Layered Reasoning

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: 30K → 3K → 300 ft Decomposition (Top-Down)

When: Starting from vision/principles, deriving concrete actions

Structure:

• 30,000 ft (Strategic): Why? Core principles, invariants, constraints (e.g., "Customer privacy is non-negotiable")
• 3,000 ft (Tactical): What? Approaches, architectures, policies (e.g., "Zero-trust security model, end-to-end encryption")
• 300 ft (Operational): How? Specific actions, procedures, code (e.g., "Implement AES-256 encryption for data at rest")

Example: Product strategy

• 30K: "Become the most trusted platform" (principle)
• 3K: "Achieve SOC 2 compliance, publish security reports, 24/7 support" (tactics)
• 300 ft: "Implement MFA, conduct quarterly audits, hire 5 support engineers" (actions)