{"id":"wri-mgr-explain-bonus-math","audience":"managers","category":"explaining","technique":"examples","title":"Explain a team member's bonus with one line of math","free":false,"task":"A team member asked how her bonus was calculated. Explain it in under 70 words, plain text. The first sentence gives her bonus amount, then show the math on its own line, then explain in one sentence what each multiplier means using the corrected company figure. No jargon ('payout curve', 'attainment', 'accelerator', 'modifier'). Write a prompt that gets that.","materialLabel":"Her question and the bonus details (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"SLACK from Jada Brooks: How did you get $4,620 for my bonus? I thought my target was $5,000.\n\nBONUS DETAILS (Customer Success, 2026)\n- Jada's target bonus: $5,000.\n- Two multipliers:\n  - Company result: 84%. (Finance first announced 88% in the all-hands; corrected to 84% on Nov 10 after the Q3 restatement.)\n  - Her individual rating: 110% (she exceeded her goals).\n- Bonus = target x company % x individual %.\n- $5,000 x 0.84 x 1.10 = $4,620.\n- Her statement already shows $4,620. (With 88% it would have been $4,840; some people saw that number in the all-hands slides.)\n- Paid in the Dec 15 paycheck.","rules":[{"type":"maxWords","max":70},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for \"under 70 words\" and it often lands well over.","fix":"Cap each part: \"2 sentences under 18 words plus one math line.\"","checks":["maxWords"]},{"title":"Explaining before answering","why":"AI replies explain bonus philosophy before giving her number.","fix":"Say it: \"Sentence 1: your bonus is $4,620, paid Dec 15.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Using the all-hands number","why":"The notes mention the 88% that was corrected.","fix":"Add: \"Math line: $5,000 x 0.84 x 1.10 = $4,620.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Comp jargon","why":"AI says \"company attainment modifier\", which explains nothing.","fix":"Add: \"Say 84% is how the company did and 110% is how you did. No attainment or modifier. Plain text.\"","checks":["r2","plainText"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Sets a word limit","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","word (limit|count)"]},{"label":"Leads with the amount","patterns":["first sentence","4,?620"]},{"label":"Shows the math","patterns":["math","0\\.84","x 1\\.10","own line"]},{"label":"Uses the corrected figure","patterns":["84%","corrected"]},{"label":"Bans jargon","patterns":["jargon","attainment","modifier"]}],"hint":"One line of math answers 'how did you get that number?' better than a policy. Give the AI the order, the corrected figure and plain meanings.","rubricLabels":["The first sentence (after a greeting) gives her bonus as $4,620, paid in the Dec 15 paycheck","Shows the math on its own line: $5,000 x 0.84 x 1.10 = $4,620 (using 84%, not 88%)","Explains that one number is how the company did (84%) and the other is how she did (110%, above her goals), and uses none of these: payout curve, attainment, accelerator, modifier"]}