The Director's Chair.Lead AI at work, from the first brief to the final cut.
Most people use AI to answer questions. This course teaches you to direct it the way a director runs a production: set the vision, brief the crew, push past the first no and approve the final cut. Eight modules take you from the method to the five problems teams are working on now.
- Production
- Lead AI at work
- Director
- You
- Crew
- AI
- Take
- 01
- Scene
- 00
- Part
- I+II
- 8
- Modules
- 39
- Lessons
- 8.5 hrs
- Self-paced
- 8
- Field exercises
- 52
- Knowledge-check questions
- $0
- No sign-up
Eight skills you can use on Monday.
Each module ends with a field exercise on your own work, so you finish with a brief, a plan, a voice file or a series bible you can use the same week.
- Direct AI with a six-point brief that gets a usable first draft, then improve it with notes.
- Recognise the six mental blocks that keep people in a crew role, and coach others past them.
- Learn enough of any new field in 15 minutes to brief AI on it and catch its mistakes.
- Run a 30-day plan that turns unused AI licences into a team habit.
- Build a shared knowledge base that stops AI agents giving confident wrong answers.
- Keep one brand voice across high-volume AI content, with an approval path that holds.
- Cut proposal setup and first-draft time while experts keep pricing, strategy and legal terms.
- Produce AI video that stays on model across a whole series.
Anyone with a brief to deliver.
No technical background is needed. If you can explain a task to a capable new colleague, you can direct AI.
Who bought AI tools and want their teams to use them well, safely and every week.
Who need more output without losing their voice, their accuracy or their weekends.
Who want AI to help across a whole project, not only inside their own lane.
Who tried it twice, got generic answers and want a method that works.
Every module follows the same production.
The same structure in every module, so you always know where you are and what comes next.
Three or four skills, stated before you start.
Six to ten minutes each, with tables, worked examples and prompts to try.
One leadership habit per module, and how to show it in AI-assisted work.
Where I have applied the module, with the numbers behind it.
Fill it in on the page. Your answers stay in your browser. Copy them out in one click.
Score 4 of 5 to complete the module. Every answer explains why.
Two parts, eight modules, one final cut.
Each module follows one guide in The Director's Chair series, in order. Download the two-page guide as a companion to each module.
The method
How to direct AI: the role, the mindset and the wide view.
MODULE01 Take the director's chairThe method · Five habits of a good director, the six-point brief, and what to do when AI says it can't be done. Not started62 min · 5 lessonsView lessons +
- Asking versus directing
- Five habits of a good director
- Write a director's brief
- When AI says "that can't be done"
- Bring the chair to your team
- Field exercise: Write your first director's brief
- Knowledge check: 5 questions
MODULE02 Think like the directorThe mindset · Why people stay in their crew role, six mental blocks such as the ELIZA effect, and a 12-point checklist. Not started56 min · 4 lessonsView lessons +
- Step out of your crew role
- Six mental blocks, and the shift for each
- The mindset checklist
- Your craft is your quality bar
- Field exercise: Score your mindset
- Knowledge check: 5 questions
MODULE03 See the whole setThe wide view · Know a little about every department: a 15-minute way to learn a new field, and when to bring in an expert. Not started59 min · 5 lessonsView lessons +
- Know a little about every department
- Wide across, deep in one
- Build a working map in 15 minutes
- Five curiosity habits
- The "good enough to steer" test
- Field exercise: Map a field you need next
- Knowledge check: 5 questions
The field
Five problems teams are working on now, one module each.
MODULE04 Get the crew workingThe adoption gap · For teams with AI licences few people use: five reasons adoption stalls and a 30-day plan for one team. Not started60 min · 5 lessonsView lessons +
- Why people stop using AI
- Launch versus adoption
- The 30-day plan
- Five habits of teams that keep using AI
- Signs your rollout is working
- Field exercise: Plan your 30 days
- Knowledge check: 5 questions
MODULE05 Give the crew the scriptThe context gap · For agents that give confident wrong answers: five kinds of company knowledge and a two-week build. Not started63 min · 5 lessonsView lessons +
- Why agents sound sure and still get it wrong
- Five kinds of knowledge an agent needs
- A pile of documents versus a knowledge base
- Build the first version in two weeks
- Keep it accurate, then connect
- Field exercise: Start your knowledge base
- Knowledge check: 5 questions
MODULE06 Keep one voiceBrand voice at scale · For AI content that all sounds the same: a one-page voice file, five checks and an approval path. Not started61 min · 5 lessonsView lessons +
- Why AI content sounds the same
- Five parts of a voice system
- Write your voice file in an afternoon
- Five checks before anything publishes
- An approval path that holds at volume
- Field exercise: Draft your one-page voice file
- Knowledge check: 5 questions
MODULE07 More bids, same crewProposal bandwidth · For proposal teams facing more RFPs with the same people: an AI-ready bid library and where people stay in charge. Not started59 min · 5 lessonsView lessons +
- Where proposal time goes
- A manual bid versus an AI-assisted bid
- Set up an AI-ready bid library
- Five habits of teams that keep up
- Where people stay in charge
- Field exercise: Audit your last bid
- Knowledge check: 5 questions
MODULE08 Keep the series on modelSeries continuity · For AI video that drifts from clip to clip: what to lock, a scene-by-scene plan and five checks per clip. Not started60 min · 5 lessonsView lessons +
- Why AI series drift
- Five things to lock before you generate
- Plan a video one scene at a time
- Five checks for every clip
- Signs the series is working
- Field exercise: Write your series bible
- Knowledge check: 5 questions
Final assessment and certificate
Twelve scenario questions drawn from all eight modules. Complete every module and score 10 or more to receive your certificate of completion.
Eight leadership habits, one per module.
Directing AI is leadership. Alongside each method, the course teaches one habit of a confident, fair leader who makes the call, credits the crew and owns the result.
- Module 01Make the call and own the result
A director decides, signs off and answers for the final cut.
- Module 02Own the miss and grow from it
A weak result is information. Name it, fix the brief, take another run.
- Module 03Seek a different view, then decide
Ask the people who see it differently. Then make the call.
- Module 04Lead from the front
Go first. Show your own results before you ask anyone else for theirs.
- Module 05Be fair and clear
Write the rules down where everyone can see them, and apply them the same way to all.
- Module 06Start from the reader
Every voice decision begins with the person on the other side of the page.
- Module 07Care for the crew
Protect your experts' time and credit the people who carried the work.
- Module 08Stay steady and hold the standard
Under deadline, keep the bar where it was set. Redo what drifts.
I'm David Martin. I build the systems that make AI work, and I train people to direct it.
I own content, brand and proposals for a technology organisation and build the AI systems that run them. Everything in this course comes from systems still in daily use: an RFP workspace, a content approval register, company AI agents and the shared knowledge base behind them.
My approach comes from directing. Before AI, I founded an independent animation studio and spent years planning work scene by scene, briefing it clip by clip and approving it before release. I wrote The Director's Chair guides to share what has worked for me. I enjoy watching teams pick it up.
- 86
- Interlinked knowledge files behind a company's AI agents, co-built
- 30 min
- New RFP to an 80 to 90% complete first draft
- 100+
- Original posts a year on an AI content system
- ¼ billion+
- YouTube views at my independent studio
Before you start.
If your question is not here, email me or connect on LinkedIn.
What does it cost?
Nothing. The course, the eight guides and the certificate are free. There is no sign-up and no email list.
Do I need a technical background?
No. The course is written for leaders, managers and anyone with a brief to deliver. A director doesn't need to run the camera.
Which AI tools does it use?
Any of them. The method works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and the tools your company already has. Tools change every few months. The habit of directing the work lasts.
How long does it take?
About 8.5 hours in total. Each module takes about an hour and stands on its own, so you can take one a week alongside normal work.
Where is my progress saved?
In your own browser, on this device. Nothing is sent anywhere. If you clear your browser data or switch devices, your progress starts again, so copy your exercise answers into your own notes as you go.
What is the certificate?
A certificate of completion with your name, the date and a certificate number, issued when you complete all eight modules and score 10 or more of 12 on the final assessment. It records that you completed this free course. It is not an academic or professional credential.
Can I share it with my team?
Yes, please do. The course and the guides are free to share. Modules 4 to 8 work well as a team series, one module per meeting.
In what order should I take it?
Start with Part I. Modules 1 to 3 teach the method that Modules 4 to 8 apply. After Part I, take the Part II modules in any order, starting with the problem your team faces now.