Notes

The short version

  • Stop treating AI like a search engine. Treat it like a capable chief of staff.
  • A good result comes from a good brief. A vague question gets a vague answer.
  • Every task sits in one of four modes: you do it, AI helps, AI drafts, AI runs it.
  • Small tasks quietly eat about a working day a week. That’s where your time back is.
  • Use the BRIEF formula every time you ask AI for something that matters.

1. Stop googling, start delegating

Many leaders try AI the way they use Google. They type a few words, get a so-so answer, and decide it’s overrated.

That’s the wrong model. Google finds things that already exist. AI produces new work for you: a draft reply, a summary, a plan, a list of risks. So the skill isn’t searching. It’s delegating.

Think about how you’d hand a task to a sharp new chief of staff on their first day. You wouldn’t say “board update”. You’d say who it’s for, what’s happened, what you need, what good looks like and when you need it. They’re capable, but they weren’t in the room. AI is the same.

The mindset shift:

Googling Delegating
“staff retention ideas” “I run a 30-person allied health clinic. We’ve lost four clinicians in six months, mostly to hospitals. Give me five retention ideas that cost under $20k a year, ranked by how fast they’d work.”
One question, one answer A conversation. You push back, ask for changes, and refine.
You judge the source You judge the work, the same way you’d review a staff member’s draft.

Two habits make the biggest difference:

  • Give it context. The more it knows about your situation, the less generic the answer.
  • Keep going. The first answer is a first draft. Say “shorter”, “more direct”, “what have you missed?” or “write it for a board, not staff”.

2. The four modes of working with AI

Every task you do sits in one of four modes. The aim isn’t to push everything to the right. It’s to put each task in the right place.

Mode What it means Good for Example
1. You do it No AI. You do the work. Judgement, relationships, sensitive matters. Telling a long-serving staff member their role is changing.
2. AI helps You do the thinking. AI is your sounding board. Planning, checking, preparing. “What am I missing in this restructure plan?”
3. AI drafts AI writes the first version. You edit, approve and own it. Emails, memos, updates, summaries. A first draft of the monthly board update from your bullet points.
4. AI runs it AI handles a repeat task within set rules. A person checks it. High-volume, low-risk, repeatable work. An AI receptionist answering routine enquiries and booking calls.

Where most leaders start: moving tasks from Mode 1 to Modes 2 and 3. That’s where the quick wins are, and it needs nothing more than a chat window.

Mode 4 takes more setup and more care. We build towards it later in the course. The rule never changes: anything that goes out under your name gets a person reviewing it.

3. Where the hours go

Big projects aren’t what fills a leader’s week. Small tasks do. Ten minutes here, half an hour there. They add up fast.

Illustrative example (not research data, just one way a typical week can look):

Task Time each How often a week Hours a week
Routine enquiries 10 min 15 2.5
Meeting notes 30 min 3 1.5
Follow-ups 10 min 10 1.7
Reading and summarising reports 45 min 2 1.5
Drafting updates 40 min 1 0.7
Total about 8 hours

That’s about a working day, every week. Your numbers will be different. In Lesson 2 you’ll work out your real ones.

Notice that almost every line in that table is a Mode 1 task that could move to Mode 2 or 3.

4. The BRIEF formula

Use this whenever you ask AI for something that matters. It works in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot. You’ll use it in every lesson of this course.

Letter Stands for Ask yourself Example
B Background What’s going on? What does it need to know? “We’re a 40-person NFP. Our main funder has cut our grant by 15% from July.”
R Role Who should it act as? “Act as an experienced NFP finance adviser.”
I Instruction What exactly do you want done? “Give me three options to close the gap without cutting frontline services.”
E End product What should it look like? Format, length, audience. “A one-page table: option, saving, risk, first step. Written for my board.”
F Finish line What does good look like, and how will you check it? “Plain English, no jargon. Flag any assumptions. Ask me up to three questions before you start.”

A weak request:

Write an email about the funding cut.

The same request, briefed:

Background: We’re a 40-person not-for-profit. Our main funder has cut our grant by 15% from July. Staff have heard rumours and are anxious.

Role: Act as an experienced communications adviser to a CEO.

Instruction: Draft an email from me to all staff explaining the cut.

End product: Under 250 words. Warm but direct. End with when they’ll hear more.

Finish line: No promises I can’t keep about jobs. Flag anything you’ve assumed.

Same tool. Very different result. It took about 60 seconds longer to write.

Tips:

  • You don’t need the labels. Writing the five parts as normal sentences works just as well.
  • Short tasks need a short brief. A one-line email reply might only need B and I.
  • “Ask me questions before you start” is the most useful line you can add. It makes the AI find the gaps in your brief.
  • Save the briefs that work. They become your own prompt library.

5. Stay safe from day one

  • Remove names and identifying details before pasting anything into a free tool. Use “Client A” or “Staff member 1”.
  • Check your training setting. Each tool has one. The tool card for this lesson shows where to look.
  • If you’re at work, follow your organisation’s rules. Many organisations only allow Copilot with a work account. That’s fine. Everything in this course works in Copilot.
  • A person reviews anything that goes out. AI drafts. You decide.
  • Check facts. AI can sound confident and still be wrong. Check any number, name, date or claim before you rely on it.

This week

  1. Complete the worksheet: rewrite three real requests from your week using BRIEF.
  2. Try at least two prompts from the prompt sheet on real work.
  3. Check your tool’s training setting using the tool card.

Next: Lesson 2, Find Your Eight Hours

The 8 hours above is an illustrative example. In Lesson 2 you’ll find your real number with a 15-minute audit. You’ll look back over two weeks, list your repeat tasks, time and count them, and circle your top three.

Before then: keep a rough note of small tasks you repeat this week. Just jot them down as they happen. It will make the audit faster.

Worksheet

Fill it in here and save it as a PDF, or print it and fill it in by hand. Nothing you type here is saved or sent anywhere.

Lesson 1 worksheet: From Googling to Briefing

About 25 minutes. Use real tasks from your own week. That’s what makes it stick.

Part 1: Find three “googly” requests (5 minutes)

Think of three times in the last week you asked AI (or Google, or a staff member) for something in a few words. Or three tasks you did yourself that you could have handed over.

Examples: “summarise this report”, “reply to this complaint”, “ideas for the team offsite”, “agenda for Monday”.

# The short version (how you’d normally ask)
1
2
3

Part 2: Rewrite each one using BRIEF (10 minutes)

Fill in each part. A line or two is enough. Remove names and identifying details.

Reminder:

  • Background: what’s going on, what it needs to know
  • Role: who it should act as
  • Instruction: exactly what you want done
  • End product: format, length, audience
  • Finish line: what good looks like and how you’ll check it

Request 1

Part Your brief
B Background
R Role
I Instruction
E End product
F Finish line

Request 2

Part Your brief
B Background
R Role
I Instruction
E End product
F Finish line

Request 3

Part Your brief
B Background
R Role
I Instruction
E End product
F Finish line

Part 3: Test one (5 minutes)

Pick one request. Run the short version first, then your BRIEF version, in the same tool.

Short version BRIEF version
How close was it to usable? (1–10)
How much editing would it need?
What was the biggest difference?

Part 4: Which mode is each task in? (5 minutes)

Write down the mode each task is in now and where it could go. Then add one first step.

The four modes:

  1. You do it: no AI
  2. AI helps: you think, AI is your sounding board
  3. AI drafts: AI writes the first version, you edit and own it
  4. AI runs it: AI handles it within rules, a person checks
Task Mode now (1–4) Could go to (1–4) First step to get there
Request 1:
Request 2:
Request 3:

Check yourself:

  • Is anything sensitive (staff, health, legal, money) sitting in Mode 3 or 4 without a person reviewing it? If so, move it back.
  • Is anything routine and low-risk still in Mode 1? That’s your time back.

Part 5: One line to finish

Getting ready for Lesson 2

Over the next week, jot down small tasks you repeat. Just the task and roughly how long it took. A note on your phone is fine.

Task Roughly how long How many times this week

You’ll use this in the 15-minute audit.

Prompts

Copy a prompt, paste it into your AI assistant, then replace the [SQUARE BRACKET] parts with your own details. They work in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot. All prompts are also in the Prompt Library.

Copy, paste, fill in the [SQUARE BRACKETS], send. Each prompt works as written in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot.

Before you paste: remove names and identifying details if you’re using a free plan or a personal account. Use “Client A”, “Staff member 1” and so on. AI drafts. You review before anything goes out.

Each prompt follows the BRIEF formula: Background, Role, Instruction, End product, Finish line.

1. Reply to a tricky email

When to use it: an email you’ve been putting off. A complaint, a pushy request, or a “no” you need to say politely.

Background: I'm the [YOUR ROLE] of a [TYPE OF ORGANISATION] with [NUMBER] staff. I've received the email below from [WHO THEY ARE, e.g. a long-standing client]. The context is: [ANYTHING THEY DON'T SAY IN THE EMAIL].

Role: Act as an experienced executive assistant who knows how to protect relationships.

Instruction: Draft a reply from me. I want to [WHAT YOU WANT THE REPLY TO ACHIEVE, e.g. decline the request but keep the door open].

End product: Under [NUMBER] words. Tone: [e.g. warm, firm, formal]. Australian spelling. No corporate jargon.

Finish line: Don't promise anything I haven't said I can do. After the draft, give me one alternative opening line that is more direct.

Here is the email:
[PASTE THE EMAIL]

2. Turn a messy thought into a one-page memo

When to use it: you’ve got an idea or a problem rattling around and you need it on one page for your team or board.

Background: I lead a [TYPE OF ORGANISATION]. I've been thinking about [TOPIC]. My rough notes are below. They're messy and out of order.

Role: Act as a sharp chief of staff who writes clear internal memos.

Instruction: Turn my notes into a one-page memo.

End product: Use these headings: The issue, Why it matters now, Options, My recommendation, What I need from you. No more than one page. Written for [AUDIENCE, e.g. my leadership team].

Finish line: Keep my meaning. Don't add facts I haven't given you. Where my thinking has a gap, put [GAP: ...] in the memo so I can fill it.

My notes:
[PASTE YOUR NOTES, DICTATION OR BULLET POINTS]

3. Prepare for a hard conversation

When to use it: before a performance conversation, a difficult client meeting, or delivering bad news.

Background: I need to have a conversation with [WHO, e.g. a senior team member] about [THE ISSUE]. Some background: [WHAT'S HAPPENED SO FAR, IN A FEW LINES]. What I want out of it: [YOUR GOAL].

Role: Act as an experienced leadership coach.

Instruction: Help me prepare for this conversation.

End product:
1. A suggested opening (two or three sentences, in plain words).
2. The three key points I must get across.
3. The four most likely reactions and how I could respond to each.
4. How to close the conversation with a clear next step.

Finish line: Keep it human and respectful. Point out anything in my approach that could make it worse. Ask me up to three questions first if you need more detail.

4. “What am I missing?” plan check

When to use it: before you commit to a plan, a hire, a purchase or a change.

Background: Here is a plan I'm about to commit to: [DESCRIBE THE PLAN, OR PASTE IT]. The goal is [GOAL]. Our constraints are [BUDGET, TIME, PEOPLE, ANYTHING ELSE].

Role: Act as a blunt, experienced adviser who has seen plans like this fail.

Instruction: Tell me what I'm missing.

End product: A list of the top [NUMBER, e.g. 7] risks or blind spots, most serious first. For each one: what could go wrong, how likely it is (low, medium, high), and one thing I could do now to reduce it.

Finish line: Be direct. Don't soften it and don't praise the plan. If you think the plan is fundamentally flawed, say so in the first line.

5. Summarise a long document into a one-page brief

When to use it: a report, proposal or set of papers you need to understand in five minutes.

Background: I'm the [YOUR ROLE] and I need to understand the document below before [WHAT, e.g. Thursday's board meeting].

Role: Act as a senior analyst briefing a busy CEO.

Instruction: Summarise the document.

End product: One page, with these headings: What it says (five bullet points), What it means for us, Decisions or actions it asks for, Questions I should ask.

Finish line: Only use what is in the document. If something important is unclear or missing, say so. Quote the page or section for any number you include.

Document:
[PASTE THE TEXT]

6. Turn bullet points into a team update

When to use it: your weekly or monthly update to staff, a team or the board.

Background: I send a [WEEKLY / MONTHLY] update to [AUDIENCE]. This period's key points are below.

Role: Act as an internal communications writer who knows my audience is busy.

Instruction: Write the update from me.

End product: Under [NUMBER] words. Start with the single most important thing. Short paragraphs. End with [WHAT YOU WANT, e.g. a thank-you to the team / a call for input].

Finish line: Sound like a real person, not a press release. Australian spelling. Don't add any achievements or numbers that aren't in my points.

My points:
[PASTE YOUR BULLET POINTS]

7. Think through a decision

When to use it: you’re stuck between two or three options.

Background: I need to decide [THE DECISION]. The options are: [OPTION A], [OPTION B] and [OPTION C, if any]. What matters most to me is [e.g. cost, staff morale, speed, risk].

Role: Act as a neutral, experienced board adviser.

Instruction: Help me compare the options.

End product: A table with one row per option and these columns: Main benefit, Main risk, Cost or effort (low, medium, high), Who it affects most. Then one paragraph on which option you'd lean towards and why.

Finish line: Be balanced. Point out if I've missed an obvious option. Tell me what extra information would change your answer.

8. Plan a meeting that’s worth having

When to use it: before you call a meeting, so it ends with decisions, not “let’s catch up again”.

Background: I'm running a [LENGTH, e.g. 45-minute] meeting with [WHO]. The purpose is [PURPOSE]. Decisions we need to make: [DECISIONS].

Role: Act as an experienced meeting facilitator.

Instruction: Draft an agenda and a short pre-read note for attendees.

End product: An agenda with times against each item and who leads it. A pre-read note of under 150 words explaining what people should think about before they arrive.

Finish line: Every agenda item should end in a decision or an action, not just "discussion". If the meeting could be an email instead, tell me.

9. Explain something to someone else

When to use it: you need to explain a technical, financial or complex topic to staff, a client or your board.

Background: I need to explain [TOPIC] to [AUDIENCE]. They know [WHAT THEY ALREADY KNOW]. They are worried about or interested in [THEIR CONCERN].

Role: Act as a skilled teacher who explains things simply without talking down to people.

Instruction: Explain the topic for this audience.

End product: Under [NUMBER] words. Use one everyday example or comparison. End with the three questions they are most likely to ask, with short answers.

Finish line: No jargon. If a technical term can't be avoided, explain it in one short sentence.

10. Improve my own prompt

When to use it: you’ve written a prompt and the answers keep missing the mark. Or you want to turn a good prompt into one you can reuse.

Background: I want to use AI to help with [THE TASK]. Here is the prompt I've been using:
[PASTE YOUR PROMPT]
The problem with the answers I get is: [WHAT'S WRONG, e.g. too generic, too long, wrong tone].

Role: Act as an expert at writing clear instructions for AI assistants.

Instruction: Improve my prompt.

End product:
1. A rewritten prompt using five parts: Background, Role, Instruction, End product, Finish line.
2. Put [SQUARE BRACKETS] around anything I should fill in each time, so I can reuse it.
3. A short list of what you changed and why.

Finish line: Keep it in plain English. It must work in any AI assistant, so don't rely on special features. Ask me up to three questions first if you need to understand the task better.

A line to add to almost any prompt

Add this to the end of almost any prompt

Before you start, ask me up to three questions that would help you do this better.

Do this in your tool

Pick the assistant you use. The steps are only different where the tools are different. Your choice is remembered on this device.

Pick the one assistant you’ll use for this course. You only need one. If your workplace only allows Copilot, use Copilot. Everything in the course works in it.

For Lessons 1 and 2, a free plan is fine. A paid plan (around US$20 a month, roughly A$30 depending on the tool and exchange rate) is recommended from Lesson 3. Check the current price in your account before you sign up. Prices and plan names change.

Menus change often. Where this card says “look for”, the exact wording or location may have moved. Search the tool’s help page for the setting name if you can’t find it.

ChatGPT (OpenAI)

Start a chat

  • Go to chatgpt.com or open the ChatGPT app. Sign in.
  • Click New chat (top of the left sidebar). Type or paste your prompt in the box at the bottom.

Free vs paid

  • Free: good for everyday prompts. Limits on how much you can use the best models.
  • Plus (around US$20 a month): more use of the stronger models and more features. Look for Upgrade in the sidebar or your profile menu.

Privacy and training

  • Click your profile picture, then Settings, then look for Data controls.
  • Look for a setting called “Improve the model for everyone”. Turn it off if you don’t want your chats used for training.
  • For a one-off sensitive chat, look for Temporary chat. It isn’t saved to your history.

Do this now (5 minutes)

  1. Open your chosen tool and sign in.
  2. Find the privacy or training setting. Decide on, or turn off, training on your chats.
  3. Paste in Prompt 10 (“Improve my own prompt”) with a request you used recently. See what comes back.

Whatever tool you use: remove names and identifying details on free and personal accounts, check any facts, and review everything before it goes out.

Next