Beyond Prompt Engineering: A Masterclass in Agentic Direction

The gap between AI users who've adapted to 2026 capabilities and those still using 2024 techniques is creating a significant productivity divide and the difference isn't about being smarter, it's about understanding what changed. In this episode of the AI Transformation Lab Podcast, host Chris Bradley, Chief Marketing Officer at Veritiv and head of their AI Transformation Lab, reveals how agentic AI tools have fundamentally shifted how we work with artificial intelligence. Bradley walks through a real example: a competitive analysis that took one to two weeks in early 2025 now takes thirty minutes, with exponentially better results. He unpacks the techniques driving this transformation and explains why elaborate prompting strategies have become obsolete.

What if the prompting techniques you've mastered are already obsolete? In this episode of the AI Transformation Lab, host Chris Bradley reveals why 2024 prompt engineering strategies no longer deliver competitive advantage, and walks you through the agentic direction framework that's reshaping how leaders delegate work to AI in 2026. Discover the ODIF Framework, reverse prompting techniques, and real-world examples, including how Bradley completed a complex global competitive analysis in 30 minutes that would have taken weeks just a year ago. Whether you're looking to unlock exponential productivity gains or simply stay ahead of the AI curve, this episode delivers the master-class strategies separating high performers from those still using outdated techniques.

What You'll Learn:

How to transition from prompt engineering to agentic direction
Why the ODIF Framework (Outcome, Deliverable, Iterate, Format) replaces traditional prompt engineering
The power of agentic verbs like "create," "build," "develop," and "analyze"
How to use Projects over Chats for compound productivity
The reverse prompting technique that designs optimal analytical scaffolding for you
How to structure agentic dialogue as delegate-review-refine cycles

Chris Bradley is Chief Marketing Officer at Veritiv and Head of the AI Transformation Lab, where he leads organizational strategy around AI adoption and capability development. With deep expertise in AI workflow optimization and business transformation, Bradley has pioneered the shift from traditional prompt engineering to agentic direction, a more strategic approach to delegating complex work to advanced AI systems. In this episode, he shares a transformative case study where a competitive analysis that once required 1-2 weeks was completed in under 30 minutes using next-generation AI tools. His insights on structural prompting frameworks and agentic workflows provide actionable strategies for professionals seeking to maximize AI productivity and move beyond outdated 2024-era prompting techniques.