The Ultimate Manual to Unleash Claude's Potential: Transform AI into Your Thinking Partner

If you open Claude every day, have you ever experienced this?

• In morning meeting prep, you're re-typing background info like "We are a SaaS with 12 employees, targeting SME accountants..." Claude understands it then, but remembers nothing in a new chat the next day.
• You hear "Claude thinks deeper than ChatGPT," but when you use it, you see little difference. You ask similar questions and get similar answers.
• You're curious about the "Projects" button in the sidebar but left it alone after one click, not knowing what to write.
• You have five English Claude strategy articles bookmarked. You're collecting info, but your actual usage hasn't changed.

All of these issues disappear once you configure Claude correctly. There are 18 steps, all implementable via copy-paste.

This time, I will break down and reconstruct an article that has been gaining massive attention overseas for the Japanese business audience. I'll also explain specific prompts, so please take this opportunity to learn.

Source:

https://x.com/AnatoliKopadze/status/2054568935274549597

This is delivered in a format that business owners, department heads, and marketing leads can use starting tomorrow.

Claude is Not Just a "Query Interface"

Before implementing any of the 18 steps, let me set one premise.

As long as you use Claude as a "window to throw questions into," 90% of its true power remains dormant. This isn't an exaggeration; it's about the philosophy Claude was designed with.

Many people use Claude only as a Google search alternative or a chat partner. You throw a question, get an answer, and throw the next question. This is just an extension of how people use ChatGPT.

While it works for extracting information, it's not the intended use case.

Claude was designed from the start as a Thinking Partner.

It's not a fixed relationship where you ask and Claude answers; it's a partner that confirms premises bi-directionally, offers perspectives, and refines conclusions together.

It is not just an assistant for polishing text.

You might think, "Can't ChatGPT be a thinking partner too?"

Here is the difference: Claude has specific built-in settings to activate it as a thinking partner. Projects, Custom Instructions, Extended Thinking, Style cloning, and Sparring. Combining these five features turns Claude into a "partner who knows you."

In other words, making Claude a thinking partner isn't about talent or sense; it's about settings.

There are 18 steps, organized into five areas: Foundation (Steps 1-3), Mindset Shift (Steps 4-5), Features (Steps 6-9), Efficiency (Steps 10-13), and Prompts (Steps 14-18). If you start with the three foundational steps, Claude's behavior will change noticeably within the first 30 minutes.

Area ① Foundation: 3 Settings to Make Claude "Yours"

Let's get into specific settings. The first area is the foundation. In three steps, we'll ensure Claude remembers "who you are" across every session. Total time: about 15 minutes.

Step 1: Create a Project

In the left sidebar of Claude.ai, there is a "Projects" menu. Click "New Project" and give it a name like "Work," "Management," or "Marketing."

A Project is essentially a permanent workspace. Normal chats start from scratch, and Claude doesn't remember previous conversations. When you create a chat within a Project, Claude reads the saved information before responding. Context is inherited.

Projects are available on Claude Pro and higher plans ($20/month). All subsequent settings will be done within this Project.

Step 2: Paste Your Bio Template into Project Knowledge

Now, tell Claude who you are. Add text to the "Knowledge" section on the right side of the Project screen.

Copy and use this:

1About Me
2Name: [Name]
3Role: [Role]
4Industry: [Industry]
5Company Size: [Employees / Monthly Revenue]
6Main Tasks:
7- [Task 1]
8- [Task 2]
9- [Task 3]
10Expertise (Areas I know well):
11- [Area 1]
12- [Area 2]
13Weak Areas (Still learning):
14- [Area 1]
15- [Area 2]
16Communication Preferences:
17- Conclusion first / Bullet points / Data-backed
18- No filler (e.g., "Thank you for your question")
19- State "I don't know" for uncertain info; do not guess
20Desired Claude Tone:
21- Treat me as a knowledgeable colleague, not a boss
22- Do not hesitate to offer opposing views
23- Use industry jargon as-is (no need to simplify)

It's crucial to fill this out honestly. If you leave "Weak Areas" blank, Claude assumes you are perfect and might skip necessary explanations. If "Expertise" is thin, Claude will keep giving you basic explanations. Spend 5 minutes on this.

Step 3: Convert to Custom Instructions

Pasting your bio lets Claude know you, but it doesn't yet change its behavior. Use this prompt to generate Custom Instructions:

1I have provided my bio above.
2Please create Custom Instructions so I can use Claude most efficiently.
3Generate a set of rules Claude must follow every time, based on my business context, preferences, and phrases to avoid.
4Output format:
5- A set of commands like "You should respond in [Tone]"
6- 10-15 lines
7- Ready to copy-paste into Project Instructions
8Include:
91. Who I am and how to interact with me
102. Response style (No filler / Conclusion first / etc.)
113. Handling uncertainty
124. Forbidden expressions
135. Handling industry jargon

Copy the result into the "Instructions" section of the Project. Now, every chat in this Project will start with Claude reading your bio and rules. No more re-typing "We are a SaaS with 12 employees."

(Note: For Claude Code users, putting this in a CLAUDE.md file in your directory aligns behavior between the Web UI and CLI.)

Area ② Mindset Shift: 2 Settings to Turn Claude from "Answerer" to "Asker"

Foundation alone doesn't change output quality much. These two steps create the real transformation.

Step 4: Stop Using It as a Search Engine

Using Claude like Google is its lowest-value use case.

Before (As a query window):
``markdown
What is the difference from ChatGPT?
``

Claude gives a generic comparison irrelevant to your specific company.

After (As a thinking partner):
``markdown
Organize decision-making criteria for whether our company should switch from ChatGPT to Claude.
Company Context:
- Industry: SaaS
- Employees: 12
- Monthly Revenue: 80M JPY
- Main Use: Proposals, meeting summaries, monthly PL analysis
Decision Axes:
- Cost of restructuring existing workflows
- Difference in output quality for actual tasks
- Perceived value of the monthly sub
- Operations if rolled out to all employees
Organize this into material suitable for internal approval.
``

The answer changes completely to "materials for your company's decision-making."

Step 5: Let Claude Ask Questions First

Before starting a complex task, let Claude ask you for info. Use this prompt:

1Before starting the following task, please ask me for the information you need.
2Task: [Task content]
3Question format:
4- Ask 5-10 questions at once (not one by one)
5- Numbered list
6- Must include industry / size / target / constraints / deadline
7- Start the task only after I answer

Instead of guessing, Claude will ask about growth rates, target audiences, or risk scenarios. This eliminates the "do-over" loop.

Area ③ Features: 4 Unique Ways to Use Claude

Step 6: Style Cloning

Claude defaults to a "Claude-like" style (overly polite, English-style logic). Give it 3-5 samples of your writing to analyze your patterns.

1Analyze my writing patterns (vocabulary, length, tone, rhythm) from these 3 samples.
2[Sample 1]
3[Sample 2]
4[Sample 3]
5Write all future texts for me in this style. Do not use Claude's default tone.

Step 7: Sparring (Claude as the Opponent)

Don't just ask for ideas; ask Claude to attack them. This is a stress test.

1Please attack the following business plan. You are my harshest judge.
2[Plan Content]
3Your role:
4- Point out wrong premises
5- Give 3+ reasons customers won't move
6- Give 2+ reasons we'll lose to competitors
7- Do not offer any praise or support.

Step 8: Extended Thinking

Click the brain icon in the chat box to enable reasoning mode. It's for complex strategic analysis where the quality difference is significant.

Step 9: Let Claude Write Prompts for Claude

If you don't know how to write a prompt, ask Claude to design one for you to achieve a specific goal.

Area ④ Efficiency: 4 Settings to Get 1.5x More from Your Sub

Step 10: Specify Output Length

Specifying "Conclusion in 3 lines" or "Under 500 words" can reduce token usage by 40-60%.

Step 11: Remove Fillers

Add rules to your Custom Instructions to ban phrases like "Great question!" or "Certainly!" to get straight to the point.

Step 12: Don't Re-type Background

(Re-emphasizing Area ①) Use Projects so you never have to introduce yourself twice.

Step 13: Start New Chats for New Topics

Switching topics in one chat wastes tokens as Claude re-reads the whole history.

Area ⑤ Prompts: 5 Copy-Paste Prompts for Today

Step 14: Feynman Method for Understanding

Ask Claude to explain complex concepts (tech trends, accounting rules) so a 5th grader could understand using analogies.

Step 15: Personalized Travel Plans

Get a custom itinerary based on your specific travel style and constraints.

Step 16: Monthly PL Analysis

Attach a CSV of your PL data and ask Claude to identify anomalies, margin trends, and next month's priority actions.

Step 17: Personal Thinking Partner

Use Claude to organize your decision-making axes when you're stuck, without it pushing its own bias.

Step 18: Business Idea Stress Test

Use this to find "KO-class risks" before committing to a major investment.

Even with a Thinking Partner, Don't Give Up Judgment

Claude's output is persuasive, but reinforcing thought is different from replacing judgment. You are responsible for the final decision. Claude is a partner that increases your thinking time, not a contractor that eliminates the need to think.

The Difference Between Setting Up Once and Starting from Zero

The difference between a power user and a beginner isn't talent—it's a 15-minute setup. Start by creating a Project today.

Follow the University of Tokyo Claude Code Lab (@ClaudeCode_UT) for more daily AI insights and business applications.