🧭 THIS WEEK AT BuildProven
Howdy, long time listener, first time caller, asked this, so let’s get into it!
"What's the best, easiest way to learn Claude and its most useful functions?"
as usual, would love it if you could share this newsletter, give feedback via the poll at the end, or best, just hit 'reply' and tell me what you need/want with AI. I will definitely reply and try to help best i can.just found out the ‘reply to’ has been broken - sorry about that - should be working now. for those that have replied with feedback, questions etc - apologies! pls re-send and i’ll try to help out.
🧰 Worth Your Click
Here are a few things I found recently:
Upgraded/improved/fixed QA Architect and Claude Kit - free versions! - Particularly, claude kit - slimmed down token use a bunch.
Enterprise level use of AI coding tools is NOT cheap
Codex now available in the ChatGPT app - hope this is good! - patchy results with the Claude equivalent
Setup an AI native startup - i need to watch this
Anthropic on prompts as briefs. The only prompt skill that pays back for operators is writing the brief you'd give a sharp junior.
my nice little setup of finding links and tracking what’ve posted/used is busted. Need to find / build another one :(.
🗺️ FEATURED INSIGHT
what about learning Claude…
You're a 20+ year professional who's already decided AI matters. You don't need a Claude curriculum. You need one workflow you currently hate, built in 90 minutes, shipping by Monday.
What I Actually Use Every Week
Claude has tool use, computer use, Files, Projects, Artifacts, MCP, Skills, sub-agents, memory. Claude Code, the desktop app, the API.
You will never use 80% of them. Neither do I.
What I use weekly, for real director-level work:
1. The chat box at claude.ai.
2. A pasted document. Meeting notes, a spec, a CSV.
3. A clear brief that reads like one I'd give a sharp junior.
4. A follow-up message when the first answer was close but wrong.
That's the whole stack for 90% of operator work.
The 90-Minute Starter
Pick one task you do every week that you secretly hate. Not the most important one. The most annoying one. The 30-minute Friday status update, the report you copy-paste together every week, the email you rewrite 5 times.
Then spend 90 minutes turning it into a reusable Claude chat.
Minutes 0–15: Write the brief
Open claude.ai. Start a new chat. Don't ask anything yet.
Type the brief you'd give a sharp new hire on Day 1. They're capable, no context. Tell them:
Who you are. "I'm a Director of Operations at a 200-person manufacturer."
What you're producing. "A weekly exec update, 5 sections, 80 words each."
What good looks like. Paste 2 past examples you wrote well.
The source material. Paste this week's raw notes.
What NOT to do. "Don't editorialise. Don't add metrics I didn't give you. Don't use the word 'leverage'."
Send. Read the result. Don't fix it yet.
Minutes 15–45: The first real iteration
The first output is 70% right. Reply with the SAME feedback you'd give the human junior:
"Section 2 is too generic. Pull the actual numbers from the source notes. Section 4 has corporate-speak (leverage, synergies); rewrite in my voice. Section 5 buried the news. Lead with the customer-loss thing."
Send.
The second output is 90% right. Edit the last 10% yourself. Done. You have a draft.
Minutes 45–75: Lock the reusable version
This is the part that compounds.
Scroll up to your brief. Copy it. Open a new chat. Paste it as the first message, before this week's source material.
Save the chat. (Projects on the paid plan; bookmark on free.)
Now every Friday: open the chat, paste new raw notes, get a 90% draft in 30 seconds, edit the last 10%. A 30-minute task collapsed to 5 minutes. Forever.
Minutes 75–90: Log it
Open a note. Title it "Claude workflows I actually use."
First entry:
What I built.
Time I used to spend.
Time I spend now.
What I'd do differently.
You already know how to write briefs. You've been writing them for 20+ years. You just call them different things: project specs, exec summaries, scope-of-work docs, hiring intake.
Vague brief, vague output. Precise brief (voice, audience, constraints, examples, anti-patterns), shockingly good output.
Stop trying to learn Claude. Start treating it as the sharpest junior you've ever managed.
The Bigger Move
If this clicked, there's a version that goes further.
I'm running a 14-day cohort: Build Your First Workflow Tool in 14 Days ($97). Same shape as this weekend, scaled up. One daily 30-minute prompt, one real workflow you currently hate, one shippable tool by Day 14. Built for mid-career operators who don't want to learn to code. They want to ship one thing that pays back every week for the rest of their career.
Reply with "challenge" if you want the details.
Otherwise: go pick your Friday task. Open claude.ai. Set a 90-minute timer. Ship something by Monday.
Weekly build logs from a 25-year program manager who codes with AI.
— Brett
👉 Hit “Reply” and share your experience — I read every one!