{"id":"lead-escalation-situation-impact-ask","audience":"managers","category":"leadership-work","track":"leadership","level":"beginner","technique":"format","title":"Escalate a vendor failure to your director in three labeled lines","free":false,"task":"Write an escalation note to your director in plain text with exactly three lines starting Situation:, Impact:, and Ask:. Each line is one sentence under 22 words. Impact must include the number of affected customers and the date they are affected. Ask is one specific decision you need, with the date you need it by. Do not name any individual employee.","materialLabel":"What happened (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"Notes - Tue, Mar 11\n\n- Our label-printing vendor, ShipRight, lost its print server on Monday. No labels have printed since 4 p.m.\n- 312 customer orders are waiting to ship. The first ones are promised for delivery by Thursday, Mar 13.\n- ShipRight says it will be back \"sometime Wednesday\", but has not given a firm time.\n- We could switch to the backup printer service (Parcelmate). It costs about $1,800 extra for this week and needs approval from the director.\n- Jamal on my team has been working late on this; the director does not need his name.\n- I need the director's yes or no by noon on Wednesday, Mar 12, so the backup can print Wednesday afternoon.","rules":[{"type":"maxWords","max":70},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Wrong labels","why":"The AI writes a paragraph or uses other headings.","fix":"Say: \"Exactly three lines starting Situation:, Impact:, Ask:.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Vague impact","why":"The AI says \"many orders\".","fix":"Say: \"Impact includes the number of orders and the date.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Vague ask","why":"The AI asks the director to \"help\".","fix":"Say: \"Ask is one specific decision with a deadline.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Naming an employee","why":"The AI credits Jamal.","fix":"Say: \"Do not name any individual employee.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Too long","why":"The AI writes long sentences.","fix":"Say: \"Each line one sentence under 22 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]},{"title":"Markdown","why":"The AI bolds labels.","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 part instead, for example: \"each line under 15 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Names the three labels","patterns":["situation:","impact:","ask:"]},{"label":"Number and date in impact","patterns":["number","date"]},{"label":"Specific ask with deadline","patterns":["decision","by noon","specific"]},{"label":"Bans names","patterns":["do not name","no names"]},{"label":"One sentence each","patterns":["one sentence","under 22 words"]}],"hint":"Name the three labels and say what Impact and Ask must contain.","rubricLabels":["Has exactly three lines starting Situation:, Impact: and Ask: in that order, each one sentence","Impact states 312 orders and the Thursday, Mar 13 delivery promise","Ask requests approval to switch to the backup printer service (Parcelmate, about $1,800) by noon on Wednesday, Mar 12, and Jamal is not named"]}