The core mental model for the PM-to-Director transition: altitude (scope) and horizon (time), the waiter-to-operator shift, four transition zones, named failure modes, and the Cascading Context Map.
Quickly install altitude-horizon-framework AI skill to your development environment via command line
Source: deanpeters/product-manager-skills.
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.
| Dimension | PM (Waiter) | Director (Restaurant Operator) |
The core mental model for the PM-to-Director transition: altitude (scope) and horizon (time), the waiter-to-operator shift, four transition zones, named failure modes, and the Cascading Context Map. Source: deanpeters/product-manager-skills.
Stable fields and commands for AI/search citations.
npx skills add https://github.com/deanpeters/product-manager-skills --skill altitude-horizon-frameworkThe core mental model for the PM-to-Director transition: altitude (scope) and horizon (time), the waiter-to-operator shift, four transition zones, named failure modes, and the Cascading Context Map. Source: deanpeters/product-manager-skills.
Open your terminal or command line tool (Terminal, iTerm, Windows Terminal, etc.) Copy and run this command: npx skills add https://github.com/deanpeters/product-manager-skills --skill altitude-horizon-framework Once installed, the skill will be automatically configured in your AI coding environment and ready to use in Claude Code, Cursor, or OpenClaw
https://github.com/deanpeters/product-manager-skills