Executive status update generator · free AI skill

Transforms raw project notes into a crisp, executive-ready status update structured around progress, risks, decisions needed, and next steps — with a one-line summary, RAG status, and clear owner/deadline callouts. Use…

Purpose

Convert messy project notes, standup dumps, and Slack fragments into a tight, scannable executive status update that leads with the headline, surfaces the risks and decisions leaders actually need to act on, and buries operational detail. Solves the recurring problem of leaders drowning in status noise while the one decision that needs their attention gets lost on line 40.

When to Use

Invoke this skill when the user asks to:

Turn raw project notes or meeting notes into an executive status update
Prepare a weekly or biweekly status report for the C-suite or leadership team
Write a steering committee or program review update
Draft a board pre-read summary for a project or initiative
Highlight risks and decisions needed for a senior audience
Compress a long operational update into something a busy executive will actually read

Inputs Required

Before starting, collect:

Raw notes: The unstructured source material — bullet dumps, meeting notes, standup summaries, Slack threads
Project/initiative name: What this update is about
Audience: Who reads it (CEO, CFO, exec team, steering committee, board)
Reporting period: The window this covers (e.g., "week of Mar 3" or "Q2 to date")
Overall status: Green / Amber / Red — or ask the AI to infer it from the notes
Decisions or asks pending: Anything the user knows needs leadership action
Prior update (optional): Last period's update, to show trajectory and delta

If overall status is not provided, infer a RAG rating from the notes and flag it as an inferred rating for the user to confirm.

Instructions

Step 1: Parse and Categorize the Raw Notes

Read every line of the raw notes and sort each item into one of five buckets. Discard anything that fits none of these — an executive update is defined by what it leaves out.

Progress: Things completed or advanced this period, tied to outcomes not activity
Risks/Issues: Threats to timeline, budget, scope, or quality — active issues and emerging risks
Decisions needed: Anything requiring leadership approval, tradeoff, or unblocking
Next steps: Committed actions for the coming period with owners
Noise: Operational detail, internal churn, routine work — excluded from the update

If an item is ambiguous, favor the higher-signal category (a slipping dependency is a risk, not progress).

Step 2: Write the One-Line Summary (BLUF)

Lead with a single sentence that answers "should I worry, and what do you need from me?" Bottom line up front.

State overall trajectory in plain language, not jargon
If there's a decision needed, name it in this line
Length: one sentence, maximum 25 words

Step 3: Assign and Justify RAG Status

State Green / Amber / Red with a one-line rationale. Apply these thresholds:

Green: On track for scope, timeline, and budget — no leadership action needed
Amber: A risk or slip is emerging; recoverable with attention or a decision
Red: Committed timeline, budget, or scope is at material risk; leadership action required now

Never rate Green if there is an open decision needed — an open ask is Amber at minimum.

Step 4: Build the Progress Section

3–5 bullets, each phrased as an outcome ("Onboarding flow shipped, cutting activation time 40%") not a task ("worked on onboarding")
Lead with the most consequential win
Quantify wherever the notes support it — percentages, dates, dollar figures

Step 5: Build the Risks & Issues Section

For each risk (2–4 items, ranked by severity):

Risk statement: What could go wrong or is going wrong, in one line
Impact: What it threatens — timeline / budget / scope / quality
Mitigation: What's being done, or what's needed
Rank most severe first; do not list more than 4 — collapse minor items

Step 6: Build the Decisions Needed Section

This is the section executives read first. For each decision:

The decision: Framed as a clear question or choice, not a status
Options: 2–3 options with the tradeoff for each
Recommendation: Your recommended path, stated with conviction
Owner & deadline: Who must decide and by when If there are no decisions needed, state "No decisions required this period" explicitly — do not omit the section.

Step 7: Build Next Steps

3–5 committed actions for the next period
Each with a named owner and a target date
Format: "[Action] — [Owner], by [Date]"

Step 8: Add Trajectory (if prior update provided)

One line noting the delta from last period — status change (e.g., "Moved from Amber to Green"), resolved risks, or newly emerged issues.

Output Format

Structure: One-line summary → RAG status → Progress → Risks & Issues → Decisions Needed → Next Steps → Trajectory (if applicable)
Length: 200–350 words total — an executive should read it in under 90 seconds
Format: Scannable structured document; short bullets, bolded labels, no dense paragraphs
Sections: Summary line, RAG status, Progress, Risks & Issues, Decisions Needed, Next Steps, and Trajectory when a prior update exists
Tone: Chief-of-staff crisp — declarative, quantified, zero hedging, zero filler; every line earns its place

Quality Checklist

Before delivering output, verify:

[ ] The one-line summary is a single sentence of 25 words or fewer and names any pending decision
[ ] RAG status is assigned with a one-line rationale, and is not Green if a decision is open
[ ] Progress bullets are phrased as outcomes, not activities, and quantified where the notes allow
[ ] Each risk has an impact and a mitigation — no bare risk statements
[ ] Every decision has options, a recommendation, an owner, and a deadline
[ ] Total length is 200–350 words and contains no bracket placeholders or unfilled variables

Notes

The value of this skill is subtraction — if the update is longer than the source notes, it has failed. Cut ruthlessly.
Executives scan for the ask. When a decision is needed, the one-line summary and the Decisions section must both surface it — never make a leader hunt.
When status is inferred rather than stated, always flag it so the user confirms before circulating.
If the raw notes contain no genuine risks or decisions, resist inventing them; a clean Green update with strong progress bullets is a valid and welcome outcome.

How to use this skill

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