Agentic Workflow Cheat Sheet — AnyCompany Leader Workshop

The 4 Layers of AI Automation

Click any layer to learn what it does, when to use it, and see the analogy.

🏠

Steering

Global rules that apply to everything your AI does

📋

Skills

Instructions for specific tasks — your prompt templates, upgraded

🔔

Hooks

Auto-triggers — when X happens, do Y

🔌

MCP

Connections to external systems and data

🏠 Steering = House Rules
Rules that apply to every conversation, every task, every output. Like house rules for guests: "Always use SGD," "Never include real customer names," "Flag amounts over $50K." You set these once, and they govern everything your AI does — no matter which skill is running.

How They Connect

The 4 layers work together as a stack. Click any node to see how data flows through the system.

🔔 Hook (Trigger): Something happens — a new file arrives, a user asks a question, a scheduled time is reached. The hook detects this event and kicks off the workflow. Like a doorbell: someone arrives, the system responds.

Which Do I Need? — Click a Scenario

Click any scenario to see which layers you need and why.

💬 "I want consistent AI responses across my team"

Everyone gets different quality from AI. You want standards.

→ Steering only. Write 5-7 global rules (currency, format, PII handling). Takes 5 minutes. Every AI interaction follows your standards.

📝 "I want AI to do a specific task really well"

You have a repeating task (risk assessment, report, review) and want reliable quality every time.

→ Steering + Skill. Your Day 1 prompt template becomes a skill. Add activation rules and guardrails. AI knows exactly what to do when asked.

⚡ "I want it to run automatically without me asking"

You don't want to manually trigger the AI — it should react to events.

→ Steering + Skill + Hook. The hook watches for a trigger (new file, new data, scheduled time). When it fires, the skill runs automatically. You only see the output.

🔌 "I want AI to read from our database / call our APIs"

The AI needs access to live data — not just what you paste in.

→ All 4 layers + tech team. MCP connects the agent to external systems. You design the steering + skills. Your tech team sets up the MCP connections. This is the full autonomous agent.

🏁 "I just want to start — what's the minimum?"

You're overwhelmed. What's the absolute simplest first step?

→ Steering + 1 Skill. That's it. Write your house rules (5 min) + convert your best prompt into a skill (15 min). You now have a reusable, consistent AI tool. Add hooks and MCP later when you're ready.

Decision Guide

Quick reference — what each layer does, who owns it, and the analogy.

	Layer	What It Does	Analogy	Who Owns It	Effort
🏠	Steering	Global rules — currency, PII, format, escalation thresholds	House rules for every guest	You (business)	5 minutes
📋	Skills	Task-specific instructions — your prompt template + activation rules + guardrails	Recipe card for a specific dish	You (business)	15-30 minutes
🔔	Hooks	Auto-triggers — "when X happens, run Y"	Doorbell — someone arrives, action starts	You + tech team	5-10 minutes
🔌	MCP	Connections to databases, APIs, file systems	Kitchen equipment — oven, fridge, mixer	Tech team	Hours-days

💡 Key insight: You own the first two layers (steering + skills). That's where 80% of the value comes from. Hooks and MCP are the "nice to have" that your tech team can add later. Don't wait for MCP to get started.

⚠️ Common mistake: Trying to build all 4 layers at once. Start with steering + 1 skill. Prove it works. Then add complexity. The first step is always the hardest — make it small.

Getting Started — Your First 20 Minutes

The exact steps to go from "I have a good prompt" to "I have a working agent."

1️⃣

Write Your Steering (5 min)

Open a new Claude Cowork project. In the project instructions, write 5-7 rules:

• Default currency: SGD
• Never include real customer names
• Flag amounts over $50K
• Output format: use markdown tables
• Always show reasoning before conclusion

2️⃣

Convert Your Template to a Skill (15 min)

Take your Day 1 prompt template. Add:

• When to use: "Run this when asked about merchant risk"
• Guardrails: "Never rate GREEN without 3+ positive signals"
• Output format: "Always include the rating, 3 key factors, and one recommendation"

3️⃣

Test It (5 min)

Feed sample data into your project. Check:

• Does steering apply? (correct currency, no PII)
• Does the skill produce consistent output?
• Is the quality good enough to share?

If yes → you have a working agent. If no → adjust rules and test again.

🎯 That's it. Steering + 1 Skill = your first agent. It's not fancy, but it's consistent, reusable, and shareable. Everything else (hooks, MCP, multi-agent) is an upgrade you add when you're ready — not a prerequisite.

Where This Works — Claude Cowork Mapping

Here's exactly how each layer translates to the tool you're using today.

Layer	In Claude Cowork	How To Do It	Available?
🏠 Steering	Project Instructions	Write your global rules in the "Custom Instructions" field when you create a Project	✅ Today
📋 Skills	Project Knowledge + Structured Prompts	Upload your prompt template as a Knowledge file, or add structured instructions ("When asked about X, follow these steps...")	✅ Today
🔔 Hooks	Scheduled Tasks	Set a recurring schedule (daily/weekly/monthly) and Claude runs your prompt automatically. Time-based, not event-based — think "every Monday at 9am" rather than "when a file arrives."	✅ Partial
🔌 MCP	Connectors + Computer Use	Connectors link to Microsoft 365 (Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams). Computer Use lets Claude interact with desktop apps directly. For live database/API access, your tech team uses Kiro IDE or Claude Code.	✅ Partial

💡 Good news: The two layers that deliver 80% of the value (Steering + Skills) work in Cowork today. Hooks and MCP have partial equivalents — Scheduled Tasks for automation, Connectors for integrations. For full event-driven hooks and custom API connections, your tech team uses developer tools like Kiro IDE or Claude Code.

How Different AI Tools Handle Automation

The same concept — "make AI run without me asking" — shows up differently across tools. Here's how hooks translate.

Concept	Claude Cowork	Kiro IDE / Claude Code	Key Difference
🔔 Auto-trigger	Scheduled Tasks Time-based: "Every Monday at 9am, generate my report"	Hooks Event-based: "When a file is saved, run lint"	Clock vs Event. Cowork runs on a schedule you set. Hooks react to things that happen in real-time.
🏠 Global rules	Project Instructions Custom instructions per project	Steering files .md files in .kiro/steering/	Same idea, different format. Both set "always-on" rules. Steering files can be conditional (only apply to certain file types).
📋 Task instructions	Knowledge files + Prompts Upload docs, write structured prompts	Skills Reusable prompt packages with activation rules	Same idea, more structure. Skills add "when to activate" and "what NOT to do" on top of the instructions.
🔌 External access	Connectors (M365, Google) Computer Use (desktop apps)	MCP servers Custom API/database connections	Pre-built vs custom. Cowork has ready-made connectors. MCP lets developers build connections to anything.

🎯 The takeaway: Different tools implement the same 4 concepts differently. Claude Cowork is designed for knowledge workers (you) — simpler, visual, pre-built. Developer tools like Kiro offer more power and flexibility but require technical setup. Start where you are, upgrade when you need to.