An executive summary distills a longer document (report, business plan, proposal) into 1–2 pages. Executives should be able to make a decision after reading it alone.
**Structure:** 1. **The situation** (1–2 sentences): What problem or opportunity exists? 2. **The recommendation** (1–2 sentences): What do you propose? 3. **Key findings** (3–5 bullet points): The evidence supporting your recommendation 4. **Impact/ROI** (1 paragraph): What happens if you act? What's the cost of inaction? 5. **Ask** (1 sentence): What do you need? Approval, budget, sign-off?
**Golden rules:** - Write it last (after the full document), but place it first - No jargon — assume the reader hasn't read the full doc - Lead with the conclusion, not the background - Keep it under 10% of the full document length