{"id":"pm-exec-decision-ask-options","audience":"product-managers","category":"writing-emails","track":"writing","technique":"context","title":"Ask an executive for a decision with two clear options","free":false,"task":"You need your VP to decide between two staffing options by Friday. Write a message with the decision needed and the deadline in the first sentence, then exactly 2 numbered options with their cost and trade-off, then your recommendation in one sentence, plain text, under 90 words. Use the corrected cost and leave out the team gossip.","materialLabel":"Your notes (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"Decision needed: mobile app staffing for H2 (Pantrywise)\nDecider: Rina (VP Product). She needs to decide by Friday, Jun 12, because the contractor agency needs notice.\n\nOption A: Hire 2 contract mobile engineers for 6 months.\n- Cost: $180k.\n  CORRECTION (finance, Jun 8): $210k, agency raised rates.\n- Ships offline mode by October. Knowledge leaves when contract ends.\n\nOption B: Move 2 engineers from the web team.\n- Cost: $0 extra.\n- Ships offline mode by December. Web team's reporting project slips 1 quarter.\n\nMy recommendation: Option A. Offline mode is the #1 churn reason for warehouse customers, and October beats peak season.\n\nGossip (leave out): web team lead is unhappy and might quit if we take her people. One contractor at the agency was rude on the intro call.\n\nRina's preference: \"Give me the ask, the options, your pick. No essay.\"","rules":[{"type":"numberedItems","count":2},{"type":"maxWords","max":90},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Burying the ask","why":"The AI opens with background on the mobile app, so the VP has to find the decision.","fix":"Add: \"First sentence: the decision needed and the Jun 12 deadline.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"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: \"each line under 22 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]},{"title":"Using the old cost","why":"$180k appears first, and the correction is easy to miss.","fix":"Add: \"Option A costs $210k (finance correction).\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Unstructured options","why":"The AI writes paragraphs comparing everything at once.","fix":"Add: \"Exactly 2 numbered options, each with cost and trade-off. Plain text.\"","checks":["numberedItems","plainText"]},{"title":"Including the gossip","why":"The AI adds the team lead's mood as a 'risk'.","fix":"Add: \"End with my pick in one sentence. Leave out the gossip.\"","checks":["r2"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Puts the ask first","patterns":["first sentence","the ask","decision.{0,20}first","lead with"]},{"label":"Uses the corrected cost","patterns":["210","correct"]},{"label":"Sets the options","patterns":["\\b(2|two)\\b.{0,15}option","option a","numbered"]},{"label":"Gives a recommendation","patterns":["recommend","my pick","your pick"]},{"label":"Sets a word limit","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","word (limit|count)"]}],"hint":"Executives decide faster with the ask first, clean options, and your pick. Tell the AI that order, the corrected cost, and what to leave out.","rubricLabels":["The first sentence states the decision needed (mobile staffing for H2 / offline mode) and the deadline Friday, Jun 12","Option 1 is 2 contract engineers at $210k (not $180k), offline mode by October, knowledge leaves after; option 2 is moving 2 web engineers at no extra cost, offline mode by December, reporting project slips a quarter","Ends with a one-sentence recommendation of the contractor option (with the reason churn or peak season allowed), and mentions no gossip (team lead unhappy or quitting, rude contractor)"]}