Tight Five Loops
What does the same feedback loop look like across every domain on the site?
The Tight Five compresses any domain into five bound elements. The VVFL turns those five into a feedback loop that compounds. This page collects every operational loop on the site — same pattern, different matter. Each loop is Validated (by questions), Virtuous (by principles), Feedback (by outputs), Loop (by platform making each cycle start higher).
The Master Loop
Every loop below is an instance of this:
1. QUESTION → What's the gap between intention and reality?
2. PRINCIPLE → What truths filter noise from signal?
3. PROTOCOL → What method closes the gap?
4. STANDARD → What threshold defines success?
5. PLATFORM → What infrastructure makes the next cycle faster?
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BETTER QUESTION → Loop compounds
Navigation Loops
How you orient, align, and steer.
| Loop | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Way | Orient (where am I?) | Align (intention meeting attention?) | Close (is the loop validated?) | Zoom (does it hold one level up?) | Repeat (higher baseline) | The Way |
| Value System | Why beyond vanity? | Non-negotiable truths | What can serve those truths? | What prevents self-deception? | How to measure without collapsing meaning? | Navigation |
| Belief System | Why is this worth life energy? | What truths support the bet? | What capabilities carry it? | What are others discounting? | What evidence confirms or falsifies? | Belief System |
| Control System | Why run this action now? | What gates execution? | Which levers do we control? | What signal shows drift? | What metric says continue or stop? | Control System |
Engineering Loops
How you build, measure, and improve the codebase and product.
| Loop | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software Quality | Standards (set threshold) | Build (follow checklist) | Detect (catch anti-patterns) | Measure (hit threshold?) | Improve (update standard) | Software Metrics |
| Product Design | Standards (design bible) | Build (run checklist) | Measure (hit threshold?) | Learn (which standards need updating?) | Better standards | Design Metrics |
| Flow Engineering | Outcome map | Value stream map | Dependency map | Capability map | A&ID orchestration | Flow Engineering |
| Commissioning | Spec (what should this produce?) | Input (what does it read?) | Output (what does it produce?) | Calibration (output match spec?) | Independence (who verifies?) | Commissioning |
| Content Pipeline | Define quality gates | Execute stages | Measure (did it land?) | Diagnose (why or why not?) | Better pipeline | Content Metrics |
Business Loops
How you position, execute, and compound strategy.
| Loop | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scoreboard | Predictions (where is it heading?) | Positioning (run to the ball) | Standards (what does good look like?) | Performance (did it match?) | Better predictions | Scoreboard |
| Business Flow | Idea (validated) | Strategy (positioning + model) | Operations (capabilities) | Growth (marketing + sales) | Feedback (revise or generate) | Business Flow |
| Capital Loop | Platform absorbs risk | Developers iterate faster | Standards emerge | Trust attracts liquidity | More builders join | Developer Experience |
Agency Loops
How individuals and agents perceive, decide, and grow.
| Loop | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agency | Perceive | Question | Act | Measure | Learn | Agency |
| Purpose Discovery | What annoyed you? | What was the problem? | How would it work perfectly? | What defines success? | How strong is the appetite? | Purpose |
| Game Escape Velocity | Perceive (what's happening?) | Decide (where to allocate?) | Act (build, partner, invest) | Measure (what changed?) | Adapt (update the model) | Escape Velocity |
Operations Loops
How you systematize process and planning.
| Loop | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDCA | Document (current state) | Measure (vs success criteria) | Analyze (gap between actual and desired) | Improve (change workflow) | Standardize (update docs, train) | Process Optimisation |
| Planning Cadence | Capture (intention) | Build (deep work) | Measure (close) | Iterate (adjust) | Reflect (right game?) | Planning |
| VVFL | Questions (identify friction) | Principles (filter by values) | Protocols (rules for progress) | Standards (formally adopted) | Platform (infrastructure) | VVFL |
The Fractal
The same loop runs at four scales simultaneously. Misalignment at any scale produces dis-ease. Harmony produces flow.
| Scale | Question | Instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Agent | Am I pattern-matching or thinking fresh? | Prompt Deck |
| Individual | Is my reality aligned with my ideal? | Time + Mind |
| Team | Are we seeing the same pictures? | Flow Maps |
| Organization | Does each team have clarity of purpose? | Scoreboard |
What works at one scale works at all scales — the five steps compress the same way whether you're an agent processing a task, a person planning a week, a team shipping a feature, or an organization setting quarterly priorities.
The Binding
Every loop shares three properties from the Tight Five:
| Property | Meaning | Test |
|---|---|---|
| Bound | Remove one step and the loop collapses | Skip measurement — you're building blind |
| Polished | Each step earns its place | Can you merge two steps without losing signal? |
| Incompressible | Nothing can be removed | Can you run the loop with four steps and get the same result? |
The count isn't the point. The binding is.
Context
- Tight Five — The meta-pattern that generates all loops
- VVFL — Why the loop must be validated AND virtuous
- The Way — How to orient, align, and close any loop
- The Fractal — Same loop at four scales
- Standards — What loops produce when they compound
- Performance — How you read the gauge
- Engineering Quality Benchmarks — The engineering loop's thresholds
- Process Optimisation — PDCA mechanics