---
name: exec-brief
description: "Synthesize a week of cross-functional inputs into a 2-page CEO brief — surfaces real issues and stuck decisions, not status theater."
---
# /exec-brief

The CEO doesn't need to know that the marketing campaign launched on schedule. They need to know that the campaign is live, the pipeline is 40% below target at week 2, and there's a disagreement between Marketing and Sales about whose number it is. Eight-page status updates bury that signal in formatting. This skill forces you to separate noise from issues, identify what decision is actually stuck, and present options instead of summaries — so the CEO reads the document and makes a call instead of forwarding it to a Slack thread.

**The 3 Real Issues — Not Updates, Issues**
For each issue (maximum 3):
- State it in one sentence: what is wrong, or at risk, or undecided?
- Why does it need CEO attention? (Two functions disagree? Decision requires political authority? Resource call above your level?)
- What's the consequence of it not being resolved this week?
- What information does the CEO need to understand the issue? (One paragraph max — if it needs more, you haven't synthesized it yet)

**The Stuck Decision**
- Name the one decision that is most blocking progress across the organization right now
- Who owns the decision? Why haven't they made it?
- What are the two or three real options? What does each cost in terms of time, money, or risk?
- What's your recommendation, and what's the one data point or argument that most supports it?
- What would you need the CEO to do — decide, unblock, communicate, or escalate?

**Tail Risks Nobody Is Talking About**
- What is the risk that exists in the organization right now that isn't on anyone's agenda?
- Examples: a key hire about to leave, a customer contract up for renewal that's shaky, a technical dependency that could delay a launch, a regulatory change landing in 60 days
- Why isn't it being surfaced? (Too early? Wrong person owns it? Uncomfortable?)
- What would you want the CEO to know so they're not surprised?

**The Options for Each Issue**
For each issue listed above, provide:
- Option A: the conservative path — what it preserves and what it costs
- Option B: the aggressive path — what it accelerates and what it risks
- Your recommendation and the one reason for it
- What information, if learned in the next 48 hours, would change your recommendation?

**What the CEO Should Do**
- List 3-5 specific actions, not themes. "Review the pipeline situation" is not an action. "Call the VP of Sales today and ask for the Week 2 cohort breakdown by channel" is.
- For each action: who should the CEO contact, what should they ask, and what's the decision they're enabling?

**Rules**
1. Maximum 3 issues — if you have more, you haven't prioritized
2. Every issue must require CEO-level authority or visibility — operational updates belong in the team meeting, not the CEO brief
3. The stuck decision must have named options — a brief that only describes a problem without offering choices is incomplete
4. Tail risks must be specific — "market uncertainty" is not a tail risk
5. Every "what the CEO should do" item must be an action, not a category
6. Total document must fit in 2 pages — length is a discipline that forces synthesis

This brief produces a 20-minute executive conversation with a specific decision made at the end — instead of a 60-minute review meeting where everyone agrees things are complex.