The executive summary is the secret to a great board and management paper, and done well it will get your reader on side from the start. It should pull out the key messages from the paper that follows, and it will persuade your reader that your paper is worth investing in.
Where do management papers go wrong?
The most common mistake is to do what many of us were taught at school — namely, to begin with an introduction, setting the scene for the paper that follows, and to wait until the very end of your paper, be that page four or page 40, before revealing the main takeaways and conclusion. But an introduction and an exec summary are not the same things. And an exec summary is what you need for an effective board paper.
Unlike an introduction, a good quality exec summary will flip the model on its head and will spell out the conclusion and key messages, which is just what your time-poor reader needs. Your executive summary should fit onto one page, and there are four parts to it: context, question, conclusion, and the input you would like back from your reader.
So, let’s take a look at each part, in turn.
Part 1: What is the context of your paper?
Firstly, the context. In a couple of sentences, the context should sum up the background of your paper.
Think of it like the opening scene of a movie where the camera first pans the New York skyline. In a board paper your New York skyline is the big picture, aim, or issue that your paper relates to. It’s important that the big picture is something that is familiar to your reader so that it has the desired effect of helping your reader to get their bearings before it hones in on the main character and the story begins.
In the movie business, they call this the establishing shot. And without a scene like this, you can find yourself distracted and hunting for clues to piece the context together for yourself. And remember, boards are interested in the big, high-level issues, so explaining how your paper relates to them will motivate your board to read on.
Part 2: What are the questions your report will address?
Next, set out the question, or questions, that your paper is about to answer to clarify precisely what your paper is all about.
This will set the reader’s expectations for the scope of your report. It’s also a useful test for you as the author as to whether you are clear about your brief: if you’re not too sure what question lies at the heart of your paper, then you’re not yet ready to write it.
Report writers are often given no more of a brief than the title of the paper they’re being asked to write. But to write a paper that really hits the mark, you need to know what mark you’re trying to hit, and you’ll find that expressing that mark as a question removes a lot of ambiguity.
Part 3: What conclusions have you come to?
Searching for the key message in a board paper can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Tackle this head-on by placing your conclusion in your exec summary.
In the military, where communication can be a matter of life and death, they call this the B.L.U.F. — Putting the Bottom Line Up Front. At first, this can feel unnatural. As a writer, you’ll want to lead your reader through the thinking that has led you to your conclusion before you disclose it… after all, the most compelling books and movies don’t start with the ending. Or do they?
In fact, many of the most successful stories do have a conclusion that is known to the audience right from the start: Bond will make it out alive; Romeo and Juliet will not. We know what will happen — the intrigue is seeing how the author or director will get us there.
Your reader needs to know upfront where your report is headed, especially the time-poor reader. It is in the paper that follows that you explain how you got there, satisfying them that the conclusion you presented is the right one.
Part 4: What is the input you want back from your reader?
Your executive summary should end by setting out what you would like back from the reader, whether that be a decision, ideas, or advice.
If you are not looking for board approval, don’t assume that you can’t ask the board for some other input in response to your report instead. The best boards give as much as they get. So, in return for providing a paper to the board, you should feel able to ask the board for their advice where their skills and experience would be helpful to you.
Recap: 1 page, 4 parts
- An executive summary should start with the context summarising the relevant high-level aim or issue that your paper relates to.
- Then, set out the precise question or questions that your paper is going to address.
- Now state the conclusion in answer to that question.
- And finally, make clear what you would like back from the reader and how they can add value in return.
Do all of this on one side of a four, and you will have a reader who is primed to read on.
