A business review summary prompt that survives the executive reading it
The QBR deck is where vague prompts get expensive, because the reader is deciding whether to renew. Here is a typical prep prompt, its gaps, and a version that produces a page you can present.
The prompt below is one we wrote to show the pattern. It is not a user’s prompt. The verdict, burns, and rebuild were written by us in the roast voice, not produced by the tool.
Summarize this quarter's performance for our QBR. Here are the numbers: [pasted spreadsheet export]. Make it executive-friendly and highlight the key wins and challenges. Keep it concise but comprehensive. Make us look good but be honest.
Indictment: “Make us look good but be honest” is a coin flip you handed to the model.
“Make it executive-friendly”
Which executive, and what are they deciding? A CFO checking spend and a VP of Ops deciding whether to renew want different pages, and “friendly” describes neither.
add: the reader and their decision: “for the customer's VP of Operations, who decides in 60 days whether to renew”
Name the reader and the decision they'll make with the document. Everything else follows from that.
“highlight the key wins and challenges”
No count, no order, no length, no shape. You'll get a wall of bullets in whatever order the model found them, and you'll spend the evening reformatting.
add: a format: three wins with a number each, two risks with an owner and a next step, one ask, all on one page
Give the model the page layout: how many of each thing, in what order, at what length.
“Make us look good but be honest.”
Two masters, no tiebreaker. The model will resolve the tension quietly, and you won't know which way it leaned until the customer asks about the metric you left out.
swap: the coin flip → “every claim cites a number from the data; if a metric fell, say so and give the reason and the fix in one sentence”
When two instructions can conflict, write the rule that settles it.
Write the summary page for our quarterly business review with [Customer name].
Reader: [their title, e.g. VP of Operations] at [Customer name]. They decide in about 60 days whether to renew. They will read this page in two minutes before the meeting and skim the rest.
Data: the pasted export below is the only source. Every number on the page must come from it, quoted as it appears. If a figure you need isn't in the data, write [missing: what] rather than estimating.
Page layout, in this order:
1. One sentence on the quarter: what changed for them, with the single most important number.
2. Three wins. Each one line: what happened, the number, and what it means for their goal of [their stated goal].
3. Two risks. Each two lines: the metric that fell or the thing that broke, why, and the fix with an owner on our side and a date.
4. One ask of them for next quarter, stated as a specific action.
5. Next steps: three bullets, each with an owner and a date.
Rules:
- If a metric declined, say so in plain words. Do not soften it with "slight" or "some". Give the reason.
- No adjectives about our performance ("strong", "exceptional"). The numbers do that job or they don't.
- Under 350 words. Plain language; no internal jargon or ticket names.
Data:
---
[paste export]
---A business review is a document that changes a decision, so the prompt has to name the decision and the person making it. Without that, the model optimizes for the average business reader, who does not exist, and produces the bullet wall every account manager recognizes.
The honesty clause is the part people underrate. “Look good but be honest” leaves the model to decide which metric to omit, and it will omit the one the customer asks about. A rule that every claim cites a number and that declines are named plainly is not a tone choice; it is what makes the page usable in a room where the customer has the same spreadsheet.
- What should a QBR summary include?
- One sentence on the quarter with its most important number, a short list of wins each tied to a number and to the customer's stated goal, the risks with their cause and a fix that has an owner and a date, one ask of the customer, and next steps. One page, written for the person who decides whether to renew.
- How do I get an AI model to use my numbers accurately in a business review?
- Paste the data into the prompt, state that it is the only source, require every number to be quoted as it appears, and tell the model to write a visible placeholder when a figure is missing instead of estimating. Then check each number once; the rule reduces invention but does not replace a read-through.
- How long should a QBR summary be?
- One page, under about 350 words, for the summary itself. Detail belongs in the appendix or the deck. Executives read the summary and skim the rest, so the summary has to carry the decision on its own.
Paste your own business review prep prompt. Get it roasted.
Meerkat reads it, names every problem, and rebuilds it sharp. Free. No signup.
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