Altitude & Horizon Framework (PM → Director)

A reference framework that diagnoses the PM-to-Director transition along two axes — Altitude (how wide you zoom out) and Horizon (how far ahead you look) — and shows how to cascade vague strategy into team clarity.

EducationBeginner★ 7,253⑂ 862AI score 8/10Last updated: Sep 1, 2026

What it does

Two-axis model: separates scope (Altitude) from time (Horizon) so you can tell whether you're operating at PM or Director level.
Four transition zones: thinking altitude, persona shift (users → buyers and market cohorts), Hero Syndrome recovery, and direction creation — with guidance on spotting which one is causing friction.
Named failure modes: Hero Syndrome, Allergic to Process, People-Pleaser Leadership, Instant Gratification Trap, Black-and-White Thinking, each with symptom, cause, and cost.
Cascading Context Map: a six-step process plus a one-page template to translate company priorities down to team accountabilities.
Waiter vs. Restaurant Operator comparison table plus 30/60/90-day moves for newly promoted directors.

Who it's for

Senior PMs preparing for a Director role, or new Directors who sense something isn't clicking.
Managers whose teams are "wandering in the wilderness" because company strategy was never translated.
Product leaders codifying level expectations for coaching and reviews.

Example uses

"Apply the altitude-horizon framework to my situation: senior PM, just inherited two more teams, drowning in delivery detail."
The CEO says only "we're doubling down on enterprise" — run the six-step cascade to assign concrete per-product accountabilities (admin controls, API docs, security certification).
A PM struggles with a difficult stakeholder — swap the rescue response for the coaching response to avoid building dependency.

· · · Install guide · · ·

Try it now, no install

Paste this into Claude to use the skill without installing anything.

Read the instructions in this file and follow them to help me:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills/HEAD/skills/altitude-horizon-framework/SKILL.md

What I want: (describe your task here)

If Claude can't open the link, open it yourself and paste the contents instead.

↓ If it works for you, download the ZIP below and install it. Then it runs on its own — no pasting each time.

Install in the Claude app (no terminal)

Download the ZIP with the button below.
In Claude, open Settings → Capabilities and turn on 'Code execution and file creation'. (one time)
Go to Customize → Skills → + → 'Upload a skill' and upload the ZIP.

↓ Download ZIP

Install in Claude Code

Let Claude do it — paste this into Claude Code

Install the skill I found on Claude Skill Mart.
Copy the skills/altitude-horizon-framework folder from the GitHub repo deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills into my ~/.claude/skills/altitude-horizon-framework/.
When it's done, tell me in one line what this skill can do.

Install with a command instead

git clone https://github.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills.git /tmp/pm-skills && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r /tmp/pm-skills/skills/altitude-horizon-framework ~/.claude/skills/

⚠ This is a third-party skill. Check the source repository before installing.

Open a terminal and clone the repository: git clone https://github.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills.git
Create the skills directory if needed: mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
Copy just this skill: cp -r Product-Manager-Skills/skills/altitude-horizon-framework ~/.claude/skills/
(Recommended) Also copy the companion coaching skill: cp -r Product-Manager-Skills/skills/director-readiness-advisor ~/.claude/skills/
Restart Claude Code and confirm altitude-horizon-framework appears in your skill list.
Invoke it with your context attached for a direct diagnosis, e.g. "Apply the altitude-horizon framework: new Director, 3 PMs, strategy from leadership is vague."

View source on GitHub ↗License: NOASSERTION