tomevault-io Skill From Masters
Create skills that embody the wisdom of domain masters. This skill helps users discover and incorporate proven methodologies from recognized experts before generating a skill.
Core Philosophy
Most professional domains have outstanding practitioners who have codified their methods through books, talks, interviews, and frameworks. A skill built on these proven methodologies is far more valuable than one created from scratch.
The goal is not just "good enough" — it's reaching the highest level of human expertise in that domain.
Workflow
Step 1: Understand the Skill Intent
Ask the user:
- What skill do they want to create?
- What specific tasks should it handle?
- What quality bar are they aiming for?
Step 2: Identify Relevant Domains
Map the skill to one or more methodology domains. A single skill may span multiple domains.
Example mappings:
- "Sales email skill" → Sales, Writing, Persuasion
- "User interview skill" → User Research, Interviewing, Product Discovery
- "Presentation skill" → Storytelling, Visual Design, Persuasion
- "Code review skill" → Software Engineering, Feedback, Communication
Step 3: Surface Expert Methodologies
Layer 1: Local Database
Consult references/methodology-database.md for known frameworks.
Layer 2: Web Search for Experts Search the web to discover additional experts and methodologies:
- Search: "[domain] best practices expert"
- Search: "[domain] framework methodology"
- Search: "[domain] master practitioner"
Layer 3: Deep Dive on Selected Experts For promising experts, search for their original content:
- Search: "[expert name] methodology interview"
- Search: "[expert name] [domain] transcript"
- Search: "[expert name] framework explained"
Fetch and read primary sources when available (articles, talk transcripts, blog posts).
For each relevant domain, present:
- Key experts and their core contributions
- Specific frameworks, principles, or processes
- Source materials (books, talks, interviews)
Step 4: Find Golden Examples
Before finalizing methodology selection, search for exemplary outputs:
- Search: "best [output type] examples"
- Search: "[output type] template [top company]"
- Search: "award winning [output type]"
Understanding what excellence looks like helps define the quality bar.
Step 5: Collaborative Selection
Present the methodologies to the user and discuss:
- Which frameworks resonate with their goals?
- Are there conflicts between methodologies to resolve?
- Should they combine multiple approaches?
- Any specific principles they want to emphasize or exclude?
Guide the user to select 1-3 primary methodologies that will form the skill's foundation.
Step 6: Extract Actionable Principles
For each selected methodology, search for and distill:
The Why (Core Principles)
- Search: "[methodology] core principles"
- Search: "why [methodology] works"
The How (Concrete Process)
- Search: "[methodology] step by step"
- Search: "[methodology] implementation guide"
The What (Quality Criteria)
- Search: "[methodology] checklist"
- Search: "[methodology] evaluation criteria"
The Pitfalls (Common Mistakes)
- Search: "[domain] common mistakes"
- Search: "[methodology] pitfalls avoid"
Fetch primary sources to get exact wording and nuance, not just summaries.
Step 7: Cross-Validate
Compare insights across multiple sources:
- What principles appear consistently? (high confidence)
- Where do experts disagree? (flag for user)
- What's unique to each approach? (differentiation)
Synthesize a coherent framework that takes the best from each source.
Step 8: Generate the Skill
With methodologies confirmed, use the skill-creator skill to generate the final skill. The generated skill should:
- Credit the methodology sources in a comment (documenting provenance)
- Translate expert wisdom into actionable instructions
- Include concrete examples derived from golden examples found
- Capture quality criteria as explicit checkpoints
- Include "don't do this" anti-patterns from pitfall research
- Match the quality bar of the best human practitioners
Quality Checklist
Before finalizing, verify:
- Did we search beyond the local database?
- Did we find primary sources, not just summaries?
- Did we find golden examples of the output?
- Did we identify common mistakes to avoid?
- Did we cross-validate across multiple experts?
- Does the skill encode specific, actionable steps (not vague principles)?
Example Interaction
User: I want to create a skill for writing product requirement documents.
Assistant: Great choice. Let me search for the best methodologies on PRD writing.
[Searches: "PRD best practices expert", "product requirements document methodology", "best PRD examples"]
I found several strong frameworks:
Product Management:
- Marty Cagan (SVPG): Emphasizes problem-first PRDs, separating problem space from solution space
- Teresa Torres: Continuous discovery, outcome-focused requirements
Business Writing:
- Barbara Minto: Pyramid Principle - lead with conclusion, MECE structure
- Amazon: Working backwards from press release, 6-pager narrative format
Golden Examples Found:
- Intercom's public PRD template
- Linear's product spec format
Common Mistakes (from my search):
- Jumping to solutions before defining the problem
- Writing for engineers instead of for alignment
- Missing success metrics
Which of these approaches resonates? Or should I search deeper into any of them?
User: I like Amazon's approach combined with Cagan's problem-first thinking. Can you find more details on Amazon's method?
Assistant: [Searches: "Amazon 6-pager template", "Amazon working backwards methodology", "Amazon PR FAQ process"]
[Fetches relevant articles and synthesizes key principles]
Here's what I found from primary sources... [Continues to Step 6, 7, and 8]
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