ASK TOBY

Check it before it ships.

Put a second look between your agent and the world. One checklist, one reviewer who did not make it, and a clear pass or send back.

A second look sits between the work and the world

When an agent finishes, the work does not go out yet. It goes to a reviewer first. Only after a pass does it move on.

The reviewer is never the maker

Give the check to a different agent, or to a person, so a fresh pair of eyes sees it. The reviewer sees the finished work and the checklist, nothing else.

A short checklist beats a general feeling

Write three to five questions and keep them the same every time. Each one needs a yes or a no.

  • Did it do the job it was given?
  • Did it stay inside what it may touch?
  • Is anything it says in the work something you can point to?
  • Would you put your name on it?

Pass or send back

Two outcomes, nothing in between. A pass moves the work on. A send back goes to the maker with one line saying which question failed and why. The maker fixes that and submits again.

Know which work needs a review

Work that leaves your hands, such as a post, a page or a message to a customer, gets a review. Work that stays inside your own notes can skip it. Decide this once, per kind of work, and write it down.

For the step where a person says yes, see approval workflow. This guide is the check that happens before that.

Keep the verdict in the record

Write down each verdict: what was checked, pass or send back, and the reason. Over time you can see which questions send work back most, and decide what to change. The activity log is the place for it, and a clean handoff carries the verdict with the work.

Check it: run one piece of work through

Take one finished piece of work and run it through your list.

  • Question: Did it stay inside what it may touch? Result: Pass. Reason: Only the files named in the job.
  • Question: Is anything it says in the work something you can point to? Result: Send back. Reason: One claim has no source.
  • Question: Would you put your name on it? Result: Send back. Reason: Part of it is still a guess.

One reviewer. One list. A clear answer.

Get the free field guide and set up your first approval list.

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YOUR CREW, YOUR CALL: THE FIELD GUIDE

How I run a fleet of AI agents from one screen and my phone.

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Questions people ask

How do I check copy before it goes anywhere?
A second reader goes first. Another agent reads the copy against the rules. Then it moves on. Check it twice. Send it once.
How do I keep agents honest?
They measure. They don't recite. An agent has to say how it checked and when. It also says what its check would miss. A claim with no check behind it doesn't count. Measure it, or don't say it.

Jeff Sperandeo. Video editor. I ran the paid ads side and the organic side of a big YouTube channel at a Fortune 500 company. I saw how ads and AI find people from the inside. Now I build agents on my own machines, and I show you how.