TutorialsRead the Lay of the Land + Remember One Formula
Four core concepts, an 8-scenario cheat sheet, and the soul of the course—the five-part formula.
This lesson is the foundation. First grasp four terms, then find your scenario, then remember one formula—everything that follows is built on these three things.
Four Core Concepts (in Plain Language)
- Industry research—map out an industry: who's playing, how they make money, where the trend is heading. It used to mean reading, calling, and walking trade shows for a week.
- Competitor analysis—pull out the people fighting you for students or customers, and compare: where are they strong, where weak, where do you strike?
- Deep-research mode—AI's "long thinking" switch. Normal chat is quick Q&A; deep research is "auto-search → multi-round follow-up → a long report."
- Skill (codified capability)—teach AI a task you do repeatedly, once, then call it up with one sentence. Like handing AI a "work permit."
How the four relate: industry research and competitor analysis are "the work," deep-research mode is "the gear you work in," and a Skill is "saving the work to reuse." The last two are what push efficiency to the max.
Eight High-Frequency Scenarios (Find Yours First)
Find your scenario first, then decide what to have AI deliver. Match yourself to this table:
| Scenario | What the work is (jargon) | How AI helps |
|---|---|---|
| Sales visit | Size up the client before the meeting (client research) | Give the client name, get a one-page prep sheet + opening lines |
| Pitch / bid | Tear apart the competitor's proposal (competitor teardown) | Give the competitor, get a comparison table + differentiation playbook |
| Lesson prep | Gather authoritative material for a class (prep research) | Give the topic, get a material pack + discussion points |
| Career guidance | Map a major's employment outcomes (employment map) | Give the major, get an employment-map brief |
| HR recruiting | Map talent distribution and pay (talent map) | Give the role, get a talent map + hiring strategy |
| Policy rollout | Figure out how to localize a new policy (policy rollout) | Give the policy, get an implementation checklist + risk points |
| Student interview | Scout the company before the interview (intel prep) | Give the company, get an interview prep sheet |
| Startup lane pick | Decide which direction to enter (lane scouting) | Give the lane, get a scouting report |
One Formula (the Soul of the Course)
Universal prompt formula: Role + Task + Context + Format + Constraint
| Role | Task | Context | Format | Constraint |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What identity to work in | What to do | What it should know | What the output looks like | What not to do |
| Senior career-guidance expert | Build an XX major employment map | Help parents/students pick a major | Nine-section table | No fabricated data; mark pay as reference |
The five parts aren't memorized—they're "filled in." Just answer five questions: in what identity? do what? what context should it know? what does the output look like? what's off-limits? Fill them in and you have a professional prompt.
Advanced Tip
End with this line:
Before you start, ask me three questions to confirm the info, then begin.
This makes AI confirm information with you before acting, so it doesn't guess its way into a wrong run you'll have to redo.
Guiding Principle
AI produces the first draft and fills gaps; you judge and sign off. Treat AI as a very smart subordinate—you, as the leader, assign the work and make the call.
- What AI can do: gather material, structure frameworks, generate first drafts, fill gaps.
- What you do: set the goal, judge right from wrong, finalize, own the output.
Tools change; the "Role + Task + Context + Format + Constraint" logic of command never does. In the next lesson, we run this formula along one main case.
AI for Industry Research & Competitor Analysis
One formula, one main case, and 6 prompt templates—learn to direct AI through a full industry research and competitor workflow in 60 minutes, turning a week of grind into a few sentences.
Hands-on: Run a Major-to-Career Map End to End
Using Hubei University's Chinese Language & Literature (Teacher Education) major, run 3 finalized prompts—from letting AI write its own, to revealing the full version, to packaging as a Skill.