A 12-layer autopsy protocol that reverse-engineers novel ideas into generative principles — so the next brilliant idea is yours.
That's the trap. Post-hoc rationalization feels like understanding. But "they made it colorful" or "they found a new audience" isn't a principle — it's a caption.
Genome goes deeper. It asks not just what worked, but why it could only work that way — and what that unlocks for you next.
"Stanley made a cup colorful and sold it to women. Interesting story."
"When the functional body is commoditized, freeze it — and make the variable the product. Applies to cups, sneakers, watch straps, and your next launch."
Dissect any novel idea across 12 layers — from naked move to execution term. Not just what happened, but the logic that made it inevitable.
8 mandatory anti-just-so checks block the most seductive lies: halo bias, small denominator, execution-as-secret, survivorship. Rigor by protocol, not discipline.
Each autopsy harvests one or more Alexandrian-form principles. Three encounters with the same principle compound its confidence — and your pattern library grows.
Every autopsy passes through 8 mandatory checks that block the most seductive analytical failures. If you can't clear these, you don't have a principle — you have a caption.
Name ≥3 plausible alternative paths that weren't taken. If you can only tell one story, you haven't understood the choice.
Which elements were load-bearing, and which were decoration? The principle lives in the necessary part only.
Name ≥5 specific conditions under which this move would have failed. A principle with no kill conditions is a superstition.
Would this look brilliant if the outcome were mediocre? (Rosenzweig). Strip the outcome before you evaluate the logic.
How many tried a similar move and failed? You are reading survivors. Adjust the principle for base-rate reality.
Why isn't everyone doing this already? (YC). If the answer is "they haven't thought of it," that's a red flag, not a moat.
What's the actual hard part that most people never do? (Sivers). The principle must name the execution, not just the insight.
Could this success be explained by chance alone? (Simonton). You need a mechanism, not just a correlation.
Two dissections from the library — each producing multiple principles that transfer across industries.
Each principle is written in Alexandrian form: a claim-shaped title, the forces it resolves, a "Therefore:" statement, known applications, and confidence that compounds with use.
When customers wait, that wait has economic value — to someone. The question is who captures it. A marketplace that seats itself in the gap between annoyance and resolution can monetize time that currently flows to nobody.
The person absorbing friction — waiting, tolerating, losing time — is the natural distribution partner. Share the upside of solving their problem, and you gain both distribution and goodwill simultaneously.
When the trusted party can't charge (doctor, teacher, mechanic), the adjacent party — who operates without that trust constraint — can. The monopoly on charging comes from being on the outside of the trust relationship.
When the functional body of a product is commoditized, freeze it. Make the variable element — color, material, pattern, strap — the actual product. Customers buy the variable; the body is just the carrier.
Products often reach audiences their makers never intended. When you instrument who's actually buying — and find a mismatch — you can serve that real audience by design instead of accident, compounding the growth that was already happening.
Genome isn't a collection of stories. It's a machine that gets better every time you use it.
Every novel idea goes into the queue before your memory sanitizes it. The first impression matters — that's when the anomaly is still visible.
12 layers + 8 guardrails separate the principle from the story. The guardrails are mandatory — no exceptions for "obvious" cases.
Each autopsy produces one or more Alexandrian-form principles. If the concept already exists in the library, the new case strengthens it — never duplicates.
When you're stuck or planning, consult _situations.md — a TRIZ-style routing layer that maps tension phrases to applicable principles.
Three encounters with the same principle — across independent autopsies — raise its confidence to ★★★. Evidence accrues; patterns crystallize.
"Concept-orientation is law. Before creating a principle, check if the concept exists — if it does, strengthen it. Repeat encounters accrue."Genome Compilation Rule 01