diagnose

Note: This skill is independent analysis and commentary, not a reproduction of any original text. It synthesizes frameworks from multiple books with modern startup practice and routes founders to the right tool for their situation.

Diagnose

"The dangerous moment is when you apply the right framework to the wrong problem."

When to Use This Skill

Do you know exactly what's broken?
|-- YES --> Do you know which framework to use?
|   |-- YES --> Go use that skill directly. You don't need this.
|   +-- NO  --> THIS SKILL. You know the problem, need the tool.
+-- NO  --> THIS SKILL. Start here.

This skill exists because frameworks are tools, not answers. A hammer doesn't help when the problem is a screw. The first job is diagnosis — figuring out what's actually broken before reaching for any specific framework.

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The Five Failure Modes

Every startup problem maps to one of five root causes. Most founders misdiagnose which one they have.

Failure Mode	What It Looks Like	Common Misdiagnosis
Product	People try it and stop using it	"We need better marketing"
Market	Can't find anyone who cares enough to pay	"We need to build more features"
Messaging	Good product, people don't understand what it does	"The product must be wrong"
Distribution	People would buy it but never hear about it	"We need a better website"
Pricing	People want it but won't pay what you charge	"We need more features to justify the price"

The Misdiagnosis Problem

Founders almost always misdiagnose their problem by one layer. The pattern:

ACTUAL PROBLEM:        WHAT FOUNDERS THINK:        WHAT THEY DO:
Product problem    →   "Marketing isn't working"   →   Spend on ads (waste)
Market problem     →   "Need more features"        →   Build for months (waste)
Messaging problem  →   "Product must be wrong"     →   Pivot prematurely (waste)
Distribution       →   "Need better website"       →   Redesign 5 times (waste)
Pricing problem    →   "Need more value"            →   Add features nobody asked for (waste)