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Fill in a delegation brief with clear decision rights

  • For Managers and team leads
  • You practice Asking for a format you can use
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Beginner

About this exercise

You're handing the vendor fair planning to Jordan while you're on leave. Fill in a delegation brief with exactly these six fields in order, one line each: Task:, Why it matters:, Done looks like:, Decision rights:, Check-in:, Deadline:. Plain text, no bullets, under 120 words.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Letting the AI design the brief. The AI writes a friendly paragraph or invents its own sections. Try: List the fields: "Use exactly these 6 fields in order: Task:, Why it matters:, ..."
  • Fuzzy decision rights. The AI says 'use your judgment' and drops the $500 limit. Try: Add: "Decision rights: Jordan approves up to $500; above that, ask Wen."
  • Using the old date. The AI picks Nov 15 because it appears first. Try: Say: "The deadline moved to Nov 20."
  • Adding formatting. The AI bolds field names and adds bullets. Try: Add: "Plain text, one line per field, no bullets or 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: "each line under 15 words."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Names the fields
  • Spells out the money limit
  • Uses the new deadline
  • Asks for plain text

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