
First Blood
Set up your identity and automate your first task
What you'll learn5 objectives
- Create a personalised CLAUDE.md identity file that tells Cowork who you are, what tools you use, and what rules to follow
- Run a universal reconciliation prompt against your department's data and produce a verified Excel workbook
- Apply the CTOC prompt framework to understand why good prompts work and bad prompts fail
- Use the Traffic Light verification method to catch the five things Cowork gets wrong before they matter
- Write a specific Monday Promise that commits you to one automated task next week
1The Monday Morning Massacre
IntroWatch three Monday morning tasks get cleared in under 2 minutes — the same work you do manually every week.
5 min
The Monday Morning Massacre
IntroWatch three Monday morning tasks get cleared in under 2 minutes — the same work you do manually every week.
9:01am Monday. 47 unread messages. A queue of tickets, alerts, cases you haven't touched since Thursday. A 9:30 review meeting you haven't prepped for. The dreaded quick question just landed.
Two hours burned before real work begins. Watch the facilitator clear three of those tasks in under two minutes.
2Where Cowork Fits
LearnChat, Cowork, Code — three tools, three jobs. Everything in this course lives in the Cowork tab.
5 min
Where Cowork Fits
LearnChat, Cowork, Code — three tools, three jobs. Everything in this course lives in the Cowork tab.
Claude ships in three flavours. Pick the right one — the course only uses Cowork.
Chat
Access: No files, no tools, no memory between sessions
Best For: Quick questions, brainstorming, one-off lookups
Analogy: Calling a smart friend — helpful in the moment, forgotten by tomorrow
Cowork
Access: Workspace folder, CLAUDE.md, skills, MCP connectors, scheduled tasks
Best For: Everything in this course — file processing, automation, enterprise integration
Analogy: A junior analyst who reads fast, never sleeps, follows instructions precisely, and always needs review
Code
Access: Code repositories, terminal commands, developer workflows
Best For: Software engineering — not relevant for non-engineers
Analogy: A pair programmer — powerful if you write code, irrelevant if you do not
3Your Identity
Step-by-StepBuild the CLAUDE.md file that tells Cowork your role, tools, and rules — so every future prompt knows your context without you explaining it.
10 min
Your Identity
Step-by-StepBuild the CLAUDE.md file that tells Cowork your role, tools, and rules — so every future prompt knows your context without you explaining it.
CLAUDE.md is your employee brief for Cowork — department, tools, rules, file types. Without it, Cowork is a generalist. With it, it's a colleague who already read onboarding docs.
0/6 steps complete
Create your workspace folder. Mac: press Cmd+Space, type Terminal, press Enter. Then type mkdir ~/Cowork-Workspace and press Enter. Windows: open File Explorer, navigate to your user folder, create a new folder called Cowork-Workspace.
Grant Cowork access to your workspace folder. Open Claude Desktop. Click the Cowork tab. When prompted, select ONLY the Cowork-Workspace folder you just created.
Download your data pack. Go to the Data Packs page (top menu → Toolkit → Data Packs). Find Workshop 1, then your department. Download the two Excel files, the inbox-dump file, and context-brief.md into your Cowork-Workspace folder.
Run /sun:workspace in Cowork. Type /sun:workspace in the chat input and press Enter — the / prefix triggers a skill (a pre-built workflow). Answer the department and role questions. It generates a CLAUDE.md file customised to your department.
Review your CLAUDE.md. Open it in a text editor. Does it describe your job accurately? Does it list the right tools? Edit anything that is wrong — this file is yours.
Verify setup. Ask Cowork: List all files in my workspace folder. Tell me the filename, type, and size of each.
4The Messy Inbox
ExercisePaste a wall of unstructured text — email chain, call transcript, Slack dump — and extract the key facts into a structured table in one prompt.
15 min
The Messy Inbox
ExercisePaste a wall of unstructured text — email chain, call transcript, Slack dump — and extract the key facts into a structured table in one prompt.
Every data pack has an inbox-dump — email chain, call transcript, JSON alert, Slack thread. One prompt turns it into a structured table.
Read the inbox-dump file in my workspace. Extract every key fact, action item, deadline, and decision into a structured table with columns: Item, Type (fact/action/deadline/decision), Owner, Due Date, Priority (high/medium/low).Find your inbox-dump file in your workspace folder. The format varies by department: .pdf for Chargebacks/Legal/Risk, .json for Fraud, .xlsx for Finance/Treasury, .docx for Onboarding/HR, .md for others.
Read the document yourself first. Spend 2 minutes scanning it. Note the action items, deadlines, and key facts.
Run the extraction prompt: Read the inbox-dump file. Extract every key fact, action item, deadline, and decision into a structured table.
Compare the AI output against your manual scan. What did it find that you missed? What did it get wrong?
5The CTOC Framework
Key ConceptContext, Task, Output, Constraints — the four-part formula that turns a vague request into a prompt Cowork can execute reliably.
5 min
The CTOC Framework
Key ConceptContext, Task, Output, Constraints — the four-part formula that turns a vague request into a prompt Cowork can execute reliably.
Prompt-writing as a repeatable method. Four letters. Miss one and the output degrades.
6Your First Kill — Reconciliation
Try ItOne prompt. Your CLAUDE.md and department data do the rest. Produce a 3-sheet Excel workbook with matched rows, discrepancies, and a summary — for your exact role.
⏱ 10 min30 min
Your First Kill — Reconciliation
Try ItOne prompt. Your CLAUDE.md and department data do the rest. Produce a 3-sheet Excel workbook with matched rows, discrepancies, and a summary — for your exact role.
Everyone types the same prompt. Everyone gets a different workbook — because your CLAUDE.md and your data do the customisation, not the prompt. Type it, hit Enter, wait. Don't add anything.
0/6 complete
Stretch Challenges
- : Pipe reconciliation output into a summary memo as a Word document — your first prompt chain
- : Run /sun:verify on your output — compare its findings against your manual checks
7Traffic Light Verification
SafetyGreen, Yellow, Red — a 3-tier quality check to catch the five things Cowork gets wrong before a polished-looking output misleads you.
5 min
Traffic Light Verification
SafetyGreen, Yellow, Red — a 3-tier quality check to catch the five things Cowork gets wrong before a polished-looking output misleads you.
Polished. Confident. Fast. That's exactly what makes Cowork's output dangerous — a wrong number in a handsome doc is worse than no doc. Traffic Light gives you a 3-tier check, one per risk class.
GREEN
Numbers and Formatting
Do the formulas work? Do the totals add up? Are currencies correct? Is conditional formatting applied?
30 seconds — click into cells, spot-check arithmetic
Click Summary sheet totals. Does matched count + discrepancy count equal total? Click a SUM formula — does it reference the right cells?
YELLOW
Classifications and Labels
Did Cowork categorise items correctly? Are labels accurate? Right severity, status, department?
1-2 minutes — requires domain knowledge to evaluate
Are red items actually critical? Or did Cowork flag a EUR 0.01 rounding difference as critical because it technically exceeds a threshold?
RED
Judgments and Recommendations
Did Cowork make a recommendation, suggest an action, assess risk, or make a decision?
Human review required — Cowork drafts, you decide
If the workbook recommends escalating a discrepancy to a manager, the recommendation is a draft. You decide whether escalation is warranted.
1 Miscalculate
LLMs predict numbers, they do not compute. Always use formulas in spreadsheets, never hardcoded values.
Mitigation: CTOC Constraint: 'Use formulas, not hardcoded values.'
2 Misclassify
Pattern matching, not judgment. Keywords drive classification. 'Terminal issue' caused by a network problem may get labelled 'Hardware.'
Mitigation: Always check the YELLOW tier. Verify categories against your domain knowledge.
3 Hallucinate references
Cowork may cite pages that do not exist, ticket numbers that were never created, or reports that are not in your workspace.
Mitigation: If the output includes a link, click it. If it references a document, find it. If it cites a number, trace it.
4 Sound confident when wrong
No uncertainty flags. No 'I think' or 'I am not sure.' Every output is presented with 100% confidence regardless of accuracy.
Mitigation: You provide the uncertainty that Cowork cannot. Assume outputs need verification until proven correct.
5 Miss what it cannot see
If data is not in your workspace or connected tools, Cowork does not know about it and will not tell you it is missing.
Mitigation: Before running a task, ask: 'Is everything Cowork needs actually in the workspace?'
8Find the Lie
ExerciseYour AI output has at least one error. It looks convincing. You have 10 minutes to find it — before it finds you in a meeting.
10 min
Find the Lie
ExerciseYour AI output has at least one error. It looks convincing. You have 10 minutes to find it — before it finds you in a meeting.
Your output has at least one error. It looks convincing. You have 10 minutes to find it — then compare workbooks with a neighbour from a different department.
GREEN check: Click on summary totals. Are they formulas or hardcoded numbers? Hardcoded = untraceable calculation.
YELLOW check: Pick 3 discrepancies. Go back to the source files. Do the amounts actually match what the AI reported?
RED check: Look at any item flagged as critical or urgent. Do you agree with that classification based on your department's rules?
Cross-pollination: Compare your workbook with a neighbour from a different department. Same prompt, different universe.
9Monday Promise
PracticeWrite one specific automation you'll run next Monday — concrete enough to report back on it in Workshop 2.
5 min
Monday Promise
PracticeWrite one specific automation you'll run next Monday — concrete enough to report back on it in Workshop 2.
Not use AI more. Not explore Cowork. One specific task, one day, one time — something you'll see Monday morning and actually do.
Skills like /sun:reconcile were installed when you ran /sun:workspace earlier. If a command isn't recognised, type its name to install it.
Monday at [time], I will [action] on [specific data].
Chargebacks
Monday at 9am, I will run /sun:reconcile on last week's scheme outcome report against our internal tracker.
Same reconciliation as the workshop, but with real data and real discrepancies.
Finance
Monday at 9am, I will run /sun:reconcile on Friday's bank settlement file against our internal ledger.
Settlement reconciliation is a weekly ritual. Monday is when the files land.
Customer Relations
Monday at 9am, I will run /sun:ticket-triage on the weekend ticket queue.
Monday morning ticket triage is the most time-consuming 30 minutes of the week.
Sales
Monday at 9am, I will run /sun:reconcile on pipeline deal records against CRM stage history.
Weekly pipeline hygiene finds stale deals, lapsed follow-ups, and stages needing updates.
Compliance / CDD
Monday at 9am, I will run /sun:alert-triage on the weekend screening alerts from the AML monitoring tool.
Monday morning alert queues are the compliance version of the Monday Morning Massacre.
- Does it name a specific day and time?
- Does it name a specific action or skill?
- Does it name specific data or files?
- Could someone else on your team read it and know exactly what you mean?
10Buffer
Step-by-StepConfirm your three deliverables, troubleshoot any blockers, and see what you'll build in Workshop 2.
3 min
Buffer
Step-by-StepConfirm your three deliverables, troubleshoot any blockers, and see what you'll build in Workshop 2.
- CLAUDE.md — Is the file in your workspace folder? Does it describe your department, tools, and workflows?
- Reconciliation workbook — Is your .xlsx file there? Does it have 3 sheets? Did it pass at least 4 of 6 verification checks?
- Skills installed — Type /sun:reconcile in Cowork. Does it recognise the command?
Cowork did not produce an Excel file
Re-run the prompt and add: 'Output must be an .xlsx file with multiple sheets.' The Output element of CTOC was not specific enough.
The formulas are hardcoded numbers
Re-run with the explicit constraint: 'Every total, count, and sum must be an Excel formula referencing cells, not a hardcoded value.'
CLAUDE.md was not generated
Run /sun:workspace again. If it fails, create CLAUDE.md manually from a template on the workshop portal.
Conditional formatting is missing
Add to your prompt: 'Apply conditional formatting to every row in Sheet 2: red fill for critical discrepancies, yellow fill for minor.'
Go outside. Your Monday morning just got 90 minutes shorter.
Steal This Prompt
Copy these prompts, customize the file paths to match your workspace, and use them in Cowork. Replace ~ with your actual home directory path if needed.
SAP Ledger vs Bank Statement
Scheme Outcomes vs Case Tracker
Screening Export vs Internal Notes
Local Performance vs Central Report
Ticket Volumes vs Staffing Levels
Snowflake Pipeline vs Tableau Dashboard
Bank Settlement vs Internal Ledger
fraud monitoring tool Alerts vs Jira Dispositions
Pipeline Deals vs CRM Records
Okta Provisioning vs HiBob Directory
Contract Tracker vs DocuSign Status
Zuper Dispatch vs Delivery Confirmations
Campaign Tracker vs Braze Performance
Application Tracker vs CDD Status
workflow automation platform Bot Logs vs Slack Request Outcomes
Partner Commission Claims vs Internal Calculations
HR Records vs On-Call Schedule
Activation Tracker vs Transaction Records
Sprint Commitments vs Delivery Status
Tier 2 Escalations vs Resolution Records
Cancellation Requests vs Save Outcomes
Risk Scores vs Merchant Review Outcomes
Scheme Fee Statements vs Internal Fee Calculations
Safeguarding Sweep Records vs Bank Balances
Key Takeaways
CLAUDE.md is your identity — It tells Cowork who you are, what tools you use, and what rules to follow. The same prompt produces completely different outputs depending on your CLAUDE.md. Update it as your role evolves.
CTOC makes prompts repeatable — Context, Task, Output, Constraints. Four elements. Miss one and the output degrades. You do not need longer prompts — you need complete ones.
Same Prompt, Different Universe — One universal prompt produced different workbooks for every department because identity context and data files did the customisation. Write prompts that are portable, not department-specific.
Draft, don't decide — Cowork produces drafts. You make decisions. The Traffic Light framework (GREEN for numbers, YELLOW for classifications, RED for judgments) is your verification checklist for every output.
One Monday Promise — The gap between "interesting workshop" and "actual time saved" is one specific task on one specific Monday. If you cannot name the task, the day, and the data, you are not ready.
Materials
Select your department using the picker in the top right to see the exercise files for this workshop. Click any file to preview it in place.
Safety Note
Cowork can read, write, and delete anything inside the folder you grant access to. Outside it, Cowork cannot touch your files.
Rules from this workshop forward:
- Never grant access to folders with PCI data, unredacted KYC documents, cloud-synced directories, or your home/Desktop/Documents/Downloads folders
- Never let Cowork run inside a shared drive, cloud-synced folder, or directory with production credentials
- Always use a dedicated, isolated workspace folder
- Never forward, publish, or act on Cowork output without verification
- Never paste Cowork output into customer-facing systems without review
- Never let Cowork access live databases or production APIs during learning
- Always verify outputs before forwarding, publishing, or acting on them
- Always treat Cowork's output as a draft requiring human sign-off
All example data uses fictional merchants, employees, and transactions.