; confirm whether architecture is a prereq step or a target change)
Review Snowflake partner portal (access via "Not a member" button) — this is the gate on the Anthropic cert
Practice with provided names for Tue/Wed build-out + demo (Ray-assistable: build assets)
Review "intelligence platform holistically" materials + prepare client-specific versions (Ray-assistable: tailor per vendor)

Action items — Andrew (waiting on)

Send Ben a sample company name + the CAF design template
Share the latest Anthropic self-healing post
Add Ben to relevant lunch & learn / office hours
Share initial artifacts for all capabilities (playbooks) with Ben + Pedro

Strategic threads

CAF → Intelligence Platform → 27 capabilities (= the plugin pattern). The 27 capabilities are part of the Catalyst Assessment Framework (CAF), specifically under its "Intelligence Platform" portion (founder clarification 2026-06-08). "Running CAF" on a company is an assessment motion (Andrew to send a sample company + the CAF design template). The "review intelligence-platform holistically materials" action item is this same portion. Andrew shared a baseline capabilities diagram and wants a playbook for each of the 27 to onboard new team members; Ben is "packaging a generic runbook and related assets." → This is exactly the [[project-rdco-plugin-marketplace|Copilot Studio agent-builder plugin]] pattern (generic runbook + per-deliverable templates per capability, as portable skills developed in ray-plugins and ported to phData's internal Bitbucket). The plugin is the template for all 27 — pitch the skills repo to Andrew as the capability-playbook library. Open dependency: which marketplace repo is canonical (RayDataCo/ray-plugins vs bwilson668/rdco-skills).
Anthropic is the strategic focus. phData now has 8 Anthropic customers, potentially 30 more. Org is steering Ben to focus on the Anthropic side (it opens the phData career ladder more). Large-scale enablement opportunities: Chick-fil-A (with Yamil, possibly Chevy — workshops + FDE-motion/governance support); Bridge Investments (Salt Lake City, ~$35k training revenue).
Salt Lake City hub. Expand presence leveraging Taylor + Josh; possibly recruit 1-2 more to seed a local hub.
SDLC simplification. The 27-step dev process is seen as too complex/unsustainable — needs simplification + tailoring by audience technical level, different workflows for new-feature vs bug-fix/business-logic, ownership assigned per team member, automation where possible. (Mirrors RDCO's own [[feedback-pr-only-workflow|confidence→direct-merge]] evolution — Ben cited the automated-code-review-becomes-unnecessary example.)
AI-assist before AI-first. Clients (Lionsgate) prefer keeping existing processes, then gradually automating. Not enough documented evidence yet for AI-first best practices.
Hiring. 5-6 hires expected before month-end, mostly US leads + seniors. Ben to connect with James Derby + Josh Blackhurst.
Tooling notes: Cortex CLI (Paulo walked Ben through it); ElevenLabs for article→podcast; intelligence-platform presentations to be tailored per platform (Snowflake services mapping).

Certifications — clarified structure (founder, 2026-06-08)

Requirement: one cert passed in first 3 months, one in first 6 months. Order does NOT matter. (Job start 2026-05-26 → ~3mo ≈ 2026-08-26, ~6mo ≈ 2026-11-26.)
Snowflake specialty = easier + quicker.
Anthropic ("Claude Certified Architect – Foundations") = opens the phData career ladder more; org is steering Ben to focus there. Gated on partner-portal access (now being unblocked).
Ray's recommendation: bank the easier/quicker Snowflake specialty first to lock the 3-month requirement cheaply + de-risk, then pour focus into Anthropic for the 6-month window (higher-leverage + org-recommended, longer runway). Counter-consideration: if the org wants visible Anthropic momentum now, Anthropic-first is defensible. Founder's call.
Full path + comp impact: [[project-phdata-cert-escalator-path]] memory + offer-negotiation-framework.md.

[[2026-05-27-claude-certified-architect-foundations-study-plan]]
[[2026-05-30-phdata-work-agent-setup-plan]]
[[milestones]]