Session 05 · Build B · The Chief of [ Your Role ] Project · ~40 min to build
The build that reads your real work and hands you the read before you ask.
This is a Project that runs from Cowork, because it reaches into a folder on your actual computer — your notes, transcripts, working files. A connector reaches an app. A folder of loose files needs Cowork's sealed bubble. This is the one place the two doors matter most: get it wrong and the build silently does nothing. The template below is fully blank — you decide what kind of right hand you want it to be: a Chief of Staff, a COO, a content chief, an ops chief. Pick the role, fill the blanks, make it yours.
What it is
A Project that acts as your right hand — reads your files, gives you the read.
When to use it
A daily brief, prepping for something, or "what am I missing right now?"
Which door
A folder on your computer. Loose files = folder = it must run in Cowork.
Read this first — it's the whole catchA Project that points at a folder only works when you run it inside Cowork. Run the same project in a plain chat and the "read my folder" line silently does nothing — no error, it just skips it and you think it's working. Folder job = Cowork. Every time.
First, decide what role this playsBefore anything, name the right hand you actually want. A few directions to spark it: a Chief of Staff that runs your day, a COO that watches operations and what's slipping, a content chief that tracks what you've made and what's next, an ops chief that keeps your systems honest. Pick one. Everything below fills in around that choice.
Before you build — the 3 decisions
1 · Which folder
The one folder it reads. Your notes, transcripts, or working docs. It needs a fixed home — if you don't know the exact path, neither does Claude.
2 · What it gives back
The output. A morning brief? A prep doc? A "what slipped" list? Name the format so it delivers the same shape every time.
3 · How it talks to you
Decide the tone and the rules of how your right hand speaks — how blunt, how much it pushes back, what it should never do. You write these. They're what make it yours.
How to build it
1
New Project in Cowork
Build this one in the Cowork desktop app, not the web chat.
2
Paste the instructions
The template below goes in the Project's custom instructions.
3
Point it at your folder
Swap in your real folder path and your real output format.
4
Run it IN Cowork
Allow the folder read once, watch what it pulls, confirm it's right.
The project instructions — paste this, then fill the blanks
ROLE
You are my [NAME THE ROLE — e.g. Chief of Staff / COO / content chief / ops chief]. [IN ONE OR TWO LINES, DESCRIBE WHAT THAT PERSON DOES FOR YOU — e.g. "You read my actual work and give me the read I'd get from someone who already knows my business." Write this in your own words. This line sets the whole personality, so make it sound like the right hand you actually want.]
WHERE MY WORK LIVES
Read the files in this folder: [PASTE THE EXACT FOLDER PATH — e.g. C:\Users\me\Desktop\Business\Notes]
Look at anything from the last [TIME WINDOW — e.g. "18 hours" / "since yesterday" / "this week"]. If you can't see the folder, tell me — do not pretend you read it or make up what might be in it.
(IMPORTANT: this only works when you run this project inside Cowork. In a plain chat I can't reach your folder.)
HOW YOU OPERATE (your modes — optional)
[IF YOU WANT MORE THAN ONE MODE, DEFINE THEM. EXAMPLE:
- QUICK MODE (default): short and tight. Just what I need to know.
- DEEP MODE (when I say so): go further, connect threads, challenge me.
Delete this whole section if you only want one behavior.]
WHAT TO GIVE ME
[NAME YOUR DEFAULT OUTPUT — e.g. "a morning brief: the 3 things that need me today, anything that slipped, and one thing I'm avoiding" OR "a prep doc for my next meeting" OR "a what-moved / what-stalled read"]
Deliver it to [WHERE IT LANDS — e.g. "this chat" / "a Slack channel" / "a new doc"].
HOW YOU TALK TO ME (you write these — this is what makes it yours)
[WRITE YOUR OWN TONE AND BEHAVIOR RULES. THINK ABOUT HOW YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO BE TALKED TO. SOME PROMPTS TO GET YOU STARTED:
- How blunt should it be? Should it open with the headline or warm up?
- Should it push back when it disagrees with you, or defer?
- Are there words, formats, or habits you never want to see?
- Do you want it to challenge your thinking, or just report?
Write 4-8 lines here in your own voice. This section is the difference between a generic assistant and a right hand that feels like yours.]
WHAT NOT TO DO (you write these)
[LIST THE LIMITS THAT MATTER TO YOU. SOME COMMON ONES TO CONSIDER:
- Should it ever take action (send, post, move files), or only read and report?
- What should it never do without asking you first?
- What would make its output useless to you?
Set these to your own comfort. At minimum, most people keep it to reading and reporting only — no sending, posting, or moving anything without approval.]
The tone section is doing the real workMost people's AI just agrees with them. A real right hand doesn't. The "how you talk to me" section is where you decide that — how blunt, how much it pushes, what it refuses to do. That's what turns this from a generic assistant into something that feels like yours. Spend the most time there.
The test — before you trust it
Run it in Cowork first, then in a plain chat
Watch the difference. In Cowork it reads the folder. In plain chat it quietly skips it. Seeing that once teaches the two-doors rule for good.
Check what it actually read
Ask it to name the files it pulled from. If it can't, or it's guessing, your folder path is wrong — fix that before anything else.
Pressure-test the tone
Does it talk to you the way you wrote it to, or does it default to agreeing? If it's softer than you wanted, your "how you talk to me" section isn't strong enough yet. Tighten it.
Keep the gate on actions
This build reads and reports. It should never send, post, or move anything on its own. If it offers to, that stays on "needs approval." Always.
A connector reaches an app. A folder of your real work reaches your actual life — that's why it lives behind the sealed bubble.
Want it on a timer?Once you trust it, you can put the brief on a schedule with Dispatch so it runs every morning before you're up. Schedule the prep, never the send. We go deeper on scheduling and pro moves in Session 6.
First buildIf you haven't built Build A, the Content Brief yet, start there — it's connectors-only and simpler. This one adds the folder layer on top.