3.2 Working with AI: sessions, not searches

Part of The OPC Manual · By Adine Tjeenk Willink

The difference between an OPC that compounds and one that stalls is not which AI tools they use. It is how they use them. Most people treat AI like a search engine — one question, one answer, move on. The OPC model treats AI differently: as a connected operator with access to your calendar, your inbox, your knowledge base, and your rules. This section is about how to set that up, and how to govern it properly.

The shift: from prompts to infrastructure

When you first use Claude, you ask it questions. You get answers. It feels useful.

Then you hit the ceiling. Every session starts from scratch. Claude doesn't know your company, your pipeline, your priorities, or your voice. You spend the first ten minutes re-explaining context that should already be there. The output is generic because the input is generic.

The OPC operating model solves this by treating AI not as a search tool but as infrastructure — connected, governed, and embedded in your working rhythm. This requires three things:

  1. A context file — a reusable brief that loads your world into every session (see 7.3 — CLAUDE.md template)
  2. Connected tools — giving Claude read and write access to your calendar, inbox, and knowledge base under clear rules
  3. Governance — explicit rules for what Claude can and cannot do with that access

This section covers points 2 and 3. Point 1 is covered in 7.3.

Connecting Claude to your live tools

Claude can be connected to Google Calendar, Gmail, Notion, and other tools via integrations in Claude.ai. Once connected, Claude can read and act on live data — not just answer questions about hypothetical situations.

This is powerful. It is also where things go wrong if you don't govern it properly.

The tools worth connecting first, in order of value:

1. Google Calendar

Claude can read your schedule, create events, update existing ones, and calculate travel times. The risk: without clear rules, Claude can modify the wrong event. Always verify before writing.