3.5 Workflows - Chaining Skills Together

🎥 Video lesson — video not yet migrated (source Skool video id: 90165443bc49405c87a454188dd55d84).

Learning Objective

Understand how workflows chain multiple skills into end-to-end pipelines, where to insert human review gates, and create at least one workflow for your department.

What Is a Workflow?

A skill does one thing well. A workflow chains multiple skills together into a complete pipeline. Think of it like an assembly line where each station does its part and passes the result to the next.

You do not just "do outreach." You scrape leads, enrich the data, classify lead fit, personalize messages, launch campaigns, and monitor results. Each of those is a skill. The sequence from start to finish is a workflow.

The Five Parts of a Workflow

Every workflow has five components.

Trigger is what kicks off the workflow. This could be manual (you decide to run it), scheduled (runs every Monday), or event-based (runs when a new lead comes in).

Inputs are the data the workflow needs to start. What information does the first skill in the chain require? Be specific about where this data lives and what format it should be in.

Pipeline steps are the ordered list of skills that run in sequence. Each step takes the output of the previous step and uses it as input. This is the core of your workflow.

Gates are human review checkpoints between steps. This is where you pause, review what the AI produced, and decide whether to continue. Not every step needs a gate - only the ones where quality matters or a decision is needed.

Success criteria define how you know the workflow completed successfully. What does a good end result look like? How do you measure it?

Gates - The Most Important Concept

A gate is a pause point where you review before the next step continues. Gates are what keep your automated workflows safe and high-quality.

Not every step needs a gate. If the AI is scraping leads and then enriching the data, that can flow automatically. But before the AI sends personalized emails to 200 prospects on your behalf? That is a gate. You review those messages first.

Gates map directly to the stakes framework from Lesson 3.1. Low-stakes steps need no gate. Medium-stakes steps get a gate with a quick review. High-stakes steps get a gate with thorough review and explicit approval before anything moves forward.

A Real Workflow Example

Here is what an outreach pipeline workflow looks like in practice, broken into 8 steps.

Step 1 - Scrape leads from target sources. This runs automatically.

Step 2 - Enrich leads with company and contact data. This runs automatically.

Step 3 - Classify lead fit into A, B, or C tiers. This runs automatically.

Step 4 - GATE. You review the classified leads before proceeding. Check that the scoring makes sense and remove any bad fits.

Step 5 - Generate personalized messages for A-tier leads. This runs automatically.

Step 6 - GATE. You review the messages before they get sent. Read through a sample, check tone and accuracy, approve or request edits.

Step 7 - Launch the campaign.

Step 8 - Monitor responses and flag hot leads.

Notice: 8 steps, but only 2 gates. Most of the work flows automatically. You only step in where it matters.

Time Estimates

Include a time estimate for each step in your workflow. This helps you understand how long the full pipeline takes and when you need to be available for gate reviews.

For example, scraping might take 5 minutes, enrichment 10 minutes, classification 3 minutes, then you hit the first gate. Knowing this lets you plan your day around the review points instead of sitting and watching the whole time.

Building Your First Workflow

Start with the end result. What does a successful run of this workflow produce?

Then list every step needed to get from trigger to that end result. Identify which steps are skills you have already built and which are gaps you still need to write. Add gates at every medium and high-stakes transition. Define your success criteria.

Common Workflow Patterns

Linear pipeline is step 1 to step 2 to step 3 in a straight line. This is the most common pattern and the one you should start with. Most business processes follow this shape.

Branch pipeline splits after a certain step based on a condition. For example, after classifying leads, A-tier leads go to personalized outreach while B-tier leads go to a nurture sequence. The workflow forks into two paths.

Loop pipeline repeats a set of steps until a condition is met. For example, iterate on a draft until the quality score passes your threshold. Each loop refines the output further.

Start with linear workflows. Add branches and loops later as you get comfortable with the basics.

Action Items

  • Map out at least 1 complete workflow for your department, from trigger to final result
  • Identify which steps are existing skills and which are gaps you need to build
  • Write any missing skills needed for your workflow
  • Add gates at every medium and high-stakes transition
  • Include time estimates for each step
  • Write the workflow file using the workflow template
  • Test run the workflow end-to-end, even if some steps need manual fill-in for now
← Previous
Next →