The Altitude

Same situation.
Three altitudes.
One move.

Every problem looks different depending on where you're standing. The Altitude shows you all three views — and the principles governing each — so you can make the right call, not just the instinctive one.

You +1 Top

Most people don't make bad decisions because they lack information. They make bad decisions because they're looking at the situation from the wrong altitude. The Altitude is a decision intelligence tool — paste your situation, get three organisational reads, the principles governing each, and one clear recommended move.

◆ Product Purpose
Help anyone who's stuck in a work situation they can't fully see — by showing them how the same problem reads at different levels of the organisation, and what the right move is.
Before
  • You see the situation from where you sit — one altitude, one frame
  • You ask a colleague who has the same blind spots you do
  • You get generic advice that doesn't know your context
  • You make the instinctive call, not the right one
  • Weeks later: "I didn't see how the director was reading this"
After
  • Same situation read from three organisational altitudes in 30 seconds
  • The gap between your read and leadership's read is explicit
  • The principles governing the situation are named and applied
  • Conflicts between principles are surfaced and resolved
  • One recommended move — clear, specific, actionable today
Your altitude
How you're reading the situation
Surfaces how someone at your level naturally reads this — including the blind spots that come with it. This isn't flattery. It's the frame you're in, named honestly, so you can see beyond it.
+1 Level
How the decision authority reads it
The person who needs to approve, sponsor, or own this sees the same situation differently. The tool names what changes — not just who they are, but what shifts in how the problem reads when you go up one floor.
Top of house
How the CEO or equivalent reads it
What's invisible at ground level but obvious from the top. The business or organisational reality they're holding that neither of the lower levels can see clearly. This is where decisions look like different problems entirely.

Every situation activates 2–4 principles from a library spanning delivery, strategy, leadership, and human psychology. They're not listed decoratively — they're selected dynamically based on what's actually happening, then applied specifically to your situation. When two principles conflict, the tool names the conflict and resolves it.

PM / Delivery
Iron Triangle Murphy's Law Brooks' Law Parkinson's Law Hofstadter's Law Pareto (80/20)
Strategy / Leadership
Second-Order Thinking Inversion Occam's Razor Hanlon's Razor Regret Minimisation Gall's Law
Human Psychology
Sunk Cost Fallacy Loss Aversion Fundamental Attribution Error Dunning-Kruger Peter Principle Goodhart's Law
⚡ When principles conflict: Occam's Razor says the simplest explanation is right — your client is disorganised, not hostile. But Second-Order Thinking says even disorganisation produces the same downstream consequence as hostility. The tool tells you which principle wins here, and why.
1
What's happening?
A sentence or two. Don't overthink it. The tool works with imperfect, stressed, incomplete input.
2
What are you trying to do — or avoid?
The outcome you need. Or the outcome you're afraid of. Either works.
3
Who else is involved? Optional
Key people and their positions. Skip if you're not sure — the tool makes reasonable assumptions and names them.

Works with partial input. If context is thin, the tool states what it assumed and proceeds — it doesn't interview you when you're already under pressure.

Not a self-assessment No questionnaires, scores, or maturity ratings. You bring a real situation. Always.
Not a coaching conversation Doesn't ask five questions before giving an answer. Reads what you give it and responds.
Not a learning pathway No modules, no curriculum. The learning is a by-product of the output — not the product itself.
Not a committee Doesn't give you three options to choose from. Gives you one move — and owns it.
Not role-specific No assumed seniority. A junior analyst and a VP use the exact same tool. The altitude framing is relative, not fixed.
Not gated Fully public. No login, no @domain restriction. Anyone in a difficult situation can use it.
When you're stuck
"I don't know how to read this situation."
Anyone, any level, any industry. The only requirement is a real situation that feels bigger than your current frame.
Before a hard conversation
"I need to walk in having already thought what they're going to think."
Managers, leads, PMs — anyone preparing to go upward or sideways with something difficult.
When the decision is yours
"I know something needs to happen. I don't know if my read is right."
Decision-makers who want to pressure-test their framing before they act on it.

Three altitude reads.
Named principles.
One move.

Every output ends with one recommended action. Specific. Direct. Something the person can do today. Not a framework summary. Not "it depends." The last sentence of every output is the move — and it's always owned.

▶ Example move
"Schedule a direct 1:1 with the CTO this week — frame it as alignment before you go deeper into build. Listen more than you talk."
The gap is the product
Not any single altitude — the gap between them. That gap is where most professional failures happen. Naming it is the insight.
Principles as citations
Applied specifically to your situation, not listed as background theory. The conflict between two of them is worth more than either alone.
Level-agnostic
The altitude framing is relative, not fixed. Works identically for a junior analyst or a VP — the three views are always one below, yours, and the top.
No prior art
Every other decision tool does behavioural feedback, learning pathways, or role-play. None do situational decision intelligence — live situation, multiple altitudes, principle conflict, one move.