Modules
Statesmen Consulting
STATESMEN CONSULTING
Claude Teams · Facilitator Guide
Prepared for HedgeStar and BlueRose
Training plan · 9 modules
Getting started
with Claude Teams
A facilitator guide for introducing your colleagues to Claude on the Teams plan. Navigate modules using the sidebar, then expand any topic card for talking points, demos, and exercises.
What is different about Teams
Your team shares a single Claude workspace. A workspace owner invites you by email; you sign in with your work email (or Google sign-in if your workspace owner has enabled it). Your conversations are not used to train Claude. Your seat includes a generous monthly usage allowance — there is no separate per-message billing to you, but you do have per-seat limits, so be intentional about long sessions. Some capabilities (Cowork, certain Connectors and Skills) may be enabled or restricted by your workspace owner.
📅
Schedule (Cards)
11-week AI Team Enablement program — expandable cards for each week with full agendas
🗓
Schedule (Calendar)
Same schedule as a June/July/August 2026 month-grid calendar — click a week to see details
💻
1 · Prerequisites
Accept your workspace invite, sign in, and install the desktop and mobile apps, Chrome extension, and Microsoft Office add-ins before training day
2 · Settings
Profile, account, data & privacy, usage, and capability toggles — some are workspace-controlled
🎨
3 · Customize
Workspace-approved Connectors (Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Slack, SharePoint), Skills library, and writing styles
💬
4 · Chat basics
Conversations, prompts, file uploads, voice, the model selector, and your Teams usage allowance
📁
5 · Projects
Organize work with standing instructions and reference docs — and share projects with your team
📄
6 · Artifacts
Documents, code, charts, and interactive tools Claude creates alongside your chat
🖥
7 · Cowork
Claude's agentic desktop workspace — works with local files, runs scheduled tasks, integrates connectors
📱
8 · Dispatch
Assign Claude tasks from your phone — they execute on your desktop in the background
🎨
9 · Design
Create designs, prototypes, slides, and one-pagers by chatting with Claude on a live canvas
How to use this guide: Each module has topic cards — click to expand talking points, trainer tips, and demo ideas. Suggested pace: 15–20 minutes per module. Have participants complete Prerequisites before training day so the session can focus on using Claude, not installing it. This guide assumes the Claude Teams plan has been provisioned for the participant's email by your workspace owner.
AI Team Enablement · 11-week program
Training Schedule
Blue Rose & HedgeStar
The full session calendar for the Statesmen AI Team Enablement program. Sessions are organized into joint weeks (Blue Rose & HedgeStar together) and team-specific weeks (separate Blue Rose and HedgeStar tracks for applied work). Date and time TBD unless otherwise noted.
How the program is structured
Weeks 0–7 are joint sessions for both Blue Rose and HedgeStar teams covering setup, AI fundamentals, Claude Chat, Cowork, Design, and Financial Services Agents. Weeks 8–10 split into team-specific tracks where each team applies what they've learned to their own workflows — Blue Rose focuses on debt prospectuses, pitch decks, financial statement analysis, and pro formas; HedgeStar focuses on hedge accounting expertise, confirms normalization, SQL data access, and data manipulation.
Week 0 · June 1, 2026 · Prerequisites
No meeting — complete setup before Week 1
Week 1 · Week of 6/8/26 · Setup & Configuration
Blue Rose & HedgeStar · Confirming Prerequisites, Login & Installation, Settings, Customize / Connectors
Week 2 · Friday, June 19, 2026 · 8:30–9:30 AM CST · AI Fundamentals
Blue Rose & HedgeStar · What AI is and isn't, deterministic vs. probabilistic, key terminology
Week 3 · Week of 6/22/26 · Claude Chat Concepts — Beginning
Blue Rose & HedgeStar · Prompting framework, prompt engineering, context & memory, models
Week 4 · Week of 6/29/26 · Claude Chat Concepts — Advanced
Blue Rose & HedgeStar · Projects, Artifacts
Week 5 · Week of 7/6/26 · Claude Cowork
Blue Rose & HedgeStar · Live Artifacts, Scheduling, Dispatch
Week 6 · Week of 7/13/26 · Cowork Agents, Design & FS Agents I
Blue Rose & HedgeStar · Cowork Agents, Claude Design, Model Builder, Market Researcher
Week 7 · Week of 7/20/26 · Claude Financial Services Agents II
Blue Rose & HedgeStar · Pitch Builder, Valuation Reviewer
Week 8 · Week of 7/27/26 · Team-specific tracks
Blue Rose: Debt prospectuses, pitch deck · HedgeStar: Hedge Accounting expert
Week 9 · Week of 8/3/26 · Team-specific tracks
Blue Rose: Analyzing Financial Statements · HedgeStar: Confirms, SQL
Week 10 · Week of 8/10/26 · Team-specific tracks
Blue Rose: Pro Formas · HedgeStar: Manipulating Data
Week 0 · June 1, 2026 · Prerequisites

Audience: Blue Rose and HedgeStar Teams · Format: No meeting — self-serve setup

NO MEETING BUT PLEASE COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING PREREQUISITES BEFORE THE WEEK 1 MEETING.

Please complete the following:

  • Confirm access has been granted. Ann will be sending out the link to join the platform. Sign into Claude online.
  • Confirm installation of Claude Desktop on local machine. Download & install the Claude Desktop application.
  • Confirm installation of the Claude Plug-in for MS Office — Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
  • Initial test prompt — run a basic prompt to confirm everything is working.
Facilitator note: Anyone who has not completed Week 0 prerequisites by the Week 1 session should pair with a teammate who has. Cross-reference Module 1 (Prerequisites) for screenshots and step-by-step install instructions.
Week 1 · Week of 6/8/26 · Setup & Configuration

Audience: Blue Rose and HedgeStar Teams · Date & Time: TBD

Meeting Agenda:

  • Confirming Prerequisites — verify everyone has Claude access, Desktop, and the MS Office plug-in working
  • Login & Installation — walk through any participants who need help getting in
  • Settings — profile, account, data & privacy, usage, capability toggles
  • Customize / Connectors — workspace-approved connectors and the Skills library
📚 Maps to Modules 1, 2, and 3: Prerequisites, Settings, and Customize
Week 2 · Friday, June 19, 2026 · 8:30–9:30 AM CST · AI Fundamentals

Audience: Blue Rose and HedgeStar Teams · Date & Time: Friday, June 19, 2026 · 8:30–9:30 AM CST

Meeting Agenda:

  • What is AI — and what it isn't
  • Deterministic vs. Probabilistic systems
  • Key AI terminology
  • Generative AI vs Machine Learning
  • Data / Security Concerns
💡 Scheduling note: This is the only session with a confirmed date and time. All others are TBD.
Week 3 · Week of 6/22/26 · Claude Chat Concepts — Beginning

Audience: Blue Rose and HedgeStar Teams · Date & Time: TBD

Meeting Agenda:

  • Prompting Framework
  • Prompt Engineering
  • Context and Memory
  • Comparison of Claude models
📚 Maps to Module 4: Chat basics
Week 4 · Week of 6/29/26 · Claude Chat Concepts — Advanced

Audience: Blue Rose and HedgeStar Teams · Date & Time: TBD

Meeting Agenda:

  • Projects — organizing work with standing instructions and reference docs; sharing across the team
  • Artifacts — documents, code, charts, and interactive tools Claude creates alongside your chat
📚 Maps to Modules 5 & 6: Projects and Artifacts
Week 5 · Week of 7/6/26 · Claude Cowork

Audience: Blue Rose and HedgeStar Teams · Date & Time: TBD

Meeting Agenda:

  • Live Artifacts — interactive, persistent HTML views that refresh from connected data sources
  • Scheduling — setting up recurring tasks Claude runs automatically
  • Dispatch — assigning tasks from your phone for Claude to execute on your desktop
📚 Maps to Modules 7 & 8: Cowork and Dispatch
Week 6 · Week of 7/13/26 · Cowork Agents, Design & Financial Services Agents I

Audience: Blue Rose and HedgeStar Teams · Date & Time: TBD

Meeting Agenda:

  • Claude Cowork — Agents — autonomous workflows that combine connectors, skills, and tools
  • Claude Design — create slides, prototypes, and one-pagers on a live canvas through conversation
  • Claude Financial Services Agents — Model Builder — agent that constructs financial models from inputs and assumptions
  • Claude Financial Services Agents — Market Researcher — agent for industry research, comparable-company analysis, and market context
📚 Maps to Modules 7 & 9 plus FS Agents: Cowork, Design, and the first two Statesmen-customized financial services agents
Week 7 · Week of 7/20/26 · Claude Financial Services Agents II

Audience: Blue Rose and HedgeStar Teams · Date & Time: TBD

Meeting Agenda:

  • Pitch Builder — agent that drafts pitch decks from deal context, comps, and templates
  • Valuation Reviewer — agent for cross-checking valuation models, assumptions, and outputs
💰 Industry-specific: Final joint week before the program splits into team-specific tracks.
Week 8 · Week of 7/27/26 · Team-specific tracks

Format: Two separate sessions — one for each team. Date & Time: TBD for both.

Blue Rose Team — Meeting Agenda:

  • Reading Debt Prospectuses — extracting key terms, covenants, and structure from offering documents
  • Creating a Pitch Deck — building a deck end-to-end with Claude Design and the Pitch Builder agent

HedgeStar Team — Meeting Agenda:

  • Creating a Hedge Accounting expert — building a Claude Project (or custom agent) that captures HedgeStar's hedge-accounting knowledge for the team to reuse
📍 Tracks diverge here: Sessions are tailored to each team's day-to-day workflows.
Week 9 · Week of 8/3/26 · Team-specific tracks

Format: Two separate sessions — one for each team. Date & Time: TBD for both.

Blue Rose Team — Meeting Agenda:

  • Analyzing Financial Statements — using Claude to extract insights, ratios, and anomalies from financial statements

HedgeStar Team — Meeting Agenda:

  • Reading and normalizing confirms — using Claude to parse and standardize trade confirmation documents
  • Creating SQL for data access — generating queries against internal data warehouses
Week 10 · Week of 8/10/26 · Team-specific tracks

Format: Two separate sessions — one for each team. Date & Time: TBD for both.

Blue Rose Team — Meeting Agenda:

  • Creating Pro Formas — building forward-looking financial projections with Claude

HedgeStar Team — Meeting Agenda:

  • Manipulating Data — cleaning, transforming, joining, and analyzing datasets with Claude
🏆 Final week: Capstone applications — participants finish with a workflow they can keep using.
Calendar at a glance: Week 0 (6/1, no meeting) · Week 1 (6/8 — Setup) · Week 2 (Fri 6/19, 8:30 AM CST — AI Fundamentals) · Week 3 (6/22 — Chat Beginning) · Week 4 (6/29 — Chat Advanced) · Week 5 (7/6 — Cowork) · Week 6 (7/13 — Agents/Design/FS I) · Week 7 (7/20 — FS II) · Week 8 (7/27 — Team tracks) · Week 9 (8/3 — Team tracks) · Week 10 (8/10 — Team tracks). All times TBD except Week 2.
AI Team Enablement · Calendar view
Training Schedule
Calendar view
The same 11-week program as a real month calendar. Each training week is marked with a colored chip on its starting Monday — click a chip to open the full agenda below.
How to read this calendar
Each colored chip marks the start of a training week (always a Monday). The dashed-outline chip on Friday, June 19 is the only session with a confirmed date and time — 8:30–9:30 AM CST. All other meetings are TBD within their week. Click any chip to open the meeting agenda.
Prereqs (no meeting)
Setup & Chat concepts
AI Fundamentals
Cowork
FS Agents
Team-specific tracks
June 2026
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
31
1
Week 0 · Prereqs (no meeting)
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Week 1 · Setup & Config
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Week 2 · AI Fundamentals
16
17
18
19
★ 8:30 AM CST
20
21
22
Week 3 · Chat — Beginning
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
Week 4 · Chat — Advanced
30
1
2
3
4
July 2026
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
Week 5 · Cowork
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Week 6 · Agents, Design, FS I
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Week 7 · FS Agents II
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
Week 8 · Team tracks
28
29
30
31
1
August 2026
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
Week 9 · Team tracks
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Week 10 · Team tracks (Final)
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
Week 0 · June 1, 2026 · Prerequisites

Audience: Blue Rose and HedgeStar Teams · Format: No meeting — self-serve setup

NO MEETING BUT PLEASE COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING PREREQUISITES BEFORE THE WEEK 1 MEETING.

  • Confirm access has been granted. Ann will be sending out the link to join the platform. Sign into Claude online.
  • Confirm installation of Claude Desktop on local machine.
  • Confirm installation of the Claude Plug-in for MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
  • Initial test prompt — run a basic prompt to confirm everything is working.
Week 1 · Week of 6/8/26 · Setup & Configuration

Audience: Blue Rose and HedgeStar Teams · Date & Time: TBD

  • Confirming Prerequisites
  • Login & Installation
  • Settings
  • Customize / Connectors
Week 2 · Friday, June 19, 2026 · 8:30–9:30 AM CST · AI Fundamentals

Audience: Blue Rose and HedgeStar Teams · Date & Time: Friday, June 19, 2026 · 8:30–9:30 AM CST

  • What is AI — and what it isn't
  • Deterministic vs. Probabilistic
  • Key AI terminology
  • Generative AI vs Machine Learning
  • Data / Security Concerns
💡 Scheduling note: The only session with a confirmed date and time.
Week 3 · Week of 6/22/26 · Claude Chat Concepts — Beginning

Audience: Blue Rose and HedgeStar Teams · Date & Time: TBD

  • Prompting Framework
  • Prompt Engineering
  • Context and Memory
  • Comparison of Claude models
Week 4 · Week of 6/29/26 · Claude Chat Concepts — Advanced

Audience: Blue Rose and HedgeStar Teams · Date & Time: TBD

  • Projects
  • Artifacts
Week 5 · Week of 7/6/26 · Claude Cowork

Audience: Blue Rose and HedgeStar Teams · Date & Time: TBD

  • Live Artifacts
  • Scheduling
  • Dispatch
Week 6 · Week of 7/13/26 · Cowork Agents, Design & FS Agents I

Audience: Blue Rose and HedgeStar Teams · Date & Time: TBD

  • Claude Cowork — Agents
  • Claude Design
  • FS Agents — Model Builder
  • FS Agents — Market Researcher
Week 7 · Week of 7/20/26 · Claude Financial Services Agents II

Audience: Blue Rose and HedgeStar Teams · Date & Time: TBD

  • Pitch Builder
  • Valuation Reviewer
💰 Final joint week before the program splits into team-specific tracks.
Week 8 · Week of 7/27/26 · Team-specific tracks

Format: Two separate sessions — one for each team. Date & Time: TBD for both.

Blue Rose Team:

  • Reading Debt Prospectuses
  • Creating a Pitch Deck

HedgeStar Team:

  • Creating a Hedge Accounting expert
Week 9 · Week of 8/3/26 · Team-specific tracks

Format: Two separate sessions — one for each team. Date & Time: TBD for both.

Blue Rose Team:

  • Analyzing Financial Statements

HedgeStar Team:

  • Reading and normalizing confirms
  • Creating SQL for data access
Week 10 · Week of 8/10/26 · Team-specific tracks (Final)

Format: Two separate sessions — one for each team. Date & Time: TBD for both.

Blue Rose Team:

  • Creating Pro Formas

HedgeStar Team:

  • Manipulating Data
🏆 Final week: Capstone applications.
Module 1 · Complete before training day
Prerequisites
Everything participants need to install and log into before the training session. Walk through this list in advance so the session can focus on using Claude, not setting it up.
1. Accept invite & sign in
Accept your workspace invite and log in at claude.ai with your work email
2. Install the mobile app
iPhone or Android — download and sign in with the same work account
3. Install the desktop app
Mac or Windows native app — required for Cowork
4. Install Chrome extension beta
Claude as a sidebar while you browse
5. Install Claude in PowerPoint
Microsoft 365 add-in for presentations
6. Install Claude in Excel
Microsoft 365 add-in for spreadsheets
7. Install Claude in Word new
Microsoft 365 add-in for documents
1. Accept your invite and sign in at claude.ai
  • Check your work email for an invite from your Claude workspace owner. Click the invite link to accept
  • Sign in at claude.ai using your work email and password, or Continue with Google if your workspace owner has enabled it. Always use your work email, not a personal one
  • You should see your team's workspace name in the lower-left next to your name after login — that confirms you are in the right workspace and not a personal account
  • Your chats and projects sync across all devices when you sign in with the same account
  • Confirm before training: log in and verify the chat interface loads and you see your team's workspace
👥 Teams note: If you can't find the invite, check spam or ask your workspace owner to resend. Do not sign up at claude.ai with a personal email — that creates a separate personal account outside your team's workspace, with different privacy settings and billing.
2. Install the mobile app
  • Search "Claude" in the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play (Android) and install
  • Sign in with the same work email you used on the web — history and projects sync automatically
  • Voice input and text-to-speech make it great for on-the-go use
  • You can share content from other apps (photos, web pages, files) directly to Claude
  • Confirm before training: open the app and send one test message
3. Install the desktop app
  • Go to claude.ai and click the download button in the bottom-left corner next to your name (looks like a tray with a down arrow)
  • Select Mac or Windows to download the installer; sign in with your work email when prompted
  • The app stays in the background and opens instantly with a keyboard shortcut
  • Can see your screen (with permission) to help with tasks in other apps
  • The desktop app is required for Cowork (Module 7) — Cowork is not available on web or mobile
  • Confirm before training: launch the app and verify it opens correctly
👥 Teams note: On a locked-down corporate laptop, the desktop installer may require admin privileges — if install fails, ask your workspace owner or your company's IT contact. Windows users need Virtual Machine Platform enabled in Windows Features to use Cowork.
4. Install the Chrome extension
  • Open Chrome and go to the Chrome Web Store — search "Claude for Chrome"
  • Click "Add to Chrome" and sign in with your work email when prompted
  • Opens Claude as a sidebar while you browse any webpage
  • Can read the current page and help: summarize articles, draft replies, explain content
  • Currently in beta — features are actively expanding
  • Confirm before training: navigate to any webpage and open the Claude sidebar
👥 Teams note: Some companies restrict Chrome extension installs. If the "Add to Chrome" button is greyed out or blocked, ask your workspace owner or company IT contact — they may need to allow it via Chrome policy.
5. Install Claude in PowerPoint
  • Open PowerPoint → click Insert → Add-ins → Get Add-ins → search "Claude"
  • Alternatively, find it at Microsoft AppSource (appsource.microsoft.com)
  • Click Add, then sign in with your work email through the add-in pane
  • Claude appears as a panel inside PowerPoint — helps draft slides, bullet points, and speaker notes
  • Confirm before training: open the add-in pane and verify you are signed in
6. Install Claude in Excel
  • Open Excel → click Insert → Add-ins → Get Add-ins → search "Claude"
  • Alternatively, find it at Microsoft AppSource (appsource.microsoft.com)
  • Click Add, then sign in with your work email through the add-in pane
  • Claude can read your spreadsheet and help with formulas, data cleaning, and summaries — in plain English
  • Confirm before training: open the add-in pane and verify you are signed in
7. Install Claude in Word
  • Open Word → click Insert → Add-ins → Get Add-ins → search "Claude by Anthropic for Word"
  • Alternatively, find it at Microsoft AppSource and click "Get it now"
  • Click Add, then sign in with your work email through the add-in pane
  • Claude appears as a sidebar inside Word — reads your entire document, answers questions about it, and proposes edits as native tracked changes
  • Included with Teams plans — requires Microsoft 365 (Word 2016/2019 perpetual licenses are not supported)
  • Confirm before training: open the add-in pane in Word and verify you are signed in
💡 What makes it special: Every edit Claude suggests lands as a tracked change — you review and accept or reject just like a human colleague's markup. It also shares context with Claude for Excel and PowerPoint.
✅ Pre-training checklist — send this to participants

Before our session, please complete the following on your own:

☐  Check your inbox for a Claude workspace invite and accept it (if you didn't receive one, ask your workspace owner)
☐  Sign into claude.ai with your work email and confirm you see your team's workspace in the lower-left next to your name
☐  Send one test message in chat to confirm everything works
☐  Install the Claude mobile app (App Store or Google Play) and sign in with the same work email
☐  Install the Claude desktop app from claude.ai and sign in
☐  Install the Claude Chrome extension and open the sidebar on any webpage
☐  Install the Claude add-in for PowerPoint via Insert → Add-ins
☐  Install the Claude add-in for Excel via Insert → Add-ins
☐  Install the Claude add-in for Word via Insert → Add-ins (requires Microsoft 365)
☐  If any step fails, capture a screenshot and contact your workspace owner
Module 2
Settings
Everything in the Settings screen — accessed by clicking your name in the bottom-left corner of claude.ai. This is where you configure your profile, privacy, usage view, and capabilities. On Teams, a few controls are managed by your workspace owner.
Profile
Your display name, role, and instructions for Claude
Account
Signed-in devices and sessions, and what happens when you leave
Usage
Track your seat's usage against your Teams allowance
Capabilities
Memory, visuals, and tool access toggles
Profile
  • Set your display name — Claude will use this when addressing you
  • Add profile instructions: account-wide guidance Claude reads before every conversation — e.g. "I am a contracts manager. Always be concise and professional. Default to plain English over legalese unless asked."
  • Instructions here are global — they apply to every chat unless overridden by a Project's own instructions
  • Good things to put here: your role, team, industry, communication preferences, and anything Claude should always know about you
Exercise: Have everyone write 2–3 sentences in their Profile instructions right now. Example: "I work in marketing at a healthcare company. I prefer bullet points. Don't use jargon."
Account
  • See which devices and sessions are signed in — useful if you want to sign out of an old laptop or phone
  • Leaving the workspace: if you leave the company or your workspace owner removes your seat, your access ends. Your chats and projects are retained according to your team's policy
👥 Teams note: If someone asks "Can I just use my personal Claude account for work?" the answer is no. A personal account is outside your team's privacy agreements and billing — everything you type there could be used to train Claude. Always sign in through the workspace invite.
Usage
  • Shows your current usage against your seat's allowance — how much you have used in the active window and how much remains
  • No per-message billing to you. Your workspace pays a flat per-seat subscription that includes usage — you are not metered individually
  • Each Teams seat has its own usage allowance that refreshes on a 5-hour rolling window, plus a weekly cap. The Teams allowance is meaningfully larger than personal Pro
  • Direct URL shortcut: claude.ai/settings/usage — bookmark this if you want to check your limits quickly
  • Longer conversations, large file uploads, and complex multi-step tasks use your allowance faster than short questions
  • If you regularly hit your limit, ask your workspace owner about the Premium tier, which provides higher seat allowances
Trainer note: The 5-hour rolling window surprises people — clarify it resets from when you started a session, not at midnight. Starting fresh chats for new topics also helps preserve your allowance.
Capabilities
  • Memory — Search and reference chats: allow Claude to search for relevant details in your past conversations when answering new questions
  • Memory — Generate memory from chat history: allow Claude to automatically remember relevant context from your chats and projects. View and manage what is stored via "View and manage memory"
  • Memory — Import from other AI providers: bring context from another AI tool (e.g. ChatGPT) into Claude. Subject to your workspace's policy on cross-tool data movement
  • Tool access mode: controls how connector tools are loaded in new conversations. Default is "Load tools when needed" — Claude pulls in connectors only when relevant
  • Visuals — Artifacts: generate code, documents, and designs in a dedicated window alongside your conversation
  • Visuals — AI-powered artifacts: build apps and interactive documents that use Claude inside the artifact itself
  • Visuals — Inline visualizations: allow Claude to generate interactive charts, diagrams, and visualizations directly in the conversation
👥 Teams note: A few toggles here may be greyed out — that means your workspace owner has decided the setting for the whole workspace. Do not assume a missing toggle is a bug.
Module 3
Customize
The Customize menu in Claude's left sidebar — where you connect external tools (Connectors), install Skills, and add Plugins that bundle multiple capabilities together. On Teams, all three are governed by your workspace owner.
Connectors
Connect Claude to org-approved apps like Gmail, Drive, Slack, SharePoint
Skills
Specialized capabilities from the public library and your workspace's private library
Plugins
Bundles of skills, connectors, and commands — personal or organization-wide
Connectors
  • Connectors link Claude to external apps you already use — Gmail, Google Drive, Calendar, Slack, SharePoint, Box, and more
  • Once connected, you can ask Claude to read, summarize, and act on content from those apps without leaving Claude
  • Example: "Summarize my last 5 emails from this sender" or "What is on my calendar tomorrow and which meetings have prep docs?"
  • Connect from Customize → Connectors — each connection uses OAuth so you control what Claude can access
  • You can turn individual Connectors on or off per conversation from the + menu — Claude only accesses what you enable for that chat
  • Connectors are web only — not in desktop or mobile
👥 Teams note: Your workspace owner maintains the approved Connector catalog for your team. On Teams the catalog is workspace-wide — every user sees the same available connectors (Teams does not have per-role connector restrictions). If a connector you want is missing, ask your workspace owner to add it. Some connectors may also require a workspace-level OAuth approval before any user can connect.
💡 Demo: Connect Google Calendar live and ask Claude "What meetings do I have this week and which ones do I still need to prep for?" — one of the most immediately useful things to show a new user.
Skills
  • Skills are specialized capabilities you can add to Claude from a library of pre-built tools — think of them as apps for Claude
  • Browse and install Skills from Customize → Skills in the left sidebar
  • On Teams, you see two libraries: the public Skills catalog and your organization's private Skills library — the private library may include skills built specifically for your team or workflows
  • Some skills are pre-installed for everyone by your workspace owner and will already appear in your + menu
  • Skills can be turned on or off per conversation — you are always in control of what Claude has access to
  • Required setting: Skills depend on Code Execution & File Creation being enabled (Settings → Capabilities). If you do not see the Skills menu at all, your workspace owner likely has not enabled this yet
Trainer note: The Skills library is evolving quickly. Browse both the public catalog and your workspace's private library together during training — what is available may have expanded since this guide was written, and your team may have skills no other company has.
Plugins
  • A plugin is a bundle — one installable package that can contain skills, connectors, slash commands, MCP servers, and agents grouped around a workflow (for example, a "Sales" plugin or a "Financial Analyst" plugin)
  • Install plugins from Customize → Plugins in the left sidebar — browse the marketplace, pick what fits your role, and everything in that bundle activates at once
  • On Teams there are two kinds of plugins: personal plugins that you install for yourself, and organizational plugins that your workspace owner installs for the whole team

Personal plugins

  • You install these just for yourself from the public Claude plugin marketplace — nobody else on the team is affected
  • Useful for role-specific workflows that not everyone needs — e.g. a Sales rep installing the Sales plugin, a PM installing the Product Management plugin
  • You can install, uninstall, enable, and disable personal plugins anytime — they show up in your + menu while active and disappear when removed
  • Subject to your workspace owner's policy — on some Teams workspaces, personal plugin installs may be limited to an approved list

Organizational plugins

  • Your workspace owner installs these for everyone on the team — they appear in every member's Claude account automatically, no per-user setup required
  • Used for plugins the org wants everyone using consistently — a shared brand voice plugin, an internal "Statesmen Financial Services" plugin, or a compliance/legal review plugin
  • Can be from the public marketplace or custom-built for the organization — private org plugins are not visible outside the workspace
  • Managed by the workspace owner — you cannot uninstall an org-installed plugin, but you can usually toggle individual skills or commands within it on or off in your personal settings
  • Updates roll out centrally — when your workspace owner updates an org plugin, everyone gets the new version at once
👥 Teams note: Plugins (like Skills) depend on Code Execution & File Creation being enabled at the workspace level for any skills inside them to run. Org plugins are how Statesmen will distribute custom workflows (e.g. Pitch Builder, Valuation Reviewer, Hedge Accounting expert) to the whole Blue Rose / HedgeStar team without each person hunting for skills individually.
💡 Demo: Open Customize → Plugins, point out which plugins are installed by your organization (badge / lock icon) vs. installed by you, then install a personal plugin live and show its new slash commands appearing in the + menu.
Module 4
Chat basics
How to start and navigate conversations, write better prompts, share files, switch models, and understand what your Teams plan unlocks.
Starting a conversation
New chats, the text box, keyboard shortcuts
Writing good prompts
How to ask clearly and get better results
Uploading files & images
What you can attach and what Claude does with it
Conversation history
Picking up old chats, renaming, searching
Voice mode
Speaking to Claude and listening to responses
Teams usage & limits know this
Your seat's allowance, the 5-hour window, model selector, and Premium
Styles
Save your writing voice so Claude always sounds like you
Starting a conversation
  • Click "New chat" in the sidebar to start fresh — each chat is independent
  • Type in the box at the bottom and press Enter or click the send button
  • Shift + Enter adds a new line without sending
  • Claude remembers everything in the current conversation, but not across separate chats unless Memory is enabled
💡 Demo: Start a fresh chat and ask Claude to "help me write a 3-bullet agenda for a team meeting." Show how quickly it responds and how you can refine in the same chat.
Writing good prompts
  • Be specific: "Write a 3-sentence summary of X for a non-technical executive audience" beats "summarize X"
  • Give context: tell Claude who you are, who the audience is, and what you are trying to accomplish
  • Iterate — you can reply to refine: "Make it shorter" or "More formal, please"
  • Ask for a specific format: "Put this in a table" or "Use a numbered list of three"
  • If a response misses the mark, rephrase rather than just re-sending the same prompt
Exercise: Have participants send a vague request, then improve it with one added detail. Compare the two responses side by side.
Uploading files & images
  • Click the paperclip icon to attach PDFs, Word docs, spreadsheets, images, and more
  • Claude can read and summarize documents, answer questions about their contents, and extract data
  • Images: Claude can describe, analyze, and answer questions about photos, screenshots, charts, and diagrams
  • Teams plans support higher file upload limits and more uploads per conversation than personal plans
  • Treat uploads like any other work document — they are governed by your team's data policies
Conversation history
  • All past chats appear in the left sidebar, most recent first
  • Click any past chat to continue it — Claude will have full context of that entire conversation
  • Hover over a chat name to rename or delete it
  • Use the search bar at the top of the sidebar to find old conversations by keyword
  • History retention follows your team's policy — deleted chats are removed from Anthropic's systems within 30 days
Voice mode
  • Tap the microphone icon to speak your message instead of typing
  • Claude responds in text (and can read aloud on mobile)
  • Great for hands-free use or quickly dictating longer prompts — commuting, walking, cooking
  • Available on web and mobile apps
Teams usage & limits
  • Your seat has a generous usage allowance included in the Teams subscription — meaningfully more than a personal Pro plan, but it is still a finite per-seat allowance
  • Usage runs on a 5-hour rolling window — if you hit your limit, it resets 5 hours after your session started (not at midnight). A separate weekly cap also applies
  • Model selector: in the chat box, choose between models (e.g. Sonnet for speed, Opus for hardest reasoning, Haiku for cheap and fast). Heavier models use more of your allowance per message — default is usually fine; reach for Opus only when you need it
  • Longer messages, large file uploads, and lengthy back-and-forth conversations use your allowance faster — start fresh chats for new topics
  • Premium tier: if your workspace is on Teams Premium, your seat allowance is significantly higher. If you hit limits often on standard Teams, talk to your workspace owner about upgrading
  • Priority access: Teams seats get priority over free users during high-traffic periods — less waiting
Trainer note: The 5-hour rolling window is the most common surprise. Clarify it resets from when you started, not at midnight. Heavy Opus use will burn through it fastest — encourage default model for routine work, switch to Opus only for the hard problems.
Styles
  • Styles let you save a custom writing voice — Claude will match your tone whenever you select that style
  • Create a style by pasting a writing sample (an email, memo, post) and asking Claude to analyze and save the voice
  • You can create multiple styles — one for formal client emails, one for casual internal Slack, one for LinkedIn posts
  • Select a style from the + menu in the chat box before or during a conversation
  • Styles can also be set at the Project level so every chat in that project uses the right voice automatically
Exercise: Paste a recent email you've sent into Claude and say "Create a style from this writing sample." Name it, save it, then use it to draft a follow-up email.
Module 5
Projects
Organize your ongoing work and give Claude standing context that applies to every conversation inside a project. On Teams you can also share projects with teammates in your workspace.
What is a project?
How projects differ from regular chats
Creating a project
Setting it up, naming it, getting started
Project instructions
How to brief Claude for every chat in the project
Adding docs to a project
Upload reference files Claude always has access to
Shared projects Teams
Collaborate with your team inside the same project
What is a project?
  • A project is a container that groups related chats together under a shared context
  • Unlike regular chats, projects let you give Claude standing instructions that apply to every conversation inside
  • You can upload documents to a project so Claude always has them — no need to re-upload each time
  • Great for: a specific client, a contract negotiation, a product launch, a hiring loop, or any recurring work
Exercise: Ask participants to think of one ongoing work task that involves Claude. That is a project candidate.
Creating a project
  • In the left sidebar, click "New project" or the folder icon
  • Give it a clear, specific name — e.g. "Acme Corp renewal" or "Q4 board materials"
  • Add a description and custom instructions during setup (or edit them later)
  • Start a new chat inside the project — it will inherit all your settings automatically
💡 Demo: Live-create a project named "Weekly status updates" and write one instruction sentence together with the group.
Project instructions
  • Instructions are like a standing briefing — Claude reads them at the start of every chat in the project
  • Examples: "Always respond in a professional tone," "I am a nurse — use clinical terminology," "Summarize all documents as bullet points."
  • Keep instructions concise and specific — a few sentences works better than a long paragraph
  • Edit instructions anytime from the project settings (gear icon)
Adding docs to a project
  • Inside a project, click "Add content" to upload files (PDFs, Word docs, spreadsheets, text files)
  • Claude references these in every chat within the project — no re-uploading needed
  • Ideal for: a company style guide, your team's playbook, product specs, the master contract, or an FAQ document
  • Teams plans include more project storage and a larger working context than personal plans — you can keep significant reference material here
Shared projects
  • On Teams, you can share a project with teammates in your workspace — everyone sees the same instructions, the same reference docs, and a shared chat history
  • Great for cross-functional work: a deal team, an incident response, a sprint, a campaign launch
  • Each teammate's individual chats inside the project are visible to other collaborators — treat it like a shared workspace, not private scratch paper
  • Manage who has access from the project settings → Sharing
  • Sharing is limited to people in your workspace's Claude workspace — not external partners
💡 Demo: Open a shared project with two colleagues, drop in a reference doc, and have everyone ask Claude one question. Show how the project's instructions and docs produce consistent answers across users.
Module 6
Artifacts
Standalone outputs Claude creates alongside your conversation — documents, code, charts, and interactive tools you can copy, download, and iterate on.
What is an artifact?
The preview pane and how it works
Types of artifacts
Docs, code, HTML, charts, interactive tools
Live artifacts
How they differ from regular artifacts — persistent, refreshable, connector-aware
Working with artifacts
Copying, downloading, iterating, version history
Tips for better artifacts
How to ask Claude to produce great outputs
What is an artifact?
  • An artifact is a self-contained piece of content Claude creates — a document, code, a webpage, or an interactive tool
  • It appears in a separate preview pane to the right of the chat so you can see it while continuing to talk
  • Claude automatically decides when to create an artifact vs. responding inline
  • You can ask Claude to revise the artifact without starting over — just say "make it shorter" or "change the format"
💡 Demo: Ask Claude to "create a one-page meeting agenda template I can reuse" and show the artifact pane appearing.
Types of artifacts
  • Documents: formatted text — reports, emails, templates, summaries
  • Code: Python, JavaScript, SQL, and other scripts Claude writes for you
  • HTML pages: styled web content — forms, landing pages, formatted tables
  • Charts & visualizations: graphs, diagrams, flowcharts generated from your data or descriptions
  • Interactive tools: calculators, quizzes, and mini-apps that run directly in the browser
💡 Wow demo: Ask Claude to "create an interactive quiz with 3 questions about our company values." It surprises people every time and shows what live HTML artifacts can do.
Live artifacts

A live artifact is a more powerful cousin of a regular artifact. Both appear in the same preview pane and look similar at first glance, but they behave very differently under the hood.

How live artifacts differ from regular artifacts:

  • Persistent across sessions. A regular artifact lives inside one conversation — close the chat and it is just static content in your history. A live artifact is saved as a standalone page you can re-open at any time, even days or weeks later.
  • Refreshable with current data. A regular artifact is a snapshot — the numbers and content are frozen at the moment Claude generated it. A live artifact pulls fresh data from your connectors every time you open it, so what you see is always current.
  • Connector-aware. Live artifacts can call your connected tools (Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Slack, SharePoint, etc.) directly when you open them — pulling today's emails, this week's calendar, the latest doc — without you re-prompting Claude.
  • Interactive and stateful. Live artifacts remember small things like your filter and sort choices between visits. Regular artifacts are stateless.
  • Designed for repeated use. Reach for a live artifact when you will want to look at this again — a status page, a recurring report, a tracker, a dashboard. Reach for a regular artifact for one-off content like an email draft or a report you only need once.

When to use each:

  • Regular artifact: "Draft this client email." — one-off, send it, done.
  • Live artifact: "Give me a page I can check each morning showing my open deals, this week's calendar, and any flagged emails." — pulls fresh data every time you open it.
💡 Demo: Ask Claude "Build me a live artifact that shows my open tasks for the day and refreshes from my calendar and email." Close it, re-open it tomorrow — the numbers and the schedule have changed without you having to re-prompt.
📚 Heads up: Live artifacts are covered in more depth in Module 7 (Cowork), since they are part of how Cowork keeps work in front of you over time. This card is just the "how is this different from a regular artifact?" explanation.
Working with artifacts
  • Copy button: instantly copies the raw content to your clipboard
  • Download button: saves the artifact as a file (markdown, HTML, etc.)
  • Iterate in chat: type "now make it…" and Claude updates the same artifact in place
  • Version history: use the back arrow to see and restore previous versions
Tips for better artifacts
  • Ask for a specific format: "Create this as a formatted one-pager I can share with my team"
  • Describe the audience: "Write this for non-technical managers"
  • Iterate freely — artifacts are designed to be refined through conversation
  • If Claude puts something in chat instead of an artifact, just ask: "Can you put that in an artifact?"
Module 7 · Desktop app only
Claude Cowork
Claude's agentic desktop workspace — gives Claude access to your local files, folders, and desktop apps so it can do real work on your computer. Available inside the Claude desktop app on Mac and Windows. On Teams, your workspace owner turns Cowork on for the entire workspace.
What is Cowork?
How it differs from regular Claude chat
Enabling Cowork Teams
Workspace-wide toggle, install permissions, and platform requirements
Working with local files
Claude reads your folders without manual uploading
Scheduled tasks
Set recurring automations that run in the background
Computer use preview
Claude points, clicks, and navigates your screen
What is Cowork?
  • Cowork is Claude's agentic desktop workspace — it gives Claude access to your local files, folders, and apps so it can take action, not just chat
  • Think of it as the difference between asking Claude to help you write something vs. Claude actually going into your files and doing it
  • Available only in the Claude desktop app (Mac and Windows) — not on web or mobile
  • Works alongside your Connectors — Claude can combine local files with Gmail, Google Drive, Slack, and other connected tools in a single task
  • Included with Teams plans
💡 Demo: Open Cowork in the desktop app and say "Summarize all the Word documents in my Downloads folder from this week." Shows the power of local file access immediately.
Enabling Cowork (Teams)
  • Workspace-level toggle: on Teams, Cowork is enabled (or disabled) by your workspace owner for the whole workspace at once — it is all-or-nothing, not per-person. If you do not see Cowork in your desktop app, the workspace owner has not turned it on yet
  • Desktop app required: install the Claude desktop app for Mac or Windows from claude.ai (see Module 1) — Cowork is not available on web or mobile
  • Admin privileges to install: on a locked-down corporate device, installation may need IT help. Without admin install, Cowork specifically may not work even if regular chat does
  • Windows requires Virtual Machine Platform: Cowork runs in a sandbox on Windows that depends on the Virtual Machine Platform Windows Feature being enabled. Your IT contact can turn this on
  • Folder access: you choose which folders on your machine Cowork can read. Access is explicit, scoped to that folder, and revocable at any time
👥 Teams note: Before training day, ask the workspace owner to confirm Cowork is enabled for the workspace. If it is not, the Cowork and Dispatch modules become "what's coming" walkthroughs instead of hands-on demos.
Working with local files
  • Grant Cowork access to specific folders on your computer — Claude can read files from those folders without you uploading them one by one
  • Works with documents, spreadsheets, PDFs, images, and most common file types
  • Example tasks: "Organize my desktop by file type," "Find all invoices from last quarter," "Summarize every PDF in this client folder."
  • You control which folders Claude can see — access is explicit and can be revoked at any time
  • Claude can also write and save files back to your folders when you give it permission
  • Files stay on your machine — Claude reads them locally rather than uploading them to the cloud
Scheduled tasks
  • Set up recurring tasks that run automatically on a schedule — daily, weekly, or custom frequency
  • Common uses: morning briefings (pull calendar + email + Slack into a daily summary), weekly status reports, file organization, competitor monitoring
  • Tasks run while the Claude desktop app is open — if the app is closed, tasks are skipped and run when you next open it
  • Set up in plain language — no code required. Just describe what you want done and how often
  • Results are delivered back to your Cowork chat, and can be forwarded via Dispatch to your phone
Exercise: Have participants think of one thing they do manually every Monday morning. That is their first scheduled task candidate.
Computer use (research preview)
  • When Claude does not have a direct connector for an app, computer use lets it point, click, and navigate your screen instead
  • Claude can open apps, use your browser, fill forms, and interact with software that has no API or connector
  • Claude always asks permission before accessing a new application, and you can stop it at any time
  • Enable it in desktop app Settings — off by default. Your workspace owner may keep it off workspace-wide for security reasons
  • Still early — works best on common apps and straightforward tasks. Complex multi-step sequences may need a second try
Trainer note: Don't start here with novice users. Walk through Cowork basics first, then show computer use as a "what is coming" moment at the end. On Teams, check whether your workspace owner has enabled this before promising a live demo.
Module 8 · Requires desktop app + mobile app
Dispatch
Assign Claude tasks from your phone and have them execute on your desktop — Claude works in the background while you are away from your desk. The mobile remote control for Cowork.
What is Dispatch?
How it connects your phone to your desktop
Getting started
How to enable and use Dispatch
What you can do with it
Real-world tasks and use case examples
What is Dispatch?
  • Dispatch is the mobile remote control for Cowork — you send instructions from your phone and Claude executes them on your desktop
  • Anything Cowork can do — read local files, use connectors, run apps — Dispatch can trigger remotely while you are away from your desk
  • Claude works in the background on your computer and reports back to your phone when the task is done
  • Requires both the Claude mobile app and the Claude desktop app to be running and signed into the same work account
  • Available wherever Cowork is enabled — if your workspace has Cowork, you have Dispatch
Getting started
  • Open the Claude mobile app and tap "Dispatch" in the left sidebar
  • On the Dispatch screen, toggle on access to your files and confirm you want to keep your computer awake for tasks to run
  • Make sure the Claude desktop app is open and running on your computer — Dispatch uses it as the execution engine
  • Start messaging Claude in the Dispatch section — your conversation syncs automatically between phone and desktop
  • For best results, also have your Connectors set up (Gmail, Calendar, Slack) so Dispatch can pull from those tools too
What you can do with it
  • Meeting prep on the go: "Check my calendar and draft a prep memo for my next meeting." Claude pulls the event, finds related files, and sends you a summary
  • Morning briefing follow-up: If you have a scheduled Cowork briefing, use Dispatch to ask "What changed since the briefing?" or "Which email needs my reply first?"
  • File tasks: "Pull the Q1 sales spreadsheet and give me the total by region." Claude opens the file on your desktop and reports back
  • Inbox triage: "Summarize my unread emails and flag anything urgent" while you are commuting or between meetings
  • Draft content: "Draft a follow-up email to [name] based on our last conversation." Claude finds the thread and writes the reply
💡 Demo: On your phone, open Dispatch and say "Check my calendar and tell me what I need to prep for today." Claude does the work on your desktop and sends the result to your phone within seconds.
Module 9 · Anthropic Labs · Research preview
Claude Design
Create designs, interactive prototypes, slides, and one-pagers by describing what you want. Claude builds it live on a canvas while you chat. Available in research preview for Teams plans.
What is Claude Design?
The canvas interface and how it works
Creating your first design
How to prompt, iterate, and refine
Exporting and sharing
PPTX, PDF, shareable links, and Canva
Usage and availability
Separate allowance, workspace owner enablement, research preview
What is Claude Design?
  • Claude Design is an Anthropic Labs product that lets you create visual work — designs, prototypes, slides, one-pagers — through conversation
  • The interface has two sides: chat on the left, live canvas on the right — describe what you want and Claude builds it in real time
  • Powered by Anthropic's most capable vision model
  • Designed for anyone who needs visual output — founders, marketers, product managers, ops leads — as well as experienced designers who want to explore ideas faster
  • Available in research preview for Teams plans
💡 Demo: Ask Claude Design to "Create a one-page executive summary slide for our team's quarterly highlights." It produces a polished, editable result in under a minute.
Creating your first design
  • Start with a clear description: "Design a 4-screen mobile onboarding flow" or "Build a landing page with a hero section, features list, and pricing table"
  • The first generation is a starting point — the real value comes from iterating in chat
  • Use chat for broad changes: "Make the color scheme darker," "Rearrange so the chart is below the metrics"
  • Use inline comments for targeted changes: click directly on an element on the canvas and describe the specific edit you want
  • You can attach reference material at any point — screenshots, existing slides, competitor designs, or a link to your website
  • Ask Claude to explain its design decisions or suggest improvements — it can review for accessibility too
Exercise: Have participants prompt "Create a one-page overview of what I do at this company, designed as something I could share with a new colleague." Personal, immediately useful, and a great showcase.
Exporting and sharing
  • Click "Export" in the upper-right corner of your project to choose a format
  • PPTX: download as a PowerPoint file — editable in Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides
  • PDF: download as a PDF for sharing or printing
  • Send to Canva: opens the design in Canva where it becomes fully editable and collaborative
  • Shareable link: share a view-only, comment, or edit link with colleagues. Treat shared links as you would any work asset — do not send sensitive material outside your team
Usage and availability
  • Claude Design has its own separate usage allowance — design activity does not draw from your regular chat usage
  • The allowance resets weekly — each user gets their own bucket
  • Currently in research preview — features, allowances, and availability may change as the product matures
  • Workspace owner enablement: your workspace owner may need to opt your workspace into the Design preview. If you do not see Design in your app, that may be why