Start here
Choose a bounded first AI workflow.
You're using AI like a coworker and want to do more with it — or you're stuck. Start here. Pick the first workflow, then use Claude Cowork to turn it into something we can review together.
Watch first · 2 min
The AI Agent Manager future.
A short field note on the one shift that matters: a human operator managing AI agents — judgment on top, execution underneath. Then use the checklist below to pick your first workflow.
Context: adoption and frequency references in this field note are editorial observations, not measured market or customer statistics.
The one thing to get right first
Don't start with your most important workflow.
The instinct is to point AI at your biggest, messiest problem. Resist it. Start with one workflow that repeats often, is easy to review, and is low-risk if the first draft is wrong.
The goal is not broad automation. Start with low-consequence work where a mistake can be contained or corrected before external action. The skill you are building is how to delegate under review.
Watch · 2 min
Context: adoption and frequency references in this field note are editorial observations, not measured market or customer statistics.
The 10-point checklist
Before you hand a workflow to an agent.
Run the workflow through these ten questions. The more you can answer yes, the better a first candidate it is.
- Is this a real workflow, not a vague wish?
- Does the workflow happen repeatedly?
- Are the inputs easy to identify?
- Is the desired output easy to describe?
- Can a human review the output before anything happens outside the business?
- Is there a named person responsible for the final result?
- Can you write down what the AI agent must not touch?
- Would a mistake be reversible or contained?
- Can you keep a simple record of what the agent did and what the human approved?
- Does this workflow teach you something useful for the next workflow?
What to start with — and what not to
Good first workflows are boring on purpose.
Good first candidates
- Drafting a first-pass response for internal review.
- Summarizing a recurring set of documents.
- Preparing a workpaper for a human to review.
- Comparing two versions of a document.
- Turning notes into a structured follow-up packet.
- Building a weekly internal status summary from known sources.
Do not start with anything where the agent can
- Move money.
- Post to a ledger.
- Send a client-visible message without review.
- Change customer records directly.
- Make legal, tax, medical, or halachic determinations.
- Act on confidential data without a defined boundary.
- Keep going after it is unsure, instead of asking a human.
Score it
Count your yeses.
A score of 8 or higher makes a workflow a candidate, not an approval. The One-Workflow Plan maps where the agent can help, what must stay human, what review is required, and the first implementation step.
When one workflow isn't enough
The next rung.
When you want AI to prepare repeatable work without re-explaining each step, move from a prompt to a defined workflow with inputs, boundaries, review, and a record. The One-Workflow Plan maps that transition.
Watch · 2 min · why better prompts are not enough
Context: adoption and frequency references in this field note are editorial observations, not measured market or customer statistics.
Turn one workflow into a brief.
Use the prompt pack to get from a rough idea to a workflow brief. If it looks strong, the One-Workflow Plan is where we map it together and decide what should happen next.