altitude-horizon-framework
Understand the PM-to-Director transition through altitude and horizon thinking. Use when diagnosing scope, time-horizon, or leadership-level gaps.
npx skills add deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills --skill altitude-horizon-framework --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
## Purpose Defines the two-axis mental model that distinguishes Director-level thinking from PM thinking: **Altitude** (how wide you zoom out) and **Horizon** (how far ahead you look). Use this to understand what actually changes in the transition, diagnose which transition zone is creating friction, and apply the Cascading Context Map when organizational direction is vague or absent. This is not a seniority hierarchy. A PM operating at the right altitude for their role is doing excellent work. A Director operating at PM altitude is leaving their actual job undone. ## Input **Nothing required** — this is a reference framework you can read start to finish. **Also useful:** Your current situation (role, the transition friction you're feeling, a decision you're weighing). With that, the framework can be applied directly to diagnose which transition zone you're in. Anything supplied with the invocation itself — text after the skill name, a pasted context dump, or an appended `ARGUMENTS:` line — counts as answers already given. Use it and skip whatever it covers; don't re-ask. **Arriving empty-handed? That works too.** Read it as a mental model; pair it with `director-readiness-advisor`
- Purpose
- Input
- Key Concepts
- The Two Axes
- The Waiter vs. Restaurant Operator
- Four Transition Zones
- Named Failure Modes
- The Cascading Context Map
- Application
- Using This Framework as a PM (Pre-Transition)
- Using This Framework as a Newly Promoted Director
- Running a Cascading Context Map
- Examples
- Good: Director Creates Clarity from a Vague Company Priority
What does the altitude-horizon-framework skill do?
Understand the PM-to-Director transition through altitude and horizon thinking. Use when diagnosing scope, time-horizon, or leadership-level gaps.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills --skill altitude-horizon-framework --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills, a repository with 6,255 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.