Executive Summary Prompt for Busy Readers
Get decision-ready summaries: context, key findings, implications, and recommended action — all in under 300 words.
Why Executive Summaries Exist
Regular summaries tell you what a text says. Executive summaries tell you what to do about it. The difference is intent: one is for understanding, the other is for action.
When you’re reading to make decisions — whether to approve a proposal, change strategy, invest resources, or advise a team — you don’t need comprehensive understanding. You need the minimum information required to act wisely. Executive summaries strip everything else.
The base summary prompt (C015) works for general comprehension. This variant restructures output for decision-making contexts.
The Executive Summary Template
A good executive summary prompt produces four distinct sections, each serving a specific purpose in moving from information to action.
Context (1-2 sentences): Why does this matter right now? This grounds the reader in urgency or relevance. Without context, even important findings feel abstract. Example: “The FDA announced new approval guidelines that take effect Q2, affecting our three pending submissions.”
Key Findings (3-5 points): The most important facts, data points, or insights from the reading. Not everything important — just what’s most relevant to the decision at hand. Strip adjectives, keep numbers, prioritize actionable information.
Implications: What this means for your specific situation. This is where you add your role context to the prompt — “I’m a product manager evaluating market entry” produces different implications than “I’m an investor assessing risk.” Generic implications are useless implications.
Recommended Action: What you should do next. One concrete step, not a vague suggestion. “Schedule a meeting with legal to review compliance requirements” not “Consider the legal implications.”
The 300-word limit is intentional. If your executive summary exceeds 300 words, you haven’t identified what actually matters. Constraints force prioritization — embrace them.
Output Sections in Detail
Let’s examine each section more closely, because the structure is what makes executive summaries actionable.
Context answers “why now?” It creates urgency or establishes relevance. Bad context: “This article discusses market trends.” Good context: “Consumer behavior shifted post-pandemic, and our Q3 strategy assumes the old patterns still hold.”
Key Findings are facts, not interpretations. They should be verifiable from the source text. Avoid: “The author argues convincingly…” Include: “Revenue grew 23% YoY, but customer acquisition cost increased 40%.” Numbers, dates, names, specific claims.
Implications connect findings to your situation. This requires you to tell the AI who you are and what decision you’re facing. The same article about interest rate changes has different implications for a borrower vs. a lender vs. an investor. Be specific about your context.
Recommended Action is singular and concrete. Not “consider various options” but “proceed with Option B and schedule review for March 15.” If you can’t recommend one action, you haven’t processed the information fully — or the reading genuinely doesn’t support a clear direction (in which case, say that).
For workplace applications, the Reading for Work pillar has additional prompts for memos, briefs, and stakeholder updates.
Context → Findings → Implications → Action. This sequence moves from “what happened” to “what it means” to “what to do.” Skipping sections or reordering them breaks the logic chain. Train yourself (and your AI) to follow this structure consistently.
Example: From Article to Executive Summary
Say you’re a startup founder reading an article about enterprise sales cycles lengthening in 2024. Here’s what the output might look like:
CONTEXT: Enterprise sales cycles extended 27% in 2024 according to Gartner data. Our current runway assumes 6-month cycles; if this trend holds, we need to revisit forecasts.
KEY FINDINGS: Average B2B deal now takes 8.2 months (up from 6.5). Budget freezes affected 64% of enterprises. Security reviews added 3-4 weeks to procurement. Companies with existing vendor relationships saw minimal impact.
IMPLICATIONS: Our Q3 revenue projections assumed closing 4 enterprise deals. At current pace, we may close 2-3. This creates a potential $400K shortfall. Our existing customer expansion strategy becomes more valuable than new logo acquisition.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Shift Q3 focus from new enterprise acquisition to expanding existing accounts. Present revised forecast at next board meeting with scenario planning for 9-month average cycles.
Notice how each section builds on the previous. The context frames the findings; the findings inform the implications; the implications drive the action. This is what makes executive summaries useful — they’re designed for momentum.
For longer documents where you need more detailed extraction before summarizing, use the Article to Action Memo prompt (C047) or explore the full AI for Reading hub.
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