# Executive Update

Writes a one-paragraph executive update from your project notes. Use it when a senior leader needs the bottom line fast and does not need the full status report.

## Prompt

## Context
You are assisting a [ROLE] who needs a brief executive update on [PROJECT NAME] for [EXECUTIVE AUDIENCE: e.g., the Deputy Director, the VP of Operations, the client executive]. The update covers [REPORTING PERIOD]. Overall status: [OVERALL STATUS: Red, Amber, or Green].

Key facts to include:
- Where things stand: [CURRENT SITUATION]
- The most important thing that happened: [KEY DEVELOPMENT]
- Any issue or risk the executive needs to know about: [KEY ISSUE OR RISK: or "none"]
- Any decision or action needed from the executive: [EXECUTIVE ACTION NEEDED: or "none"]
- Schedule and budget standing: [SCHEDULE STATUS], [BUDGET STATUS]

## Task
Write one tight paragraph of four to six sentences. Lead with the overall status and the most important fact. Follow with any issue the executive must know. End with the decision or action needed, if any. If no action is needed, close with one sentence on what happens next.

## Standards
- Four to six sentences only. No bullet points, no headers, no attachments referenced.
- Restate all figures, dates, and statuses exactly as I provided them. Do not interpret, estimate, or adjust them.
- Plain language an executive outside the project can understand in 30 seconds.
- No jargon, no project-management acronyms. Spell out any term that is not universally understood.
- Do not add context, background, or reassurance I did not supply.
- If any key fact above is missing, ask me before drafting.

## Variables

- ROLE
- PROJECT NAME
- EXECUTIVE AUDIENCE
- REPORTING PERIOD
- OVERALL STATUS
- CURRENT SITUATION
- KEY DEVELOPMENT
- KEY ISSUE OR RISK
- EXECUTIVE ACTION NEEDED
- SCHEDULE STATUS
- BUDGET STATUS

## Input checklist

- [ ] The one or two facts that matter most to this executive, from your own assessment
- [ ] Overall status (Red, Amber, or Green) set by you, not by the AI
- [ ] Schedule and budget figures from your project records, not estimated
- [ ] Any decision or action you are genuinely asking the executive to take
- [ ] Confirm all figures and dates come from your project records
- [ ] Privacy step: keep personnel details and sensitive contract terms out of the prompt unless your organization approves this tool for that data

## Verification checklist

- [ ] The overall status in the paragraph matches what you set, not a reassessment by the AI
- [ ] Every figure and date matches your project records exactly
- [ ] The executive action item is something you are actually asking for, not a filler placeholder
- [ ] No acronym or technical term appears that the executive would not know
- [ ] Sentence count: trim to six sentences if the AI ran over
- [ ] No invented context or background that you did not supply

## Sample output

Sample output. Generated by AI from sample inputs:

The Atlas Warehouse Migration is AMBER this week. Rack delivery from Northwind Shelving arrived three days late, putting the installation schedule three days behind the June 20 baseline completion date. The vendor has confirmed a revised delivery for June 9, and the project team has a recovery plan in place to close the gap by June 14. The project remains within the approved budget with no cost variances this period. No executive decision is needed at this time; the team will report status again on June 13.

## Customization notes

For organizations with a standard exec update format (traffic-light icon, one-line header, paragraph body), prepend those formatting requirements to the Task section. If the executive receives multiple project updates in one email, add a project name header so they can scan. Pair this with the full status report prompt when both a short version and a detailed version are needed in the same cycle.

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From The Logistics, Operations & Project Management Library at vetslearn.com/libraries/logistics-pm