{"id":"lead-stakeholder-pushback-decline-reply","audience":"product-managers","category":"leadership-work","track":"leadership","level":"advanced","technique":"tone","title":"Reply to a stakeholder demand with a firm no and a real alternative","free":false,"task":"A sales VP wants a custom feature in two weeks. Write a reply email in plain text, under 150 words, that says no to the two-week date without blaming engineering. Structure it as: one sentence acknowledging the customer value (use the dollar figure), one sentence saying what you cannot do and why, two options labeled Option 1 and Option 2 with dates, and one closing sentence asking him to pick by Friday. Mark the draft Ready for PM lead to review at the very end.","materialLabel":"Thread and planning notes (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"Email from Victor Hale (VP Sales): \"Glacier Corp will sign a $240k deal if we ship custom SSO role mapping in two weeks. Make it happen. I already told them yes.\"\n\nPlanning notes\n- Role mapping scoped at 5 weeks of work for 2 engineers. Currently both are on the billing migration, due Dec 6, which affects every customer's invoices.\n- Option 1: Pause billing migration for 3 weeks. Role mapping done Jan 10. Billing slips to Dec 30 and risks invoices in December.\n- Option 2: Keep billing on track, start role mapping Dec 9. Done Jan 24 (5 weeks plus the holiday week).\n- A thin version (one fixed role mapping, no admin UI) could be done in 2 weeks of one engineer, but support for it is not tested; I'm not recommending it.\n- Victor hates long emails and hates being told \"engineering is busy\".\n- Glacier's contract renewal date is Feb 28.","rules":[{"type":"maxWords","max":150},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Blaming engineering","why":"The AI writes 'the team is stretched'.","fix":"Say: \"Explain the trade-off (billing for every customer), not who is busy.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Missing option dates","why":"The AI lists options with no dates.","fix":"Say: \"Option 1: Jan 10 and billing Dec 30. Option 2: Jan 24.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Offering the untested version","why":"The AI pushes the thin version to please him.","fix":"Say: \"Do not offer the thin version.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"No clear ask","why":"The AI ends with 'let me know your thoughts'.","fix":"Say: \"Ask him to pick by Friday, then the review line.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Markdown","why":"The AI bolds the options.","fix":"Say: \"Plain text only.\"","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: \"each sentence 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":"Names the reader","patterns":["victor","vp"]},{"label":"Specifies structure","patterns":["option 1","option 2","one sentence"]},{"label":"Includes dates","patterns":["jan 10","jan 24","dec 30","dates"]},{"label":"Limits tone","patterns":["don'?t blame","no blame","firm"]},{"label":"Ends with ask and flag","patterns":["pick by friday","ready for","review"]}],"hint":"Spell out the email's parts, give the dates, and tell the AI what not to blame or offer.","rubricLabels":["Sentence 1 acknowledges the $240k Glacier Corp deal and the email never blames engineering being busy","Offers exactly two labeled options, Option 1 (done Jan 10, billing slips to Dec 30) and Option 2 (done Jan 24, billing stays on track), and does not recommend the thin version","Ends with the sentence asking Victor to pick by Friday, then the final line \"Ready for PM lead to review\""]}