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Executive communication simplifier

Converts technical and economic complexity into a concise, decision-ready executive brief — leading with the recommendation, framing 2-3 options with tradeoffs, quantifying the business impact, and pre-empting the…

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Purpose

Turn a complex product, technical, or economic decision into a one-page executive brief that leads with the recommendation, frames the real tradeoffs, and quantifies impact in business terms — so a senior audience can decide in the meeting instead of asking for a follow-up.

When to Use

Invoke this skill when the user asks to:

  • Prepare a complex decision for an executive review, board, or leadership meeting
  • Translate a technical or engineering situation into business language
  • Turn a detailed analysis or deck into a concise decision memo
  • Frame investment, build-vs-buy, or prioritization tradeoffs for senior stakeholders
  • Get a recommendation approved without a follow-up meeting
  • Anticipate the hard questions a CFO or CEO will ask before they ask them

Inputs Required

Before starting, collect:

  • The decision: The specific choice being made, in one sentence
  • Audience: Who decides (CEO / CFO / board / GM) and what they care most about
  • Options on the table: The 2-4 realistic paths, however roughly stated
  • Supporting detail: The technical/economic facts, model, or analysis behind the decision
  • The stakes: What happens if this is decided wrong, or not decided at all
  • Time horizon: When the impact lands and when the decision is needed
  • Constraints: Budget, headcount, deadlines, or dependencies that bound the choice

If the audience's priorities are unstated, default to a CFO-and-CEO lens (financial return, risk, strategic fit) and note the assumption.

Instructions

Step 1: Extract the Decision and the Recommendation

Strip the input down to a single decision sentence and a single recommended answer.

  • Decision sentence: "Should we [do X] to achieve [outcome] by [when]?"
  • Recommendation: State it in the first line — no windup. Executives read top-down; the answer comes before the reasoning.
  • If the analysis doesn't point to a clear recommendation, say so explicitly and name what's blocking the call.

Step 2: Translate Complexity Into Business Language

Convert every technical or economic detail into what it means for the business.

  • Replace jargon with consequence: "latency at p99 is 800ms" → "checkout feels slow for 1 in 100 customers, which we estimate costs ~X in abandoned carts"
  • Replace internal metrics with money, risk, or time: engineering-months → cost and opportunity cost; error rate → revenue or reputation exposure
  • Kill the mechanism, keep the impact: the audience needs the so what, not the architecture. Move any mechanism into an appendix line only if a technical stakeholder is present.
  • Round aggressively: precise figures signal false confidence; use rounded numbers with a stated confidence level.

Step 3: Frame the Options as Tradeoffs

Present 2-3 options as a comparison, not a narrative. For each option capture:

  • What it is: one line
  • Cost / investment: money, time, headcount
  • Upside: quantified benefit and when it lands
  • Risk / downside: what could go wrong and how likely
  • Reversibility: easy to undo, or a one-way door

Format this as a side-by-side table so the audience sees the comparison at a glance. Mark the recommended option clearly.

Step 4: Quantify the Business Case

Attach numbers to the recommendation.

  • The math in one line: cost vs. expected return, with the payback period or ROI
  • The assumption that matters most: name the single variable the case hinges on, and what happens if it's wrong
  • Confidence: High / Medium / Low, with the reason — never present an estimate as a fact

Step 5: Pre-empt the Executive Questions

List the 3-5 hardest questions this audience will ask, each with a one-to-two-sentence answer. Prioritize:

  • "Why now / why not later?"
  • "What does this cost us if we're wrong?"
  • "What are we NOT doing to do this?" (opportunity cost)
  • "Who owns it and when do we see the result?"
  • The one uncomfortable question specific to this decision that most presenters would avoid.

Step 6: State the Ask

End with exactly what you need from the room: a decision, a budget approval, a go/no-go, or a specific commitment — with the date it's needed by.

Output Format

  • Structure: One-page executive brief, top-down (recommendation first)
  • Length: 350-550 words plus one options table
  • Format: Structured document — short labeled sections and one comparison table; no dense paragraphs
  • Sections: Recommendation → The Decision (one line) → Why It Matters (business impact) → Options (table) → The Business Case → Anticipated Questions → The Ask
  • Tone: Calm, direct, senior — the voice of an operator who has already done the thinking; no hedging, no jargon, no wall of context

Quality Checklist

Before delivering output, verify:

  • [ ] The recommendation appears in the first line, before any reasoning
  • [ ] Zero unexplained technical terms remain — every metric is translated into money, risk, or time
  • [ ] The options table has 2-3 options with all five columns filled (what / cost / upside / risk / reversibility)
  • [ ] The business case names the single most load-bearing assumption and its confidence level
  • [ ] 3-5 anticipated questions are listed, each with a concrete answer — including one uncomfortable question
  • [ ] The brief closes with a specific ask and a decision-by date
  • [ ] Total length stays under 550 words of body text

Notes

  • The most common failure in executive communication is burying the recommendation under context — lead with the answer, always.
  • Rounded numbers with a stated confidence level build more trust than precise numbers presented as certainty.
  • If a technical stakeholder will be in the room, add a single "technical detail available on request" line rather than reintroducing the complexity into the brief.
  • When there's genuinely no clear recommendation, the strongest move is to say so and frame exactly what evidence would break the tie — indecision framed clearly is still leadership.

How to use this skill

This file is a Claude Code skill in Anthropic's standard format — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top.

Installing in Claude Code:

  • ~/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md — auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects)
  • <your-project>/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md — auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills)

Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register.

Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:

  1. Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
  2. Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits

For Claude Code skill details: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills