Agents: hire, delegate and supervise|INEMA.CLUB-PRO

Lesson 4 · 20 min

Authority limits: green, yellow, red

Every company has authority limits for people: how much discount a salesperson can give, the amount from which a manager signs. At Horizonte, Hora got unlimited authority: any discount, any amount, no record. In this lesson you decide, action by action, what the agent does on its own, what it prepares for you to approve, and what it passes along without touching.

Start the lesson
Over a manager's shoulder: a monitor with a panel split into three zones, green, amber and red; a phone on the desk.

In this lesson you will

  1. 1Give authority limits by action, not by agent
  2. 2Choose the color by risk: amount, reversibility, effect outside the company
  3. 3Tie the approval to the exact content and a deadline
  4. 4Require a record of every action and an off switch

Goal: decide, action by action, what the agent does on its own, what it prepares for you to approve, and what it passes along, with an approver and a record.

01Three colors, five levels

Each action the agent takes falls into a color. The color comes from the risk, not from how much you like the agent. Tap each band.

Click each block in the diagram to see what it does.

Levels 0 to 4 of the Gestoria method (INEMA). The agent's overall level is just a summary: what rules is the color of each action. Horizonte values: fictional study policy.

02Four rules of authority limits

They fix three failures from the lab: F5 (discount with no cap), F7 (no record or approval above R$ 5 thousand) and F9 (email that sends and deletes without approval).

1. By action, by risk

For each action, ask: how much does it cost if it goes wrong? Can it be undone cheaply? Does it leave the company (customer, supplier, bank)? Does it touch personal data? Three easy answers: green. Any heavy one: yellow. Irreversible or expensive: red.

A rule with no exceptions: nothing irreversible in green, no matter how routine it looks.

F5 fixed (fictional policy)Discount up to 5%: green. From 5% to 10%: yellow, Patrícia approves. Above 10%: red, Hora does not offer it; Patrícia takes it to Carlos if she wants.

03Template to copy: authority matrix

One line per action. Paste it into a spreadsheet or document; the next tab shows Hora's filled in.

Matrix of action × risk × approval × owner
MATRIZ DE ALÇADA · <agent> · version <1.0> · owner: <name> · review: <date>

| Action (verb + object) | Tool and mode | Risk if it goes wrong | Color and level | Condition / limit | Approval (who · on what · deadline) | Owner | Reversal | Log |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <answer a catalog question> | <catalog · read> | <low> | green · 3 | <current catalog only> | waived | <name> | <correction message> | yes |
| <create order> | <orders app · write> | <medium> | green · 3 | <up to R$ X, registered customer> | waived within the limit | <name> | <cancel before picking> | yes |
| <create order above the limit> | <app · draft> | <high> | yellow · 2 | <above R$ X> | <name> · exact order · <deadline> | <name> | <do not pick> | yes |
| <grant discount> | <app · write> | <margin> | green up to <a%> · yellow up to <b%> · red above | <by range> | <name> | <name> | <re-invoice> | yes |
| <irreversible action> | <...> | <high> | red · 0-1 | never by the agent | <name> decides and does it | <name> | - | yes |

OFF SWITCH: who <names> · how <where to click> · who takes over <name> · tested on <date>
RULE: nothing irreversible in green. If the content changes, new approval.
LOCKS OUTSIDE THE TEXT (ask IT): <limits the tool enforces on its own>
Prompt · find the forgotten action
You are a process auditor. Below are the job sheet and the authority
matrix of an AI agent. Do not rewrite anything: point out risks.

1. List actions its tools allow that are not in the matrix.
2. Point out any action in green that cannot be undone cheaply.
3. Point out approvals with no deadline or that don't say what they cover.
4. Say whether anyone approves their own work (whoever enters it doesn't approve it).

Job sheet:
"""<paste>"""
Matrix:
"""<paste>"""
Simulation: illustrative example

Hora · matrix v1.0 · Horizonte, fictional study company · owner: Patrícia

  • Answer catalog and delivery questions · green · reversal: correction message.
  • Look up the record of the customer in the conversation · green, read-only · never another customer's.
  • Create an order up to R$ 5,000, registered customer, list price · green (starts yellow at integration) · reversal: cancel before picking.
  • Discount · up to 5% green · 5% to 10% yellow (Patrícia, on the spot) · above 10% red (Hora does not offer it; passes it to Patrícia, and only Carlos approves).
  • Order above R$ 5,000 · yellow · Patrícia approves the exact order within 2 business hours.
  • Register a new customer · red · Juliana checks the CNPJ.
  • Mark an order as paid · red · finance only, in the ERP.
  • Send email through the assistant · yellow · delete email · red.

Logged on every action. Off switch: Patrícia or Rafael; Juliana takes over.

04Practice

Hora's matrix fixes two failures from the lab; yours applies to your agent.

1 · Hora's matrix

30 min

Open Hora's setup in the lab and list everything its tools allow. Build the matrix with the template, one line per action. Then run conversations c-201, c-202 and c-203 through the matrix and write down, for each one, what would have happened. Bonus: the email assistant's lines.

Done when: the matrix has at least 8 actions, none irreversible in green, discount in three ranges with numbers, the line for orders above R$ 5 thousand with approver and deadline, a log on every line, the off switch with names, and all three conversations run through the matrix.

2 · Your agent's matrix

30 min

Build the matrix for the agent in your job sheet. Ask your IT person (or the vendor) for the list of everything its tools can do, not just what you plan to use. Run the forgotten-action prompt and decide on every point it raises.

Done when: the matrix is saved with every action the tools allow, each with color, approver, owner and reversal, and you can say who presses the off switch and who takes over the work.

Lab pieces: WhatsApp agent (F5, F7) and email assistant (F9).

05Quick quiz

5 questions. The explanation appears after your attempt.

Question 1 of 5

Canceling an order the agent judged to be a duplicate is quick and happens every week. What color is it?

06Summary

Color per actionGreen does it and logs it, yellow prepares it for approval, red hands it off.
Risk decidesValue, reversibility, effect outside the company, personal data. Nothing irreversible in green.
Exact approvalContent, version and deadline. If it changes, approve again.
Log and off switchIts own minimal access, every action logged, button tested.

Go further

Horizonte Lab: Hora setup (fictional study company)Horizonte Lab: email assistant (F9)Super-Agents in practice: how far the agent can go
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