PM Cowork

Script a product demo that lands — the audience's-workflow storyline (their day, not your feature list), the golden path rehearsed with fallbacks, the wow moment placed early, and the demo-death contingencies (the backup video, the reset state, the narration bridge). Use when asked script our product demo, demo this to a customer/exec, our demos meander through features, or the demo broke live last time. Produces the demo storyline, the click-path script with fallbacks, the wow placement, and the contingency kit.

Build an FAQ from the questions people actually ask — mined from tickets, chats, and repeated explanations, answered once and well, organized by the asker's words, and maintained by a capture loop instead of annual archaeology. Use when asked create an FAQ for this product/process/team, I answer the same questions weekly, turn our support threads into docs, or why does nobody find our answers. Produces the mined question list with frequencies, the answers in ask-language, the structure, and the capture loop.

Pick the chart the data and the point actually need — the question-to-chart mapping (comparison, trend, composition, distribution, relationship), the honesty rules (axes, baselines, dual-axis traps), and the one-chart-one-point discipline. Use when asked what chart should I use, make this data visual, why does this chart feel misleading, or fix this graph for the deck. Produces the chart verdict with its reasoning, the honesty checklist applied, and the labeling that lets the chart travel without its author.

Clear the desktop that's become a hundred-icon guilt mosaic — the fast triage that empties it today, the honest read of what the desktop was being used for (it's a to-do list wearing icons), and the replacement systems that keep it clear. Use when asked clean up my desktop, my desktop has 200 files on it, why does my desktop keep filling up, or set up a clean-desktop habit. Produces the today-pass, the function-replacement mapping, and the two-minute weekly habit.

Turn a business trip into a one-page brief that runs itself — the itinerary with buffers and failure modes, the meeting logistics pre-solved (addresses, contacts, backup numbers), the packing-and-prep list by trip type, and the expense capture set up before departure. Use when asked prep my business trip, build the travel brief, I always forget something when traveling, or organize this three-city week. Produces the one-page brief: timeline with buffers, the per-meeting logistics, the contingency card, and the expense setup.

Convert a meeting into async work that actually decides — the doc-plus-deadline format that replaces the room, the comment-window rules, the decision-closure step that async usually fumbles, and the honest test for what still needs synchronous. Use when asked can this meeting be async, replace our status meeting with a doc, run this decision without a call, or async isn't working for us. Produces the conversion design, the async artifact format, the closure protocol, and the still-needs-a-room list.

Write the handbook page that ends the repeated explanation — the answer-shaped structure (task-first, context second), the ownership and freshness header, and the write-once-point-forever discipline that turns tribal knowledge into infrastructure. Use when asked document how we do X, write the wiki page for this process, I explain this every month, or make this knowledge survive me. Produces the page with task-first structure, the header block, the worked example, and the pointer habit.

Build an all-hands that lands with everyone from intern to VP — the mixed-altitude structure (the story for all, the numbers for some), the wins-with-names section done right, the hard-news slide handled straight, and the Q&A design that gets real questions. Use when asked build the all-hands deck, make the monthly town hall not boring, how do we share the numbers with everyone, or announce this change at all-hands. Produces the segment structure, the altitude-mixed content rules, the hard-news handling, and the Q&A mechanics.

Convert an email (or a whole thread) into real tasks — the actual asks extracted from the prose, each with owner, deadline, and the done-test, so nothing lives in the inbox as its own reminder. Use when asked what am I actually being asked to do here, turn this thread into a task list, extract the action items from this email, or I keep re-reading this thread. Produces the ask extraction with quoted sources, the task list in owner-verb-deadline form, and the reply that confirms the commitments.

Know which talk you're giving — the pitch (drive one decision) vs. the teach (build understanding) — because mixing their structures fails both, and most bad presentations are one wearing the other's clothes. Use when asked is this a pitch or a training, my informative deck didn't land the ask, my pitch felt like a lecture, or structure this talk for the right job. Produces the mode diagnosis, the structural implications, the mixed-mandate split, and the mode-check on an existing deck.

Draft an internal policy people can actually follow — the rule stated plainly with its reason, the bright lines separated from the judgment zones, the edge cases resolved by principle, and the enforcement reality stated honestly. Use when asked write our expense/remote-work/AI-use/security policy, turn this incident into a policy, our policy doc is unreadable, or people keep asking what's allowed. Produces the policy with rules-plus-reasons, the bright-line/judgment split, the worked edge cases, and the honest enforcement section.

Turn a folder of accumulated documents into one decision-ready brief — the skim-map pass over the pile, the extraction against the brief's actual questions, the conflict reconciliation when documents disagree, and the provenance trail back to sources. Use when asked read all this and tell me what matters, synthesize this folder for the new lead, turn these 20 docs into a brief, or what does all this material actually say. Produces the pile map, the question-driven extraction, the reconciled brief with per-claim sources, and the didn't-read honesty ledger.

Fix a team's chat sprawl — the channel map with one purpose per channel, the naming scheme that makes purpose findable, the archive pass for the dead and duplicated, and the posting norms (threads, @-discipline, urgency signals) that keep signal findable. Use when asked clean up our Slack/Teams, we have 90 channels and nothing is findable, set channel norms, or where should things get posted. Produces the channel audit and map, the naming scheme, the norms card, and the archive pass.

Plan a team offsite that earns its cost — the purpose split (connection vs. decisions vs. planning, weighted on purpose), the agenda that alternates work and air, the logistics runbook, and the follow-through that makes Monday different from before. Use when asked plan our team offsite, design two days for the team, make this offsite not a waste, or what do we actually do at the offsite. Produces the purpose weighting, the day designs, the logistics checklist, and the commitments-capture that survives re-entry.

Write presenter notes that actually help mid-talk — cue-grain phrases instead of scripts, the transitions and numbers that deserve verbatim capture, the timing marks that keep the talk on schedule, and the Q&A crib built in. Use when asked write my speaker notes, I either script everything or wing it, what goes in the notes pane, or I keep running over time. Produces the notes at cue grain, the verbatim-worthy lines, the timing marks, and the Q&A crib.

End the workday on purpose — the ten-minute shutdown that closes open loops, stages tomorrow's start, and gives the brain permission to actually stop (the incomplete-task hum has an off switch, and it's written). Use when asked I can't stop thinking about work at night, build an end-of-day routine, my evenings are ruined by open loops, or how do I stop checking one more time. Produces the shutdown checklist, the tomorrow-staging step, the closing phrase, and the after-hours boundary rules.

Enforce the simplest meeting rule that works — no agenda, no meeting — with the three-line agenda format (purpose, decisions sought, pre-reads), the 24-hour rule, and the graceful cancel scripts. Use when asked write an agenda for this meeting, should this meeting happen, our meetings have no agendas, or cancel this meeting politely. Produces the three-line agenda, the happen-or-cancel verdict, the cancel/convert scripts, and the team norm rollout.

Design the archive layer that keeps current workspaces lean without losing history — what moves, when, to where, findable-by-search, with the project-close ritual that makes archiving automatic instead of aspirational. Use when asked set up an archiving system, our workspace is drowning in old projects, when should things get archived, or make history findable without cluttering today. Produces the archive triggers, the destination structure, the findability rules, and the close-out ritual.

Keep citations honest in business documents — every load-bearing claim sourced, links that actually contain the claim, the as-of dates that keep numbers honest, and the internal-vs-external sourcing rules for decks and memos. Use when asked check the sourcing in this deck, add citations to this doc, our slide says 'studies show' — which studies, or set citation norms for the team. Produces the claim-by-claim audit, the fixes (source found, claim softened, or cut), the citation format for the venue, and the team norm card.

Delegate so the work comes back right the first time — the brief that transfers outcome, context, and constraints (not just the task), the autonomy level stated explicitly, and the check-in design that catches drift without hovering. Use when asked hand this off properly, my delegations come back wrong, write a brief for this task I'm giving away, or how much detail do I give. Produces the delegation brief with the outcome and guardrails, the autonomy level, the check-in points, and the questions-welcome contract.

Empty the Downloads folder that's become a junk drawer — the four-bucket pass (file, delete, action, quarantine), the age-based bulk rules that make 2,000 items tractable, and the tiny habit that keeps it empty. Use when asked clean up my downloads folder, 2000 files in downloads help, what's safe to delete here, or stop my downloads from piling up. Produces the bucket pass with bulk rules, the safe-delete classes, the keeper-filing routes, and the weekly sweep habit.

Escalate an issue up the chain without burning the person you're escalating past — the facts-first structure, the tried-already section that earns the escalation, and the specific ask that makes action easy. Use when asked I need to escalate this, write an email to my boss's boss, this vendor issue needs to go up, or how do I go over someone's head professionally. Produces the escalation email with its evidence spine, the pre-escalation courtesy step, and the relationship-preserving framing.

Grade the evidence behind a claim before betting on it — the hierarchy for business evidence (experiments > usage data > surveys > interviews > anecdotes > opinion), the fit-for-decision test, and the mixed-evidence verdicts that real questions produce. Use when asked how strong is our evidence for this, grade what we know before the decision, is this enough to bet on, or we have three anecdotes and a survey — now what. Produces the evidence inventory with grades, the sufficiency verdict against the decision's stakes, and the cheapest-upgrade path.

Chase unanswered emails without being annoying — the escalating-gently sequence with timing rules, the re-ask that makes replying easy, and the close-the-loop discipline that ends zombie threads. Use when asked they haven't replied what do I send, write a follow-up that isn't pushy, how long do I wait before chasing, or manage my waiting-on list. Produces the follow-up sequence with dates, drafts per rung, and the give-up-gracefully exit.

Decline requests without damaging relationships or your standing — the fast-clear-warm formula, the alternative-attached no, the no-to-the-boss version (tradeoffs, not refusal), and scripts for the asks that recur. Use when asked how do I say no to this, turn down a request, decline extra work politely, I say yes to everything and drown, push back on my manager, or protect the roadmap from a pet feature. Produces the decline scripts by relationship, the tradeoff framing, and the exact wording tuned to who is asking.

Get unstuck on purpose — the stuck-type diagnosis (don't-know-how, can't-decide, waiting, avoiding, too-big), the matched unblock move for each, and the timebox that stops noble struggling before it eats the day. Use when asked I'm stuck on this and don't know why, I keep avoiding this task, how long should I struggle before asking, or unblock my stalled project. Produces the stuck diagnosis, the matched move, the ask-for-help script that preserves standing, and the stuck-log pattern read.

Run a company event — the launch party, the customer day, the team celebration — as the operation it is: the goal that shapes every choice, the budget with its forgotten lines, the vendor and venue coordination, the run-of-show with owners, and the day-of roles that keep hosts hosting. Use when asked plan the company event, organize our customer day/holiday party/launch event, what am I forgetting for this event, or be the run-of-show for Thursday. Produces the goal-shaped plan, the budget with the forgotten lines, the run-of-show, and the day-of role card.

Design slides where the data makes the argument — the takeaway-titled chart, the one-chart-per-slide rule, the annotation layer that guides the eye to the point, and the honesty pass on projected data. Use when asked make this data slide land, my chart slide confuses people, how do I present these numbers, or the audience missed the point of my graph. Produces the redesigned slide: takeaway title, the chart stripped and annotated, the eye-path check, and the honesty audit.

Schedule work by energy, not just time — the week of self-observation that maps your real peaks and troughs, the work-to-energy matching (hard creative work on peaks, admin on slopes, meetings on shoulders), and the calendar rebuild that honors the map. Use when asked when should I do my hardest work, I waste my best hours on email, map my energy levels, or why is 3pm always useless. Produces the observation protocol, the personal energy map, the work-type matching, and the rebuilt week.

Untangle the spreadsheet formula nobody dares touch — decompose the seven-function nest into named readable steps, explain what it actually does (vs. what it's believed to do), and rebuild it maintainably with helper columns and modern functions. Use when asked what does this formula do, this IFERROR-VLOOKUP monster broke, make this formula maintainable, or nobody understands the sheet the analyst left. Produces the plain-language decode, the step decomposition into helper columns, the believed-vs-actual gaps, and the rebuilt version.

Arrive at a meeting armed in fifteen minutes — the prep pack: what this meeting decides, your position with its reasons, the other attendees' likely stances, the questions to ask, and the outcome you're steering toward. Use when asked prep me for this meeting, what should I know before this call, I have 15 minutes before a big meeting, or help me not wing it. Produces the one-page prep pack with position, stances, questions, and the walk-away-with list.

Structure an internal proposal that gets a decision — the problem-cost-options-recommendation-ask spine, the objection pre-handling that shortens the meeting, and the reversibility framing that makes yes easier. Use when asked write a proposal for the new tool or process or hire, how do I pitch this internally, structure my case for the change, or my proposals keep dying in review. Produces the proposal skeleton filled from the actual case, the objections table, the decision-sized ask, and the one-page discipline.

Audit a spreadsheet before trusting it — the error hunt (hardcoded overrides, broken ranges, silent unit mixes), the fragility map (what breaks when rows are added), and the load-bearing-formula review that catches the mistake before the meeting does. Use when asked check this spreadsheet before we present it, why don't these numbers add up, audit this model someone left behind, or is this sheet safe to build on. Produces the findings ranked by damage, the fragility map, the verified-vs-suspect ledger, and the fix list.

Turn a document the team keeps rewriting into a template that actually helps — extract the recurring skeleton, mark what varies with real placeholder prompts, keep it lighter than the ceremony it replaces, and pilot it before decreeing it. Use when asked make a template from this doc, we write this same thing every week, standardize our status updates or briefs, or why does nobody use our templates. Produces the extracted template with prompting placeholders, the keep-it-light rules, the example-filled twin, and the adoption path.

Design working sessions that produce artifacts, not vibes — the outcome-backwards agenda, the activity formats that beat open discussion (silent writing, dot voting, structured rounds), the energy arc, and the output-capture that survives the room. Use when asked design a workshop for X, plan our planning session, facilitate a half-day working session, or our workshops are fun but nothing comes out. Produces the workshop design: the artifact goal, the activity sequence with timings, the facilitation notes, and the capture plan.

Clean a messy dataset methodically — the profiling pass that finds what's actually wrong (dupes, format drift, phantom spaces, mixed types), the fix order that doesn't corrupt while correcting, and the log that makes the cleaning defensible. Use when asked clean this export, why is my pivot double-counting, these names don't match between sheets, or prep this data for analysis. Produces the profile of what's wrong, the ordered cleaning plan, the join-key repairs, and the cleaning log.

Set up the team decision log that ends relitigation — the one-line-per-decision format (what, why, who, when, reopening rule), the capture moments wired into existing rituals, and the lookup habit that makes it pay. Use when asked set up a decision log, we keep re-deciding the same things, where do decisions get recorded, or new people keep asking why we do X. Produces the log format, the capture wiring, the reopening rule, and the retrieval habits.

Give a deck a spine the room can follow — the situation-complication-resolution arc, the tension that makes the recommendation feel necessary, the transitions that carry the thread between slides, and the arc-check that catches sag. Use when asked make this deck flow, my presentation feels like disconnected slides, structure the story of this pitch/readout, or the room got lost in the middle. Produces the arc mapping, the tension line, the transition script, and the sag diagnosis.

Outline a deck as headline sentences before opening the slide tool — each slide a claim that reads as an argument top to bottom, the audience-and-ask header, and the skim test that catches broken decks while they're still bullet points. Use when asked start this presentation, structure my deck, why does my deck feel like a data tour, or get sign-off before I build slides. Produces the headline outline, the per-slide evidence notes, the skim test result, and the build rules.

Review a deck against a rubric instead of taste — the five dimensions (argument, evidence, density, arc, honesty), the severity-sorted feedback that separates broken from suboptimal, and the review conversation that improves the deck without rewriting it in the reviewer's voice. Use when asked review my deck, give feedback on this presentation, is this ready for the board, or our deck reviews are just font opinions. Produces the rubric scores with evidence, the severity-sorted feedback, the two-fixes-that-matter-most call, and the reviewer discipline notes.

Protect focus time that actually survives the week — the block placement matched to real energy hours, the defense rules (what moves a block, what never), the entry ritual that beats the blank-stare start, and the honest sizing that stops 8-hour fantasy blocks. Use when asked block focus time that keeps getting eaten, when should I schedule deep work, my calendar has no room to think, or I block time and then waste it. Produces the block design, the defense tiers, the entry ritual, and the meeting-culture negotiation.

Submit expenses that sail through approval — the capture-at-spend habit, the policy-fluency that prevents rejections (thresholds, receipt rules, the pre-approval traps), the report assembled in minutes, and the approver-side rules for reviewing fairly and fast. Use when asked my expense reports are always late or rejected, set up my expense workflow, what does the policy actually require, or review expenses as a manager without being a receipt cop. Produces the capture habit, the policy crib, the submission routine, and the approver's rubric.

Design a KPI tracker that drives decisions instead of decorating them — the few-metrics discipline (5–9, each with an owner and a so-what), targets with honest baselines, the trend-first layout, and the review ritual where the tracker actually gets used. Use when asked set up KPI tracking for the team, build a metrics dashboard in sheets, which numbers should we track, or our dashboard exists but nobody acts on it. Produces the metric selection with kill-list, the tracker structure, the target-setting notes, and the review ritual.

Price meetings in money and focus — the attendee-hours × loaded-rate math, the recurring multiplier that turns a weekly 30-minutes into a real annual number, and the cost-vs-outcome read that decides what the price buys. Use when asked what does this meeting cost, price our meeting culture, is this recurring meeting worth it, or make the case for fewer attendees. Produces the cost computation with stated assumptions, the recurring annualization, the cost-per-outcome read, and the reduction levers ranked.

Triage an overwhelming task list into what actually gets done — the urgent/important sort applied honestly (with the two corrections the classic matrix needs), the do/schedule/delegate/drop verbs, and the list hygiene that keeps triage from becoming a weekly archaeology dig. Use when asked my task list is overwhelming, triage my todos, everything feels urgent, or what should I actually work on. Produces the sorted list with verbs, the urgency audit (what's fake-urgent), the drop list with permission, and the intake rule.

Land a sprawling chat thread on an actual decision — the summarize-and-fork move (positions restated, the question isolated), the decider-and-deadline injection, and the recorded close that ends the forty-message orbit. Use when asked this thread is going in circles, get a decision out of this discussion, summarize where we landed, or why do our threads never conclude. Produces the thread summary with positions attributed, the isolated decision question, the closure message, and the decision record.

Write a team's working agreements — the small set of explicit norms (communication, meetings, decisions, conflict) that replace the assumptions people were silently violating, built from the team's actual frictions and revisited on a cadence. Use when asked create team working agreements, set norms for our new team, we keep clashing over how we work, or onboard people into how this team operates. Produces the friction-derived agreement set, the specific-behavior phrasing, the disagreement protocol, and the review cadence.

Write status updates people actually read — the traffic-light-plus-narrative format (state first, story second), the blockers-are-asks rule, and the skimmable structure that respects a reader with thirty seconds. Use when asked write my weekly update, format our team's status posts, nobody reads my updates, or what goes in a good async check-in. Produces the update format with a filled example, the blockers-as-asks discipline, and the reader-time contract.

Make introductions that respect both sides — the double-opt-in flow (ask each party privately before connecting them), the forwardable blurb that makes saying yes easy, and the connecting email that sets both up to succeed. Use when asked introduce me to someone, can you connect us, write an intro email, or someone asked me for an intro. Produces the opt-in asks for both sides, the forwardable blurb, the intro email itself, and the graceful decline path.

Turn an overflowing inbox into a four-verb system — archive, reply-now, task, or park — with the two-minute rule enforced and a daily cadence that survives busy weeks. Use when asked help me get to inbox zero, my email is out of control, build me an email triage system, or process this backlog. Produces the triage pass on the actual inbox, the four-verb rules, the folder/label minimal set, and the daily cadence.

Set a filename convention that sorts, searches, and survives — date-first ISO format, the descriptor grammar, version suffixes that end the FINAL-final2 era, and the rollout that gets a team actually using it. Use when asked set up file naming rules, our filenames are chaos, what should we call our files, or fix the v2-final-FINAL problem. Produces the convention with its grammar, examples for the team's real file types, the version rule, and the one-line cheat sheet.

Turn a pile of interview notes into findings that survive scrutiny — the code-then-theme pass, the counting discipline (how many actually said it), the quote selection that illustrates instead of cherry-picks, and the confidence lines a small sample earns. Use when asked synthesize these user/customer/exit interviews, what did we actually learn from the calls, turn 12 transcripts into insights, or are these themes real. Produces the coded themes with counts, the divergences preserved, the illustrative quotes, and the claims sized to the sample.

Keep a team knowledge base alive — the gardener role and its weekly half-hour, the rot signals (stale pages, orphans, duplicates) and their fixes, the capture funnels that feed the garden, and the pruning that keeps search useful. Use when asked our wiki is a graveyard, who maintains the knowledge base, set up knowledge management that lasts, or people can't find anything anymore. Produces the gardener rotation, the weekly tending routine, the rot triage, and the capture funnels.

Replace ad-hoc interruptions with office hours that actually get used — the slot design (cadence, length, format), the routing rules that tell people what goes there vs. what shouldn't wait, and the empty-hours and overflow failure modes handled in advance. Use when asked set up office hours, I'm interrupted constantly but want to stay accessible, my office hours sit empty, or design expert time for the team. Produces the slot design, the routing card, the facilitation format, and the tuning rules.

Run an office move or reconfiguration without losing a week of work — the dependency-ordered plan (internet lead times rule everything), the workstream owners, the comms that keep the team functional through the chaos, and the day-one-that-works checklist. Use when asked plan our office move, we're moving floors/buildings in six weeks, who owns what in the move, or make day one at the new office not a disaster. Produces the workstream map with owners, the dependency timeline, the team comms plan, and the day-one readiness gate.

Cap your work-in-progress so things finish — the personal WIP limit (3 active outcomes, defended), the finish-before-start rule with its exceptions named, the parking lot for the overflow, and the throughput evidence that converts the skeptic. Use when asked I have twelve things half-done, why does nothing ever finish, set a WIP limit for my work, or I start everything and complete nothing. Produces the active-list cap, the parking protocol, the start-gate, and the two-week throughput experiment.

Draft email replies that match the sender's register — formality, length, directness, and emoji-tolerance read from their message, so the reply lands as native instead of off-key. Use when asked reply to this email, draft a response that doesn't sound stiff, match their tone, or answer this without sounding like a robot. Produces the tone read of the incoming message, the reply drafted in that register, and the adjustment knobs.

Set up a research repository the team actually reuses — the atomic-insight format (finding + evidence + source + date), the tagging that makes old research findable by new questions, and the check-the-repo-first norm that stops re-researching. Use when asked set up a research repository, we keep re-learning the same things, where do our user insights live, or make past research findable. Produces the repo structure, the insight-entry format, the intake funnel from studies, and the reuse norms.

Fix slides that are documents in landscape mode — the one-point-per-slide rule, the projection-vs-reading fork that decides density, the text diet (headlines and evidence, prose to notes), and the glance test. Use when asked my slides are too busy, how much text per slide, fix this wall-of-bullets deck, or make this readable from the back of the room. Produces the density diagnosis, the per-slide fixes (split, strip, or move-to-notes), the projection/document fork decision, and the glance-test results.

Track a team's budget so surprises die young — the commitment-based view (spent + committed + planned, not just invoiced), the category grain that matches how the team actually spends, the monthly close with its one-sentence read, and the forecast honesty for the year-end question. Use when asked track my team's budget, are we going to blow the budget, why did finance's number surprise us, or set up budget visibility for the team. Produces the three-lane tracker (spent/committed/planned), the monthly close ritual, the variance signals, and the year-end forecast method.