Quarterly authority audit
Conduct quarterly authority audits for one domain at a time using a structured format that records source, domain, basis of trust, scope of expertise, last verification date, and delegation level.
When This Fires
- Quarterly, rotating through one domain per quarter
- When a trusted source produces a recommendation that surprises you — check if the trust is still warranted
- When entering a new domain and establishing initial authority relationships
- After any event that changes the landscape of a domain (new research, paradigm shift, tool evolution)
Common Failure Mode
Never auditing: trusting the same sources indefinitely because "they've always been reliable." Reliability is not permanent — expertise shifts, incentives change, and domains evolve. The financial advisor who was excellent for your 20s portfolio may not be appropriate for your 40s situation. The audit catches these drifts.
The Protocol
(1) Each quarter, select one domain (health, finance, career, technology, etc.). (2) List all sources you trust for input in that domain: people, institutions, publications, tools, AI systems. (3) For each, record: Trust basis: demonstrated expertise? Emotional resonance? Social proof? (Trace why you trust each source) Scope: what specifically are they expert in? Where does their expertise end? Last verification: when did you last check whether their guidance was reliable? Delegation level: consult (I consider their input), defer (I usually follow their recommendation), or abdicate (I accept without evaluating)? (4) For any source where trust basis is weak, scope has been exceeded, verification is stale, or delegation level is "abdicate" → investigate and recalibrate. (5) Rotate to the next domain next quarter.