What's Inside
- The 4 layers explained, in the order you write them
- The full copy-paste template, word for word
- Three worked examples on real small-business jobs
- Why smarter models need less instruction, not more
Why more instructions now make it worse
As these models get smarter, they need less instruction from you, not more. Most people are doing the opposite. Stacking a million instruction points, assigning the model a role, spelling out every step, all the stuff that feels like helping. It is actually slowing the model down and making the output worse. Stop treating your AI like an intern who needs every step spelled out. Start treating it like a senior executive you hand a spec to.
- An intern needs steps. An executive needs an outcome
- Four parts, written in order, once
- Each layer below builds on the one before it
HOW TO USE THIS Write the four layers in order, top to bottom, in one message. Do not send them one at a time. The model needs all four before it starts.
Layer one: the goal
You describe the finished thing you want, not the steps to get there. This is the outcome, stated plainly: what does done look like. Not the ten things the model should do along the way, just what you want sitting in front of you when it is finished.
WHY IT MATTERS Naming the steps yourself is what boxes the model into your first idea, which is usually not the best one.
Layer two: research
You tell the model to go find the best approach before it starts, and tell you what it recommends. This is the layer most people skip entirely, because it feels slower. It is not slower. It is the difference between the model guessing at your first instinct and the model actually checking what works before it commits to a direction.
WHY IT MATTERS This is where the model catches the approach you did not know existed.
Layer three: interview
Once it has found the best way, you let it interview you, one question at a time, to pull out how you actually want the thing to work. This is the layer that gets your preferences out of your head without you having to guess which details matter enough to mention up front. You will not think to state most of them unless you are asked.
WHY IT MATTERS One question at a time beats a wall of questions. You give better answers when you are not skimming a list.
Layer four: good looks like
You give it one real example so it knows what it is benchmarking against. Not a description of quality, an actual example: a real sales page you like, a real report someone else wrote, a real result you are trying to match. One concrete example beats any number of adjectives.
WHY IT MATTERS An example is a spec. An adjective like 'professional' or 'punchy' is a guess the model has to make for you.
The full template
All four layers, in order, copy-paste ready. Fill in the brackets and send it as one message.
GOAL: [describe the finished outcome you want]
RESEARCH: Before you start, research the best way to accomplish this and tell me the approach you recommend.
INTERVIEW: Next, interview me one question at a time to pull out my preferences and anything you need to know.
GOOD LOOKS LIKE: Here is an example of what a great result looks like: [paste a real example or describe the standard]. Model your output on this.SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE The model comes back with a recommended approach first, then asks you questions one at a time before producing anything.
Worked example: a sales page
Applying the pyramid to writing a sales page for a small service business.
GOAL: I need a sales page for my one-on-one coaching offer that gets a visitor to book a call.
RESEARCH: Before you start, research the best way to accomplish this and tell me the approach you recommend.
INTERVIEW: Next, interview me one question at a time to pull out my preferences and anything you need to know.
GOOD LOOKS LIKE: Here is an example of what a great result looks like: [paste a sales page you genuinely think is well written]. Model your output on this.Worked example: a hiring process
Applying the pyramid to building a hiring process for a small team's first hire.
GOAL: I need a hiring process that gets me three strong finalists for a customer support role in under two weeks.
RESEARCH: Before you start, research the best way to accomplish this and tell me the approach you recommend.
INTERVIEW: Next, interview me one question at a time to pull out my preferences and anything you need to know.
GOOD LOOKS LIKE: Here is an example of what a great result looks like: [describe or paste a hiring process from a company you admire]. Model your output on this.Worked example: a monthly report
Applying the pyramid to a recurring monthly business report.
GOAL: I need a monthly report that shows my leadership team our numbers and what changed since last month, in a format they will actually read.
RESEARCH: Before you start, research the best way to accomplish this and tell me the approach you recommend.
INTERVIEW: Next, interview me one question at a time to pull out my preferences and anything you need to know.
GOOD LOOKS LIKE: Here is an example of what a great result looks like: [paste a report format you already like, from any company]. Model your output on this.WATCH FOR The same four labels work on almost any job. What changes is only what you write inside the brackets.