{"id":"exec-board-observer-note-no-promises","audience":"executives","category":"leadership-work","track":"leadership","level":"intermediate","technique":"tone","title":"Answer a director's question by email without promising a result","free":false,"task":"A director, Priya Shah, asked whether the Q4 launch will hit its date. Write the reply in plain text, subject first, under 100 words. Sentence 1 gives the current plan date. Sentence 2 gives the biggest open risk. Sentence 3 says what you will report and by when. Do not say the date is guaranteed, do not use the words confident, definitely or on track, and end with exactly: I will send an update on Friday Dec 6.","materialLabel":"Status notes (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"Project: Q4 platform launch.\n\n- Plan date: Dec 16 (moved from Dec 9 two weeks ago).\n- Open risk: the security review is not complete; the reviewer said findings could take up to 8 working days to fix. The review wraps on Nov 27.\n- Other risk: a team member is out sick (minor).\n- Progress: testing is 70% complete. \n- What we'll report: whether the security findings are major or minor, by Friday Dec 6.\n- The team feels \"definitely on track\" (do not use this wording).\n- Priya prefers short emails without hedging.","rules":[{"type":"maxWords","max":100},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Over-promising","why":"The AI says 'we are confident'.","fix":"Say: \"Don't use confident, definitely or on track; no guarantees.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Old plan date","why":"The AI uses Dec 9.","fix":"Say: \"The plan date is Dec 16.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Wrong ending","why":"The AI ends with 'Best regards'.","fix":"Say: \"End with the exact line.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Naming the minor risk","why":"The AI leads with the sick team member.","fix":"Say: \"Biggest open risk only.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Markdown","why":"The AI bolds.","fix":"Say: \"Plain text.\"","checks":["plainText"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it.","fix":"Cap each sentence: \"each under 25 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it.","fix":"Cap each part instead, for example: \"each line under 12 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Three sentences","patterns":["three sentences","sentence 1"]},{"label":"Biggest risk","patterns":["biggest","risk"]},{"label":"Bans","patterns":["confident","definitely","on track"]},{"label":"Exact ending","patterns":["end with","exactly"]},{"label":"No guarantee","patterns":["guarantee","no promises"]}],"hint":"Give each sentence's job, the banned words, and the exact last line.","rubricLabels":["After the Subject line sentence 1 gives the plan date Dec 16 (not Dec 9) and sentence 2 names the incomplete security review (findings could take up to 8 working days to fix) as the biggest risk","Sentence 3 says you will report whether the security findings are major or minor by Friday Dec 6, and nothing says the date is guaranteed","The email avoids the words confident, definitely and on track and ends with exactly \"I will send an update on Friday Dec 6.\""]}