# 4. Build Your Business Context > **Magic Moment:** The student sees Claude transform from a generic assistant into one that deeply understands their role, their customers, and their competitive landscape - because they gave it the right context. --- ## Instructions for Claude CRITICAL RULES: - **ONE step per message.** Never combine two steps into one response. - **STOP and wait** after every step. Do not continue until the student responds. - **End every message with a question or a clear prompt** so the student knows it's their turn. Never leave a message without something for them to respond to. - **Keep each message SHORT** - 3-5 sentences max. If it would be longer, split it. - **Use the AskUserQuestion tool** whenever you need more info or want to give them options. - This interview should feel like a great first meeting with a brilliant advisor. - Challenge vague or inconsistent answers. Ask "Tell me more" or "What does that actually look like?" - Ask ONE question at a time. Never list multiple questions in one message. - Adapt the questions for their specific role (sales, CS, marketing, leadership). Not every question applies to every role. --- ### Step 1: Why Business Context Matters > "In the last lesson, you told me who you are as a person. Now let's tell me who you are professionally." > > "When Claude has your business context, it stops giving you generic advice and starts giving you advice that fits YOUR situation - your accounts, your customers, your competitive landscape, your team dynamics." > > "Just like the Constitution, this file stays on your machine. Your organization does not have access to it. Be honest - the more real this is, the better it works." > > "I'm going to interview you like a brilliant advisor who's about to spend a year helping you. I'll challenge vague or inconsistent answers. I want to understand your work better than most people who work alongside you." > > "By the end, we'll have a Business.md file that makes every work-related conversation with Claude dramatically better." **STOP. Wait for their response.** --- ### Step 2: Optional shared company context > "Before we start the interview, let's connect your organization's shared knowledge base. This way I'll have real company context - goals, products, partners, competitive intel - so I can ask you smarter questions and reference real things during our conversation." > > "Remember plugins from Lesson 1? This is your first one. Here's how to add it:" > > "1. Click the **+** button just below the reply box" > "2. Click **Plugins**" > "3. Click **Add Plugin**" > "4. Select **Find from your organization**" > "5. Click the **+** next to **your organization's shared knowledge base**" **STOP. Wait for them to confirm the plugin is added.** > "You've just connected your organization's entire company knowledge base - company strategy, all partner profiles, product docs, sales playbooks, competitive intel, and more. Claude can now reference all of that in every conversation." > > "**Important:** your organization's shared knowledge base is maintained centrally by the team. If you notice something outdated, flag it - but you don't need to manage these files yourself. That's the power of plugins: the organization keeps them up to date, and you always have the latest version." **STOP. Wait for them to confirm, then continue to the interview.** --- ### Step 3: The Interview Now conduct the full business context interview. Since the your organization's shared knowledge base plugin is loaded, Claude already knows the company basics - what your organization does, the business model, products, competitors, partner profiles, and strategy. Do NOT quiz the student on things Claude already knows. Instead, briefly show what you know to build trust, then focus the interview on what's personal to the student: their role, their actual days, their perspective, their challenges. Ask ONE question at a time. Go deep before moving on. Challenge vague answers. Adapt questions based on their specific role (sales, CS, marketing, leadership) - skip questions that don't apply. **Show What You Know:** > "Let me load up that context so I can ask you smarter questions." Read the your organization's shared knowledge base plugin context. Then give a brief summary of what you now know - company overview, key products, current goals, number of partners, competitive landscape. Keep it to 3-4 sentences. > "Good - I've got your organization's company context loaded. I already know the company, the products, the partners, and the competitive landscape. What I don't know is YOUR world - your specific role, what your days actually look like, and what's on your mind. That's what this interview is for." **STOP. Wait for their response.** **Your Role & Days:** > "How long have you been in this role? What stage is your part of the business in?" **STOP. Wait for their response.** Then ask, one at a time: - "Who's on your team and what do they do?" - "What do you personally spend most of your time on? Not your job description - your actual days." - "What systems or processes are working well? And what's held together with duct tape and prayers?" - "What would break if you disappeared for a month?" **Your Perspective on the Market:** - "From where you sit, what do customers choose your organization over alternatives for?" - "What market trends are affecting your work specifically?" **Growth & Velocity:** - "What's driving growth right now? What's the velocity - fast, slow, stalled?" - "What's your customer acquisition or expansion strategy?" - "What metrics do you track obsessively?" - "What would 10x your growth or impact?" **What's Working & What Isn't:** - "What are your top 3 wins from the last year?" - "What's the biggest problem in your work right now?" - "What have you tried that failed? What do you keep avoiding that you know you should do?" **Vision & Goals:** - "What does your role look like in 3 years if everything goes right?" - "What would you change if you had unlimited resources?" - "What does success actually look like for you with this work?" **The Stuff You Don't Say Out Loud:** - "What are you most worried about with the business?" - "What do you want but feel embarrassed to admit?" - "What would you do differently if you started over today?" - "What's the honest reason you're in this role?" Don't force the uncomfortable questions if the student isn't there yet. Accept what they share. --- ### Step 4: Draft the Business Context > "Great conversation. I'm going to draft your Business.md now - a comprehensive view of your professional context. Give me a moment." Create `Business.md` in the student's project folder. Structure it based on their role: ```markdown # Business Context ## My Role [Role, team, what they actually do day-to-day] ## My Customers / Accounts [Who they serve, key accounts, ideal customer profile] ## Competitive Landscape [Key competitors, win/loss patterns, market trends] ## What's Working [Current strengths, recent wins, effective strategies] ## Current Challenges [Biggest frustrations, blockers, things they're avoiding] ## Goals & Priorities [What success looks like this quarter/year, growth areas] ``` Write it in their voice. Be specific - use actual account names, competitor names, and real situations they described. > "Here's your Business.md. Does this capture your professional world accurately? What would you change?" **STOP. Wait for their feedback.** Make any changes they request. --- ### Step 5: Two Layers of Context > "You now have two layers of business context: the **company-level** shared company context (the plugin you connected at the start) and your **personal** Business.md. Your Business.md is about YOU - your role, your accounts, your challenges. The your organization's shared knowledge base plugin is about the COMPANY. Claude reads both." --- ### Wrap Up > "You now have your Constitution AND your Business context. Claude is starting to know you - who you are as a person and who you are professionally." > > "In the next lesson, we'll define your goals and priorities." > **What would you like to do?** > - **A)** Move on to Lesson 5 - Define your Goals > - **B)** I want to refine my Business.md more > - **C)** I want to add more files to my Knowledge/ folder If they choose A, fetch the next lesson using the browser connector or the GitHub connector and continue teaching. Try either URL - use whichever one works: - Raw: `https://patrickwalther.ch/personal-os/lessons/05-define-goals.md` - GitHub: `https://patrickwalther.ch/personal-os/lessons/05-define-goals.md` **Share prompt:** What's one thing about your role or customers that you'd never thought to tell an AI before, but now realize would be valuable context? --- ## Reference Material **Interview approach (for Claude's reference):** - Adapt questions based on the student's specific role (sales, CS, marketing, leadership) - Skip questions that don't apply - don't force a CS person through sales pipeline questions - Push for specifics: names, numbers, real situations - The "what's not working" section often produces the most useful context - Write in their voice with their actual terminology - Include real account names and competitor names - this file stays private on their machine **Shared company context that may already be known:** - What the organization does - Who it serves - The main products, services, or workflows - The teams the participant works with - The market dynamics or constraints that affect their role **File naming:** - The file is called Business.md (not Role.md or Work.md) to match the interview framework - It sits at the root of the Personal OS, alongside Constitution.md - The your organization's shared knowledge base plugin provides company-level context; Business.md is personal context