What other Claude courses get wrong

By Peter Springett · 1 September 2026

If you’ve been scrolling through Instagram or Facebook recently you might have seen any number of ads promising to teach you how to use Claude. Something like: Week 1: Set up, week 2:prompts, week 3: Cowork etc.

It’s incremental, technical and to be honest, not very appealing for a business owner who just wants to get on with everyday tasks.

That’s where I can help. When I teach people how to use Claude, I divide the session into two halves. We spend the first part getting to know the interface and organizing information that will be critical for any task.

The second part is where we learn how to use Claude Cowork. This is the tool that enables Claude to work with files and folders on your computer and even navigate the web on your behalf. Where AI changes from being just a chatbot, to a personal assistant that can follow instructions and even suggest improvements to a document, a spreadsheet and most other files.

AI just got real

Before the workshop I ask attendees to download a work folder to their desktop. We point Cowork at the folder and ask Claude to describe what it can see. Then what it can improve. Maybe there’s an empty budgeting spreadsheet. Or a half-finished presentation alongside background notes and other research. Ask Claude to complete the presentation or the spreadsheet and see how it gets on.

Remember, the point is not just how to use a new tool. It’s to encourage you to think differently about how you use your computer and your brain. Most people are trapped in a chatbot world. They ask a question, build a conversation but they’re stuck in one groove. With the right training, you’ll work out how to make the leap to the next level, where AI is the computer.

If a chatbot ever helped you develop your thinking process, imagine now that philosophy applied to all of your digital resources. Imagine Claude building a new pricing spreadsheet and then automatically completing it using information in several documents and emails. A task that might have taken a day now takes an hour or less.

Follow up and support

What if you could make that task repeatable or set it to run at the same time every day without you having to do anything? An email concierge, a curator of news in your business sector; the possibilities are endless when you know how.

Finally and most importantly, I follow up with all attendees. How have they used Claude in the intervening two weeks? Are they stuck on something, and how can I help? For some it’s a one off session. With others we build a relationship, typically built on regular sessions and training additional staff.

So that’s the difference. A list of technical steps that promise much but deliver little understanding of your business. Versus personalized training that helps tackle the fundamental challenges you face every day. With the right tools and the right training, you will save time, reduce costs, better serve customers and grow revenues. If that sounds appealing, get in touch today.