{"id":"fin-headcount-request-to-cfo","audience":"fpa","category":"finance-work","technique":"grounding","track":"finance","level":"intermediate","free":true,"title":"Win two hires from a CFO who only approves payback math","task":"The hiring freeze starts Friday, Nov 20, and the CFO, Elena Ward, approves a hire only with payback math. Write the email from you, Priya Shah (Implementation Manager), asking for 2 hires. Plain text, under 190 words. Line 1 is the ask itself. Then four labeled lines: COST, SAVINGS, PAYBACK and IF NOT APPROVED, each with the math shown in numbers from the notes only. End with a DECISION line: one decision and one date. Make no emotional appeal. Leave out names of staff, and say nothing about the other request.","materialLabel":"Your notes (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"TEAM: Implementation, 5 specialists. Each can run 8 projects at once. Today the team has 52 projects open, 12 more than it can handle, so go-lives slip.\n\nOVERTIME: 310 hours a month at a loaded rate of $48 an hour.\n\nREVENUE AT RISK: 3 customers have contracts that let them cancel if they are not live by Dec 31. Together they pay $240,000 a year (ARR). Gross margin on that revenue is 75%.\n\nPROPOSED: 2 Implementation Specialists. Salary $78,000 each; loaded cost with benefits is $97,500 each per year. One-time recruiting fees: $15,000 for both. Assume the hires remove all of the overtime and keep the 3 contracts.\n\nCOMPETING REQUEST: Sales Ops has also asked for 2 hires before the freeze. Elena said she can approve about 3 hires in total across the company.\n\nSTAFF NOTES (internal): Maya and Luca say they are burned out. Luca is quietly looking at other jobs. Exit interviews last year said the workload was too high.\n\nTIMING: Elena reviews requests on Wed, Nov 18.","rules":[{"type":"maxWords","max":190},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Pleading instead of proving","why":"The AI writes about a stretched, exhausted team and how much they deserve help.","fix":"Add: \"Make no emotional appeal. Use numbers from the notes only.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Made-up ROI","why":"The AI invents a productivity gain or a percent return that is not in the notes.","fix":"Add: \"Use only numbers from the notes. Show the math in COST, SAVINGS and PAYBACK lines.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Payback left out","why":"The AI compares the salary cost to the savings in a sentence and never says how many months it takes to pay back.","fix":"Add: \"PAYBACK: total cost divided by the monthly savings, in months.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Burying the ask","why":"The AI opens with background and ends with \"let me know your thoughts\", with no date.","fix":"Add: \"Line 1 is the ask. End with a DECISION line: one decision and one date.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Leaking staff details","why":"The AI uses the staff notes, including who is looking at other jobs.","fix":"Add: \"Leave out names of staff and anything about burnout.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI adds a greeting, a subject line and bold text when you only say \"an email\".","fix":"Say \"under 160 words, plain text\" and give each line a label.","checks":["maxWords","plainText"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Says who it is for","patterns":["cfo","elena","payback","from priya"]},{"label":"Puts the ask in line 1","patterns":["line 1","first line","the ask","2 hires"]},{"label":"Asks for the math shown","patterns":["cost","savings","math","months"]},{"label":"Says what happens if not approved","patterns":["if not approved","not approved","at risk","dec 31"]},{"label":"Ends with one dated decision and no pleading","patterns":["decision","nov 18","no emotional","only numbers","plain text"]}],"hint":"The CFO only says yes to payback. Ask for the ask on line 1, labeled cost, savings and payback lines with the math shown from the notes only, what happens if the answer is no, and one decision with a date.","mission":"Ask the CFO for two hires with payback math she can approve.","musts":["The ask on line 1","Cost, savings and payback with the math shown","What happens if not approved, and one dated decision"],"rubricLabels":["Line 1 is the ask (approve 2 Implementation Specialist hires before the Nov 20 freeze), and the email ends with one DECISION line that names the decision and a single date (Wed, Nov 18)","COST, SAVINGS and PAYBACK show correct math: cost 2 x $97,500 = $195,000 plus $15,000 recruiting = $210,000; savings of $14,880 a month overtime (310 x $48) plus $15,000 a month margin kept ($240,000 x 75% / 12), $29,880 in all; payback of about 7 months","IF NOT APPROVED says the 3 contracts ($240,000 ARR, cancel rights after Dec 31) are at risk and the overtime continues, and the email does not plead or mention burnout, mention Luca or looking for other jobs, or invent a figure that is not in the notes"]}