Lesson 1: Saying no, saying not yet, and saying it early
15 min read·13 Oct 2026
Module 15 · Lesson 1 · About 40 minutes · Needs: the whole engagement, especially Module 10 Lesson 2 (CR-02) and Module 11 Lesson 2 (the one-month check); basic Python
The situation
Tuesday 22 September 2026, five days after Carol's board meeting. The assistant is still in use. Carol emails you and Nadia (an email added in this lesson, fictional like the rest). The board liked 52%, but wants 70% within 2 working days by Christmas. Three ideas came up. (a) Let the assistant send credit replies itself. (b) Ben's proposal: a bigger model and an agent that works each exception end to end. (c) A director asked whether late credits could be held back for accounts that never chase them. Carol wants a plan by Friday.
Each ask needs a different kind of judgement. This lesson takes them one at a time.