executive-summary-writer

Executive Summary Writer

You are writing an executive summary for a senior audience — an IC member, a board, a managing partner, or a CEO. They will read this before reading anything else, and many will read only this. Your job is to make the governing argument so clear and complete that a decision-maker can act on it without reading the underlying document.

Read this entire file before writing a single word.

---

The Core Discipline: Compression Without Distortion

An executive summary is not a table of contents. It is not a list of topics covered. It is not a softened version of the findings. It is a compressed argument — the same logical structure as the full document, reduced to its essential load-bearing elements.

What gets compressed: Supporting evidence, methodology detail, caveats that don'''t change the conclusion, secondary findings.

What never gets compressed: The governing thesis, the three strongest lines of support, the most important risk, the recommended action.

The test: A reader who reads only the executive summary must understand:

1. What the conclusion is
2. Why it is correct (three reasons minimum)
3. What the most important risk or uncertainty is
4. What action is recommended

If any of these four are missing or unclear, the executive summary is incomplete.

---

Step 1: Extract Before Writing

Before writing a single sentence, extract the following from the source document. Do not write until all four are in hand.

1. The governing thesis The single most important conclusion in one sentence. Not a topic. Not a question. A conclusion.

• ❌ "This report examines the post-purchase experience software market"
• ❌ "The market presents both opportunities and challenges"
• ✅ "The post-purchase experience software market is consolidating around a data layer play — and the window for a platform investment at a defensible entry price is narrowing as two players separate from the field"

2. The three load-bearing pillars The three strongest arguments that, together, make the governing thesis inescapable. Each pillar must independently support the thesis — not just add color. If removing a pillar changes the conclusion, it is load-bearing. If removing it doesn'''t, it belongs in the appendix, not the executive summary.

For each pillar extract:

• The structural observation (one sentence)
• The single strongest piece of evidence (one number, one fact, one named example)
• The implication for the thesis (one sentence)

3. The primary risk or uncertainty The one thing that, if it materialized or proved false, would most change the conclusion. Not a list of risks — the single most consequential one. State it directly. Do not bury it or soften it.

4. The recommended action What the reader should do as a result of this analysis. Specific, owned, time-bound. Not "consider further diligence" — that is not an action. Not "monitor developments" — that is not a recommendation.

---

Step 2: Choose the Format

Select the format based on the deliverable type and audience. Apply the corresponding template from Step 3.

Format	Use when	Length
A — One-page memo	IC package, board memo, standalone briefing	400–600 words
B — Deck opening slide	Investment deck, market research deck, strategy deck	5–7 bullets, no prose
C — Briefing paragraph	Email, Slack update, verbal briefing prep	150–200 words
D — Multi-section summary	Long-form report (10+ sections), annual review	800–1,000 words, sectioned

When in doubt, default to Format A. A one-page memo is the most versatile format and the hardest to write well — it is the calibration standard for all others.

---

Step 3: Write to the Template

Format A — One-Page Memo (400–600 words)

Structure — five blocks, in this order, no exceptions:

Block 1: Governing thesis (1–2 sentences) State the conclusion. Answer first. The reader must know what you believe before they read a single supporting argument. This is not an introduction — it is the answer.

Do not write:

• "This memo summarizes our findings on X" → topic announcement
• "X is an interesting market with several dynamics worth understanding" → hedge
• "After extensive research, we believe X presents a compelling opportunity" → buried lede

Write:

• "[Company / market] is [conclusion]. [One sentence on why this matters now or for the decision at hand]."

Block 2: Three supporting arguments (1 paragraph each, ~60–80 words per paragraph)

Each paragraph follows this internal structure:

• Sentence 1: State the structural observation (the pillar)
• Sentences 2–3: Deliver the evidence — specific, named, numbered
• Sentence 4: State the implication for the governing thesis

No paragraph should be longer than 5 sentences. If it is, a supporting argument has been confused with a section summary — compress it.

Label each paragraph only if the format warrants it (board memo: no labels; IC memo: optional labels aligned to thesis pillars).

Block 3: Primary risk (2–3 sentences) Name it directly. State what would have to be true for it to materialize. State what the impact on the conclusion would be if it did. Do not list multiple risks in the executive summary — that belongs in the risk section of the full document.

Block 4: Recommended action (2–4 bullets) Specific actions, each with an owner and a timeline. Sequenced: immediate → near-term → contingent. Maximum 4 bullets. If you need more than 4 bullets to state the recommendation, the recommendation has not been synthesized.

Block 5: Key assumption to monitor (1 sentence) The single assumption the entire recommendation rests on. State it explicitly. Name the signal that would indicate it is holding or breaking.

---

Format B — Deck Opening Slide (5–7 bullets)

Used as the executive summary slide in a Pattern investment or market research deck. Defers to pattern-investment-pptx for formatting. This skill governs content only.

Slide title: The governing thesis as an insight statement. Not "Executive Summary." Not "Key Findings." The conclusion itself — in 10–15 words.

Bullet structure — 5–7 bullets, each a complete assertion:

• Bullet 1: Market context — the structural fact that makes this decision relevant now
• Bullet 2: Thesis pillar 1 — strongest supporting argument, specific evidence inline
• Bullet 3: Thesis pillar 2 — second supporting argument, specific evidence inline
• Bullet 4: Thesis pillar 3 — third supporting argument, specific evidence inline
• Bullet 5: Primary risk — stated directly, not softened
• Bullet 6: Recommended action — what happens next, owned and time-bound
• Bullet 7 (optional): Key assumption — the single premise the recommendation rests on

Bullet discipline:

• Each bullet is a complete sentence — subject, verb, object
• Each bullet contains at least one specific number, name, or date
• No bullet is a label or topic announcement
• No two bullets say the same thing
• ❌ "Strong market growth driven by favorable dynamics"
• ✅ "Market growing at 18% CAGR [Forrester, 2024] — driven by returns volume doubling post-COVID with no corresponding infrastructure investment"

---

Format C — Briefing Paragraph (150–200 words)

Used for email, Slack, verbal prep, or when a senior audience needs the answer in under 60 seconds.

Structure:

• Sentence 1: Governing thesis
• Sentences 2–4: Three pillars compressed to one clause each, linked causally
• Sentence 5: Primary risk, named directly
• Sentence 6: Recommended action

This format has no room for hedging, caveats, or methodology. If the audience needs those, send the full document. The briefing paragraph stands alone.

---

Format D — Multi-Section Summary (800–1,000 words)

Used when the source document has 10+ sections and a single governing argument would miss material secondary findings that affect the decision.

Structure:

• Opening block: Governing thesis + three pillars (same as Format A, ~200 words)
• Section summaries: One paragraph per major section of the source document, each opening with the section'''s governing insight, not a topic label (~80–100 words per section)
• Closing block: Primary risk + recommended action + key assumption (~150 words)

Section summary discipline: Each section summary paragraph must open with the section'''s conclusion — what the section proved, not what it covered. A section summary that begins with "This section examines..." has failed. It must begin with the finding.

---

Step 4: Apply the Compression Tests

Before delivering, run every sentence through these four tests. Any sentence that fails must be rewritten or cut.

Test 1 — The so-what test Read the sentence. Ask: so what? If the answer is obvious and significant, the sentence earns its place. If the answer requires another sentence to explain, the first sentence is doing insufficient work — it is setup, not argument.

Test 2 — The specificity test Every claim in the executive summary must be more specific than it would be in a body section. If the body section says "growing at 18% CAGR," the executive summary cannot say "growing rapidly." If you cannot be more specific, use the body'''s figure. Vagueness in an executive summary signals the writer does not understand the material well enough to compress it.

Test 3 — The removal test Remove each sentence one at a time. If the argument still holds without it, the sentence is not load-bearing and should be cut. Executive summaries are not improved by addition — they are improved by removal.

Test 4 — The cold read test Read the executive summary as if you have not read the underlying document. Can you answer all four questions from Step 1? If not, something essential has been lost in compression and must be restored.

---

Step 5: Prohibited Constructions

These phrases and patterns are banned from executive summaries. They appear frequently in first drafts and must be eliminated before delivery.

Lede-burying openers — delete and rewrite answer-first:

• "This [memo / report / analysis] examines..."
• "The purpose of this document is to..."
• "Following extensive research, we have found..."
• "There are several important dynamics in this market..."

False balance — executive summaries do not present both sides:

• "While there are risks, there are also significant opportunities..."
• "The market presents both challenges and tailwinds..."
• "Results have been mixed, with some positive and some negative indicators..."

Hollow intensifiers — replace with the actual figure:

• "significant," "substantial," "considerable," "meaningful," "notable"
• "strong growth," "rapid expansion," "impressive performance"
• "world-class," "best-in-class," "cutting-edge"

Weasel qualifications that undermine the conclusion:

• "It is possible that..." → state the probability or remove
• "One could argue that..." → either argue it or don'''t
• "There may be opportunity to..." → state the opportunity or remove

Action-free recommendations:

• "Further diligence is warranted" → name what diligence, who does it, by when
• "We will continue to monitor" → name what signal, at what threshold, who owns it
• "Management should consider" → state the recommendation directly

---

Quality Gates

An executive summary is ready to deliver when every item below passes.

Argument integrity

• Governing thesis states a conclusion, not a topic
• Three pillars each independently support the thesis
• Each pillar contains at least one specific, named piece of evidence
• Primary risk is named directly — not softened or buried
• Recommended action is specific, owned, and time-bound

Compression discipline

• Every sentence passes the so-what test
• Every claim passes the specificity test — no vaguer than the source
• Every sentence passes the removal test — nothing surplus remains
• Cold read test passed — all four Step 1 questions answerable from the summary alone

Prose standards (governed by writing-style — run self-review pass)

• Answer leads — conclusion in the first two sentences
• No prohibited constructions remain
• Active voice throughout
• Numbers formatted: $2.3B not $2,300M; 34% CAGR not "strong growth"
• No sentence requires a semicolon to hold together

Format compliance

• Word count within range for chosen format
• Format A: five blocks present in correct order
• Format B: slide title is a conclusion, not a label; all bullets are assertions
• Format C: fits in 150–200 words; stands alone without the full document
• Format D: every section summary opens with the section'''s conclusion

---

Integration Notes

Feeds from:

• market-research — executive summary is the first section of every research report
• mckinsey-consultant — SCR structure and pyramid principle govern the argument architecture
• diligence-ddr — diligence findings compress into executive summary for IC package

Defers to:

• writing-style — prose standards, claim tagging, inductive chain discipline, absolute assertion test. Run the writing-style self-review pass on every executive summary before delivery.
• claim-scrutinizer — if the source document has been redlined, apply the same verdict standards to the executive summary. A claim that was NEEDS EVIDENCE in the full document is still NEEDS EVIDENCE in the summary.
• pattern-docx — formatting for Format A (one-page memo)
• pattern-investment-pptx — formatting for Format B (deck opening slide)