1 · Inventory on the matrix
5 daysWrite down the requests that reach you over five days and sort each one into the four groups of the matrix.
Done when: the list has at least 15 requests, each with its matrix group next to it.
Lesson 1 · 14 min
The company in 3 layers: you coordinate the agents, the agents serve the team
The business owner becomes the filter for everything: invoices, email access, CRM bonuses. To the person asking, it's urgent; to the business, it's rarely important. In this lesson you put a layer of agents between you and the team and write the contract for the first one.
Start the lesson
In this lesson you will
- 1Design the company in three layers
- 2Separate urgent from important with the Eisenhower matrix
- 3Write the agent's contract: it handles, it calls you, it never does
- 4Put a confirm button on everything that can't be undone
Goal: write the contract for the first agent, the one that takes the urgent-but-not-important requests off your plate.
01Who talks to whom
Click each layer to see what goes in, what comes out, and what never passes through.
Scroll down: each step below lights up its part of the diagram.
- 1/4
You
You stop being the filter. You only get what's important: decisions, money above the limit, conflicts between people. Everything else arrives as a report.
- 2/4
Agents
Each agent has one area and a written contract. It handles what's on the list, calls you when something falls off the list, and never does anything irreversible without confirmation.
- 3/4
Team
The team asks through the agreed channel and gets an answer without waiting for the owner. Requests outside the channel are not handled: that is what keeps the layer standing.
- 4/4
The three layers together
The team asks the agent, the agent resolves or escalates, and you coordinate the agents instead of answering every request.
First order, then context and rules. Only then does the agent work well.
02From chaos to the first agent
Seven steps. Tap each one.
1. Inventory
Write down everything people ask you for during five workdays, one line per request, with who asked.
Don't solve anything differently: the goal is to see the real volume.
Inventory line
Tuesday · finance · "where's the invoice for the email tool for September?"
2. Matrix
Sort each line into four groups: urgent and important, important but not urgent, urgent but not important, neither.
Urgent means a short deadline; important means it affects the business results.
Sorting
New bonus in the CRM for tomorrow → urgent, not important.
3. Pick 3
Take three frequent requests from the "urgent, not important" group. They go to the first agent.
Prefer tasks with a known step-by-step: finding an invoice, setting up access, answering a process question.
4. Contract
Write what the agent resolves on its own, when it calls you, and what it never does. Use the template below.
A short contract works better than a long manual: one page is enough.
5. Channel
Set one fixed place for requests: a group, a chat bot, an email.
Tell the team the start date. A request that arrives another way is redirected to the channel.
6. Confirm
Purchases, payments, anything sent outside, and deletions always stop at a question: "Confirm?".
The agent prepares; you press the button.
7. Friday
Read the report: what was resolved, what was escalated, what went wrong.
Each error becomes a new line in the contract. That is how the agent gets better.
03Templates to copy
The contract goes in the agent's instructions. The message goes to the team.
Agent contract
AGENT: <name> · area: <finance | personal | support> HANDLES ON ITS OWN: - <task 1> (e.g., find the invoices for this month's tools) - <task 2> (e.g., set up an email account for a new employee) - <task 3> (e.g., answer questions about the reimbursement process) CALLS ME WHEN: - money is involved above $ <amount> - the request is not on the list above - two people are in conflict NEVER: - pay, buy, delete or send anything outside the company until I click "Confirm" - store a password or client data in plain text - promise a deadline or a price on my behalf CHANNEL: <where the team makes requests> REPORT: every Friday, a list with resolved / escalated / error
Message to the team
Starting <Monday, month/day>, requests for <invoices, access and process questions> will go to <channel>. The assistant <name> answers, right away. If it doesn't know, it calls me. Requests on these topics sent any other way will be redirected to the channel.
04Practice
Do this week. Move on to lesson 2 only when all three are true.
2 · Written contract
30 minCopy the template and fill it in with the three requests you picked from the "urgent, not important" group.
Done when: the contract has 3 tasks under "handles on its own", 3 items under "never" and the limit amount in dollars.
3 · Team notified
10 minAdapt the message and send it in the team channel.
Done when: the message went out with a start date, the topics and the channel.
05Lesson 1 on video
The lesson's mechanism explained in about two and a half minutes.
Lesson 1 on video · 2 min 14 sVideo page with script →
06The whole course on video
The seven lessons, what you walk away doing and where to start.
The whole course on video · 2 min 47 sVideo page with script →
07Quick quiz
4 questions. The explanation appears after you try.
Question 1 of 4
At 6 p.m. an employee asks for a new bonus in the CRM for tomorrow. Which matrix group does it fall into?
Correct
It has a short deadline (urgent), but it doesn't change the business result (not important). This is exactly the kind of request that leaves your plate and goes to the agent. The common mistake is treating it as important just because someone is in a hurry.Not that one
It has a short deadline (urgent), but it doesn't change the business result (not important). This is exactly the kind of request that leaves your plate and goes to the agent. The common mistake is treating it as important just because someone is in a hurry.Review: From chaos to the first agentQuestion 2 of 4
Which item should NOT be under "handles on its own" in the contract?
Correct
Payment can't be undone: the agent can prepare it, but the decision goes through the "Confirm" button. Finding an invoice and setting up access have a known step-by-step and can stay with the agent.Not that one
Payment can't be undone: the agent can prepare it, but the decision goes through the "Confirm" button. Finding an invoice and setting up access have a known step-by-step and can stay with the agent.Review: Templates to copyQuestion 3 of 4
An employee sends the request to your personal WhatsApp instead of the channel. What do you do?
Correct
If you reply or pass it along, you become the filter again and the agent layer falls apart. Redirecting kindly teaches the new path.Not that one
If you reply or pass it along, you become the filter again and the agent layer falls apart. Redirecting kindly teaches the new path.Review: Who talks to whomQuestion 4 of 4
The agent made the same mistake twice this week. What's the fix?
Correct
A repeated mistake is almost always a missing rule. The Friday review turns each mistake into a line in the contract. Swapping the model before writing the rule just moves the mistake somewhere else.Not that one
A repeated mistake is almost always a missing rule. The Friday review turns each mistake into a line in the contract. Swapping the model before writing the rule just moves the mistake somewhere else.Review: From chaos to the first agentQuiz complete
You got {a} of {n} right. Get them all right and the lesson is marked as complete.Pick an option. The explanation shows up after you try.
08Summary
Three layersYou coordinate the agents; the agents serve the team.
Matrix firstWhat is urgent without being important is the agent's first job.
Short contractHandles on its own, calls me when, never does.
Confirm buttonThe irreversible waits for you.