A few quick questions. I'll come back personally, one company at a time, US and UK.
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Module 3 · 5 lessons · 58 min
Your First Real Task
3Your First Real TaskModule 3 · OverviewYour First Real Task
Module 3
Your First Real Task
From testing the tool to delegating real work
Bruno Ashford
The shift
A chatbot waits. An agent goes and looks.
Claude Code works inside a folder on your computer.
Reads and searches your files
Plans before it acts
Asks before it changes anything
Checks its own work when asked
The loop
Explore, Plan, Execute, Review
1ExploreRead the data. No output yet.
2PlanApprove the approach first.
3ExecuteLet it work.
4ReviewIt checks, then you check.
A truth that hurts
Most bad AI output starts with asking for the answer before anyone looked at the problem.
Bruno Ashford
Safety first
Plan mode: think without touching
Press Shift+Tab until plan mode shows.
Claude reads and proposes
Nothing changes until you approve
Use it for anything touching real data
Messy spreadsheets
Five moves to clean data
Your original file is never touched.
Protect the original
Get a mess report
You set the business rules
Ask business questions
Reconcile the totals
Illustrative example, practice file
What a mess report finds
30rows in the sample file
4date formats in one column
3spellings of one customer
0changes to the original
Analysis vs. judgment
Ask for a decision, not a summary
Weak request
Strong request
What do you think?
Choose between these 3 options
Summarise the data
Cite numbers and source files
Give me insights
Risks and what proves us wrong
Write a report
One page, recommendation first
The Delegation Brief
Brief it like a new hire
1GoalWhy the task exists
2ContextWhat a new hire needs
3InputsExact files to use
4OutputFormat, length, file name
5GuardrailsOff limits, and when to ask
Habits
Four habits of owners who delegate well
Small habits, big difference.
Ask it to look before acting
Read every permission prompt
Ask which files it used
Type /clear between tasks
Your project
A one-page diagnosis of your data
Real data, three recommendations, evidence for each.
Original file untouched
Totals reconciled
Every claim cites a number
An owner for every action
Recap
You do not need to be technical. You need to brief well and check the work.
Bruno Ashford
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Use ← → to move. The marker highlights text and the pencil draws on the slide; navigation locks while you annotate. Undo removes the last mark, Esc exits.
Hand Claude Code a real piece of work from your business and get back an answer you can act on today.
