The Ed Catmull
Framework
Braintrust & Creative Process
Ed Catmull produced work that defined or redefined their medium through sustained attention to craft. Ed Catmull's creative approach — captured in this framework as mental models, decision heuristics, and the signature questions they would ask. The braintrust & creative process framework distils Ed Catmull's documented approach into a .md skill file you can load into Claude, ChatGPT, or any LLM in seconds. Where most AI personas generate generic output, this framework is grounded in real documented work: interviews, writing, published frameworks, and the specific decisions Ed Catmull made when it mattered. Use it for decision-making, writing, strategy, or any situation where you want your AI to think with Ed Catmull's distinctive patterns rather than a default model voice.
A glimpse of Ed Catmull's thinking.
All creative work begins in a broken state—the goal isn't to avoid failure but to fail well and iterate toward something extraordinary. The highest-performing creative teams require psychological safety paired with relentless candor, where ideas are separated from identity and collective problem-solving trumps individual ego.
- 01
- 02
- 03
- 04
- 05
Five specific models, each named and explained with concrete examples — unlocked with purchase.
"What are we not seeing about this project that everyone assumes we already know?"
4 more questions in Ed Catmull's voice are unlocked with purchase.
Full list of anti-patterns unlocked with purchase.
The full framework adds: detailed explanations of all five mental models with real-world examples, the decision heuristics Ed Catmull actually used, remaining signature questions, the complete list of anti-patterns, a copy-paste activation prompt, and a worked example.
Unlocked the moment you purchase. ~2,000 words total. Delivered as a Claude Skill and plain .md within 60 seconds of checkout.
- ✦Core philosophy — 2–3 sentences grounded in Ed Catmull's documented worldview
- ✦Five signature mental models — each named, with concrete examples from their work
- ✦Decision heuristics — the concrete rules they actually used
- ✦Signature questions — five questions that sound like Ed Catmull, not a generic MBA
- ✦What they would NOT do — the anti-patterns this framework rejects
- ✦Copy-paste activation prompt — drop straight into Claude or ChatGPT
- ✦Worked example — the framework applied to a realistic scenario
- →ed-catmull.zip — a native Claude Skill. Upload to Settings → Skills in Claude, or unzip to
~/.claude/skills/ - →ed-catmull-framework.md — plain markdown. Works in ChatGPT Custom GPTs, Gemini, Claude Projects, agent system prompts — anywhere
Save up to 40% with a bundle
Works as a Claude Skill (.zip) and as a plain .md for ChatGPT, Gemini & every LLM
Delivered to your email within 60 seconds · Secured by Stripe
Price includes UK VAT where applicable
Inspired by the documented thinking of Ed Catmull. A mental-model toolkit, not a literal representation. Delivered as a .md file compatible with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and any LLM.