Session 1

Search

Search the workspace and open a destination.

Session 1: AI Foundations

The habits that separate a useful answer from a generic one. Every prompt below is one you can run on real GPC work today.

Set Your Global Instructions

Standing orders Claude reads before every task.

Prompt
Here is how I want you to work with me on everything, unless I say otherwise.

Ask before you assume. If a detail would change the answer and you do not have it, ask me rather than filling it in.

Say what you are unsure about. Mark anything you inferred rather than knew.

No preamble. Start with the answer, not with a restatement of my question.

What it is

A one-time setup that applies to every conversation afterwards.

So what

Most of what people fix prompt by prompt is better fixed once, globally. These three lines remove the majority of the corrections you would otherwise type every day.

How to use it

Paste into your workspace settings under custom instructions. Revisit it after a month — the rules you keep repeating in chat belong here.

The About Me Interview

Builds about-me.md, the highest-return file in your vault.

Prompt
Interview me so you can write an about-me file that any model could read to understand how I work.

Ask one question at a time and wait for my answer. Cover my role, what I am responsible for, who I work with, what I am usually trying to produce, and how I like things written.

When you have enough, write the file as markdown under the heading ABOUT ME. Keep it factual. No adjectives about how great I am.

What it is

An interview that ends in a reusable context file.

So what

A model working from nothing writes for nobody in particular. One file about who you are lifts the quality of everything else you ask for, permanently.

How to use it

Answer honestly rather than aspirationally. Save the output as about-me.md and attach it whenever the work is personal to your role.

The My Company Interview

Builds my-company.md.

Prompt
Interview me about the company I work for, so you can write a file any model could read to understand the business.

One question at a time. Cover what we sell, who buys it, how we are positioned against the alternatives, the words we use for things, and what we never say.

Then write it as markdown under MY COMPANY.

What it is

The company-level companion to the about-me file.

So what

Half of what reads as generic output is the model guessing at the business. Answering these questions once removes that guessing from every task afterwards.

How to use it

Do this after the about-me interview. Keep both files together and attach them as a pair.

The Context Dump

Front-load everything you know before you ask for anything.

Prompt
I am going to give you a pile of context before I ask for anything. Do not do anything with it yet.

Read it, then tell me back in five lines what you understand the situation to be, and list anything you think is missing that you would need to do good work here.

Wait for me to confirm before you produce anything.

What it is

A habit you apply before any substantial task.

So what

The read-back catches a misunderstanding while it is still cheap. Correcting the model's summary takes a sentence; correcting a finished draft built on the same misunderstanding takes an afternoon.

How to use it

Use it whenever the task is worth more than ten minutes. Paste everything you have, however messy.

Ask Me Questions First

Make it interview you before it writes a word.

Prompt
Before you write anything, ask me up to five questions.

Ask the ones whose answers would most change what you produce. One at a time, and wait for my answer before the next one.

When you have them, say what you are about to write and check that is right before you start.

What it is

One line that fixes more bad output than rewriting the prompt.

So what

A model asked to write immediately will write immediately, filling gaps with the most average answer available. Forcing questions first moves the guessing into a conversation where you can correct it.

How to use it

Append it to almost any request. It costs two minutes and usually saves a full rewrite.

The Q3 Marketing Plan

Researches the business, interviews you, then writes the plan.

Prompt
I want to put together a Q3 marketing plan for gpc.co.

First, pull in context about us. Go and find out what GPC does, who we serve, and how we position ourselves. Tell me briefly what you found so I can correct you if you have got the wrong end of it.

Then ask me up to five questions to drive the strategy. Ask the ones whose answers would most change the plan, one at a time, and wait for my answer before the next.

Then write the plan:
1. OBJECTIVES - what we are trying to move, in numbers where I gave you numbers.
2. THE MOVES - the two or three that matter most, in priority order, with what each costs in time or budget.
3. NOT DOING - what we are deliberately saying no to, and why.
4. HOW WE KNOW - what we will look at in October to tell whether this worked.

Anything you had to assume, list at the end under ASSUMPTIONS.

What it is

A three-stage prompt: research the business, interview you, then write.

So what

Plans come back generic when the model is working from nothing. Making it research first means the questions it puts to you are better ones, and the plan is built on what is true about the business rather than what it guessed. The ASSUMPTIONS block catches whatever it still had to fill in.

How to use it

Open a plain Claude chat, paste, send, and answer its questions as they come. Keep the thread afterwards — it is good raw material for Turn This Thread Into a Skill.

Interrogate the RFP

Pull requirements, risks, and unanswered questions out of a long document.

Prompt
Read the attached RFP and give me four things.

REQUIREMENTS - everything we are actually being asked to deliver, as a list, quoting the line that says so.

RISKS - anything in here that would be expensive, slow, or difficult, and why.

UNANSWERED - what the document does not tell us that we would need to know before pricing it.

DISQUALIFIERS - anything that would rule us out, if there is anything.

Quote the document rather than paraphrasing it.

What it is

A structured read of a long procurement document.

So what

The expensive mistakes in an RFP response come from a requirement nobody noticed. Forcing quotes rather than paraphrase means you can check its work against the source in seconds.

How to use it

Attach the PDF. Run the Context Dump first if there is history with this client the document does not carry.

The Post-Show Recap

Messy show-floor notes into a structured recap in one pass.

Prompt
Here are my notes from the show. They are messy and out of order.

Turn them into a recap with these sections: WHAT HAPPENED, WHAT WORKED, WHAT DIDN'T, FOLLOW-UPS with an owner against each one.

Keep my words where they are already clear. Do not invent a follow-up I did not mention.

What it is

A one-pass structuring of raw notes.

So what

Recaps do not get written because the notes are daunting, not because the writing is hard. This turns the daunting part into a paste.

How to use it

Paste the notes exactly as they are — typos, fragments, all of it. The instruction not to invent follow-ups is the important line.

Make It Client-Ready

Turn internal shorthand into something you'd be happy to send.

Prompt
Rewrite this so I could send it to a client.

Keep every fact. Remove the internal shorthand, the hedging, and anything that assumes they were in the room.

Tell me what you changed and why, as a short list under CHANGES, so I can put anything back that I wanted.

What it is

A translation pass from internal to external voice.

So what

The CHANGES list is the point. A rewrite you cannot audit is one you have to read as carefully as writing it yourself.

How to use it

Works on anything from a Slack message to a full deck. Read the CHANGES list before the rewrite.

Cut It Without Losing the Point

Real editing, with the tradeoffs shown.

Prompt
Cut this by a third.

Show me the cut version, then list what you removed and what each cut costs, so I can put back anything that mattered more than you thought.

If you cannot get to a third without losing something important, cut what you can and tell me where you stopped.

What it is

A compression pass that shows its working.

So what

Most editing prompts produce a shorter draft with no way to tell what went missing. The cost list turns it into an edit you can actually review.

How to use it

Give it a target you actually want. The permission to stop short is what stops it cutting the substance.

Turn This Thread Into a Skill

Capture a process you just worked out, while it's still fresh.

Prompt
We just worked something out in this thread. Turn it into a skill I can reuse.

Write a SKILL.md with a name, a description that says exactly when it should fire, and the steps we actually took — not an idealised version of them.

Include what went wrong on the first attempt and how we fixed it. That is the part that makes it work next time.

What it is

A capture step that turns a one-off into something reusable.

So what

The moment right after you solve something is the only time you remember why the obvious approach failed. Written down then, it is a skill; written down a week later, it is a summary.

How to use it

Run it at the end of any thread that took real effort. Works best when the thread includes the failed attempts.