Library › Leadership AI › Executives

Summarize skip-level themes for your VP without naming anyone

  • For Executives
  • You practice Saying who it's for
  • Time about 5 minutes
  • Level Intermediate

About this exercise

You held six skip-level chats. Write a summary for your VP, Hao, in plain text, under 140 words. Start with the line: Three themes from skip-levels. Then give exactly three themes, each one line starting with a dash and containing a count (how many of 6 people raised it). Do not name any individual or quote exact words. End with one suggested action for Hao.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Naming people. The AI writes 'Ben said...' for each theme. Try: Say: "Do not name any individual."
  • Missing counts. The AI says 'several people' instead of 4 of 6. Try: Say: "Each theme line includes how many of 6 raised it."
  • Leaking a confidence. The AI mentions Chloe applying elsewhere. Try: Say: "Leave out anything told in confidence."
  • No next step. The AI ends with a summary and no action. Try: Say: "End with one suggested action for Hao on the top theme."
  • Markdown headers. The AI adds headings and bold. Try: Say: "Plain text; dash lines only."
  • 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 line: "each theme line under 25 words."
  • 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 12 words."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Names the reader
  • Fixes the opening line
  • Asks for counts
  • Protects privacy
  • Asks for an action

Practice this now ↑

Related exercises