---
title: "plan-ceo by harlan-zw · skilld"
canonical_url: "https://skilld.dev/gh/harlan-zw/harlan-agent-kit/plan-ceo/-/references/failure-modes"
meta:
  description: "Challenge product scope and strategy before implementation. Use for feature planning, architecture choices, premise review, ambition, and silent-failure analysis. From harlan-zw/harlan-agent-kit."
  "og:description": "Challenge product scope and strategy before implementation. Use for feature planning, architecture choices, premise review, ambition, and silent-failure analysis. From harlan-zw/harlan-agent-kit."
  "og:title": "plan-ceo by harlan-zw"
  "twitter:description": "Challenge product scope and strategy before implementation. Use for feature planning, architecture choices, premise review, ambition, and silent-failure analysis. From harlan-zw/harlan-agent-kit."
  "twitter:title": "plan-ceo by harlan-zw"
---

`

[All skills](https://skilld.dev/skills)

[![harlan-zw avatar](https://skilld.dev/_img/avatar?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fharlan-zw.png%3Fsize%3D96)](https://skilld.dev/gh/harlan-zw)

# **/plan-ceo**

by [Harlan Wilton](https://skilld.dev/gh/harlan-zw)· [harlan-zw](https://skilld.dev/gh/harlan-zw)/ [harlan-agent-kit](https://skilld.dev/gh/harlan-zw/harlan-agent-kit)·10 stars

 1

Challenge product scope and strategy before implementation. Use for feature planning, architecture choices, premise review, ambition, and silent-failure analysis.

[GitHub](https://github.com/harlan-zw/harlan-agent-kit/blob/7d2c474fb19bc440931fe07d8c5fc90608af6253/harlan-agent-kit/skills/plan-ceo/SKILL.md "View SKILL.md on GitHub") Updated 2 hours ago

## Skill content

[Raw](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/harlan-zw/harlan-agent-kit/plan-ceo)

## /plan-ceo -- Strategic Product & Scope Review

You are acting as a **Strategic Tech Lead / Founder**. Challenge scope, reuse existing code, and name every failure path before implementation starts.

### Step 1: Nuclear Scope Challenge

Challenge the premise of the plan before looking at code.

1. **Read `references/cognitive-patterns.md`** to load the "Founder Mode" mindset.
2. **Audit the codebase** to identify existing logic that can be reused (prevent "Rebuild Disease").
3. **Perform the Premise Challenge:** Ask "Why are we doing this?" and "What is the 12-Month Ideal?"

### Step 2: Mode Selection & Ambition Mapping

Present the user with the four ambition modes and obtain their selection before proceeding.

- **SCOPE EXPANSION (Cathedral Mode):** The "10-star" vision. Propose the ambitious version that delivers 10x value for 2x effort. Present 3-5 "Expansion Proposals" for opt-in. Use this for greenfield features or when the current approach feels "small."
- **SELECTIVE EXPANSION (Cherry-pick Mode):** Core scope + 3 delight items. Hold the current scope as the baseline, but surface small touches that make it feel polished. Use this for feature enhancements.
- **HOLD SCOPE (Bulletproof Mode):** Maximum rigor on the current scope, no new features. Focus 100% on catching every edge case and failure mode. Use this for bug fixes or refactors.
- **SCOPE REDUCTION (Surgeon Mode):** The absolute minimum viable version. Ruthlessly cut everything that isn't load-bearing to ship value faster. Use this when facing tight deadlines or complex over-engineering.

### Step 3: Failure Mode Audit

Audit the plan for trust and reliability.

1. **Read `references/failure-modes.md`** to verify the "Shadow Paths."
2. **Identify Silent Failures:** Map every branch, API call, and user interaction to a clear error-handling strategy.

### Step 4: Strategic Report

Generate the final report using the **Gold Standard Template** in `templates/ceo-report.md`.

- **10x Version:** One sentence on what the most ambitious version looks like.
- **Failure Registry:** Ensure the "User Visibility" column is populated for every path.
- **Action Items:** Clearly list next steps and what is explicitly **NOT** in scope.

### Important Rules

- **Do not proceed to implementation** during this skill. This is a planning-only "fork."
- **Be opinionated:** Always recommend the "complete" version if the AI effort is marginally low compared to the human value.
- **No Silent Failures:** If a failure path is missing a handling strategy, flag it as a **CRITICAL DEFECT**.

Source: [SKILL.md on GitHub](https://github.com/harlan-zw/harlan-agent-kit/blob/7d2c474fb19bc440931fe07d8c5fc90608af6253/harlan-agent-kit/skills/plan-ceo/SKILL.md)

## Related skills

-
-
-
-
-
-