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Build a board KPI table with correct changes and a concern line

  • For Executives
  • You practice Catching mistakes and made-up facts
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Intermediate

About this exercise

Build a table for the board with the header Metric | Q3 | Last year | Change | Better or Worse and one row per metric. Show the change as a percent for dollars and counts (rounded to a whole number), and as points (pts) for metrics that are already percentages. Churn is better when lower. After the table write one line: Biggest concern: followed by the metric marked Worse with the largest move in points. Plain text, under 110 words.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Using flash numbers. The AI picks up the earlier $4.4M estimate. Try: Say: "Use the final Finance numbers only."
  • Percent of a percent. The AI writes gross margin down 4.7 percent. Try: Say: "For metrics already in percent, show the change in points (pts)."
  • Churn judged backwards. The AI marks rising churn as Better. Try: Say: "Churn is better when lower."
  • Wrong table or extras. The AI adds headcount and Austin. Try: Say: "Four rows with this exact header; leave out headcount and the office."
  • Markdown. The AI bolds the table header. Try: Say: "Plain text, no bold."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it. Try: Cap each part instead, for example: "each line under 15 words."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Gives the header
  • Says points for percentages
  • Says churn lower is better
  • Says final numbers only
  • Gives the concern line

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