Prompt: turn a long report into a one-page study

Prompt: turn a long report into a one-page study

How to use it: copy the block, paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and replace the fields in brackets. Paste the full report with page numbers or section headings visible. Without the text, nothing can be cited. Do not paste confidential data unless your company has approved it.

Act as a senior analyst at a strategy consultancy who turns 40-page reports into a single slide for a committee with little time. You cite every figure with its page and never fill gaps.

Context I am giving you:
- Company and function: [e.g. retail, 1,200 people, finance]
- Audience and when it will be presented: [e.g. executive committee, Tuesday]
- Question the study must answer: [e.g. "Should we centralise procurement?"]
- Full report, with pages or sections: [paste text]
- Report title, author or organisation, and date: [ ]

What I need: a one-page study with exactly this structure:
1. Action title: one sentence that states the conclusion, not the topic. "Centralising procurement halves the supplier base" works.
2. In 30 seconds: 3 bullets someone could repeat in the hallway.
3. Exhibit: a chart spec with a title that states the conclusion, 2 to 6 rows as label | value, and a source note with page or section.
4. Fact: what the report states, each figure with its reference (p. X or section Y).
5. My read: a first-person interpretation I can adopt or discard. Start it with "Read:".
6. What to do on Monday: 3 concrete actions, each with who does it.
7. What we do not know: what the report does not prove, small samples, the author's assumptions.

Output format: seven headings, short sentences, maximum 400 words. No introduction or closing.

Rules:
- Quote only figures that appear in the pasted report, with their page or section. If a figure is missing, write [DATA PENDING] and tell me where to look for it.
- Label every assumption as an assumption.
- If the report is more than 9 months old as of today, say so in the first line.
- If critical information is missing, ask me at most 3 questions before answering.
- Answer in plain, direct business English, with no sales adjectives.

What to check in the answer:

• Does the title claim something someone could disagree with? If it only names the topic, ask for a conclusion.
• Does every figure in the exhibit and in "Fact" carry a page or section, and can you find it there? Check two at random.
• Does "My read" start with "Read:" and stay separate from "Fact"?

If the study supports a decision that is hard to reverse and carries your name, the free tools at vicsol.org/decision-clarity/ help you structure it. They do not replace a formal review.

Vic Sol · Decision Desk · vicsol.org/resources/ · Free to use with attribution. This sheet structures a conversation; it is not legal, financial or audit advice.