Executive Summary
Topic: [topic] Author: [name] Date: [YYYY-MM-DD] Audience: [role / names] Decision needed by: [date or "no decision — for awareness"]
Recommendation
[State the recommendation or key finding in one sentence. Bold. This is what the executive needs to know if they read nothing else.]
Why this matters
[2–3 sentences: the business impact. Quantify where possible — revenue, users, cost, risk. Avoid "interesting" or "worth noting." State the consequence.]
Supporting evidence
- [Point 1]: [one sentence with the key number and its significance]
- [Point 2]: [one sentence]
- [Point 3]: [one sentence]
Key risk / caveat
[One sentence: the most important thing that could make this recommendation wrong. Do not hedge everything — pick the one that matters.]
Requested action
| Action | Owner | By |
|---|---|---|
| [specific action] | [name] | [date] |
Appendix (optional)
[Link to or summary of detailed analysis, methodology, data sources — for readers who want to go deeper. Keep the main memo to this page only.]
Template: executive_summary_template.md