Board

Executive Summary Examples, Written Out in Full With the Reasoning

Three executive summaries written out in full, for a board paper, a business plan and a project report, with the reasoning behind each line.

Dan Ilett · 5 min read min read

Executive Summary Format: The One-Page Layout That Works (With Example)

One page, five sections, answer first. The layout, the rules, the changes by document type and a formatted example.

Dan Ilett · 4 min read min read

Does the Executive Summary Go Before or After the Table of Contents?

The executive summary goes before the table of contents. Here is the correct front-matter order, the three exceptions and whether the summary should be listed in the contents page.

Dan Ilett · 4 min read min read

Leadership

The quantum audit

What companies are using it for and what your board should be asking

Dan Ilett · 3 min read min read

AI

The AI risk register

Your framework to highlight invisible nasties for the board

Dan Ilett · 5 min read min read

Growth

Selling to the C-suite: the 4 things you need to get right

I surveyed our 66 webinar delegates on how to sell to the C-suite and asked them: What is the single biggest challenge you face when selling to the C-suite? The number one challenge, cited by 35% of respondents, was access and attention. There are good reasons for this. Channels

Dan Ilett · 7 min read min read

Leadership

Bring Out Your Jobs

The Executive Summary is building a jobs section into the newsletter. Board roles, C-suite appointments, senior leadership positions, NEDs and fractionals appointments. If you're trying to find the best of UK talent and LinkedIn is bringing you some very random and poor results, why not

Dan Ilett · 1 min read min read

Growth

How Long Should an Executive Summary Be? (250 to 500 Words, and Why)

The right length for an executive summary is 250 to 500 words. Here's why, with specific guidance for business plans, board papers, proposals and pitch decks.

Dan Ilett · 5 min read min read

Leadership

I Am Scared of This And Need Your Help

Before we get into this, these are the pieces I am working on over the next few weeks. * A breakdown of the UK budget (Thursday/Friday) * The Executive Summary Awards 2025 (December) * Board dynamics: the paradox of talent vs teamwork * Opex crisis: the invisible costs your CFO can't find

Dan Ilett · 3 min read min read

Leadership

How to Write an Executive Summary: Examples, Template and Checker

The executive summary is the most important and valuable paragraph or one-pager you'll ever write in business. It's also the one most people catastrophically mess up. I've reviewed and written hundreds of executive summaries as a journalist and CEO advisor from and with the largest

Dan Ilett · 20 min read min read

Leadership

Overwoke and underpaid: Can the BBC recover (again)?

Hello Children Today, the squirrels are in the boardroom doing their: Libel Badge. "Everyone," winks Baldrick. "I've got a cunning plan. We'll splice different parts of the US president's speech to make it look like he meant something else." Daddy Pig is taking notes. "Isn't he one of the

Dan Ilett · 4 min read min read

AI

Can You Just Ask AI to Do It?

Cognizant’s VP of Insurance, David Sexton, has forced a hard question into the boardroom. When a hiring request lands, directors now ask not only if a role is essential but whether AI could do it instead. This is no longer an experiment. Sexton points out that much of what insurance

Dan Ilett · 2 min read min read