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AI workflow · Leadership · Reporting

Executive Brief Creation with AI

An AI-assisted executive brief merges several team updates into one page with three sections — what changed, what is at risk, what needs a decision — and drops everything that is merely activity.

TeamLeadership
LevelIntermediate
ToolsCopilot · ChatGPT · Claude
How it usually goes
  • Five teams send five formats.
  • A manager spends Friday afternoon merging them.
  • Leadership reads the first paragraph.
The workflow · 5 steps
  1. 1

    Standardise the input once

    Ask each team for the same four lines: shipped, slipped, risk, need. The workflow works on messy input, but this halves the editing.

  2. 2

    Merge by section, not by team

    Leadership wants "what is at risk across the business", not "what did marketing do".

  3. 3

    Define what counts

    Tell the model: an item belongs only if it changes a date, a number, a risk or requires a decision. Everything else is activity and gets cut.

  4. 4

    Write decisions as decisions

    Each decision item: the question, the options, the owner’s recommendation, the date it is needed by.

  5. 5

    Review with the source owners

    Anything marked as a risk goes back to the team that reported it before leadership sees it. No one should learn their project is "at risk" from the brief.

The prompt · copy and paste
Merge the team updates below into a one-page leadership brief.

Include an item ONLY if it changes a date, a number, a risk, or needs a decision. Cut pure activity.

Sections:
1. What changed this week (max 5 bullets, most important first)
2. At risk — item, why, owner, what would fix it
3. Decisions needed — question / options / owner's recommendation / needed by
4. Dropped from this brief (one line listing what you cut, so nothing is hidden)

Do not soften or upgrade status words. Use the team's own wording for risk.

UPDATES:
[paste]
Example output · fictional company
2. At risk
- Fort Worth pilot start (was Oct 6): security review not scheduled. Owner: Priya. Fix: IT contact by Friday.

3. Decisions needed
- Extend pilot to a second depot? Options: yes now / after week 4 data. Ops recommends waiting. Needed by Oct 1.

The full reusable version, with input fields and customisation notes: Weekly Executive Summary Template.

Before it goes out · a person checks

Review checklist

  • Each risk was confirmed with the team that reported it.
  • Status words were not softened by the model.
  • Numbers match the source updates.
  • The "dropped" line is present, so omissions are visible.
Don’t use it for

Where this workflow stops

  • Board or investor reporting with legal weight.
  • Performance judgments about individuals.
  • Hiding bad news — the workflow is built to surface it.

Part of AI for Leaders and Managers. Not sure your team is ready for workflows like this? Take the AI Readiness Assessment — 10 questions, no email. Want your team to build this on its own work? See how training works.

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Bring one task.
Leave with it running.

Book a 30-minute call. You’ll have a recommended format and a written quote within 24 hours.

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