For consultants putting a report on one page
Executive Summary Template and Examples
Answer first on one page: situation, complication, answer, three supporting points and the ask, with three worked examples and a before-and-after rewrite.
Retrofit all four warehouses with LED lighting this winter (example)
- Situation and complicationLighting costs $412,000 a year (p. 3), and rates rise 14% in July (p. 4).
- AnswerSpend $590,000 this winter. After the rebate, it pays back in under two years (p. 9).
- WhyA trial cut lighting power 63% (p. 6). It saves an estimated $258,000 a year (p. 8). A $96,000 rebate ends 31 March (p. 10).
- The askApprove the capital by 15 November to install in January.
What you'll get
Answer first on one page, with three worked examples and a rewrite
- An answer-first page: situation, complication, answer, three points, the ask
- A length rule, a guidance line for every part and a send checklist
- Three worked examples and a before-and-after rewrite
Before and after
Your findings in. The answer on top.
Claims review findings: 18,000 home claims a year. Paid within 30 days fell from 80% to 61% since the new system went live in January. Ombudsman complaints doubled to 140 in six months. 64% of claims are under $5k but go through the same 9 steps. Old fast track paid small claims in a median 6 days. Recommend bringing it back with 8 handlers.
Headline: Bring back the fast track for claims under $5,000. Since the new claims system went live in January, the share of claims paid within 30 days has fallen from 80% to 61%. Complaints to the ombudsman have doubled to 140 in six months. Answer: Bring back a fast track for claims under $5,000, staffed by eight handlers. Why: 1. Small claims are most of the queue. 64% are under $5,000, but each goes through the same nine steps. 2. The fast track worked before. It paid small claims in a median of six days. The ask: [decision needed, from whom, by when].
Every figure is copied from your findings, with estimates still labeled as estimates. River never writes an answer your findings don't reach, and the ask stays in brackets until you fill it.
Why it works
How do you write an executive summary?
An executive summary template gives you one page that states the answer first, then the reasons and what you need from the reader. To write an executive summary, open with the situation, what changed and your answer, then give three supporting points and close with the ask. The US government's plain language guidance on digital.gov puts the principle in one line: put the most important information at the beginning. This template follows that order, with a guidance line under every part.
The length rule is one page, about 250 to 400 words, for most consulting reports, proposals and business cases. For a long study, USC's writing guide sets a ceiling of 10% of the original's length, and never more than ten pages. The opening follows Barbara Minto's Situation, Complication, Question framework, with your answer to the reader's question in one bold sentence. Each supporting point is a claim rather than a topic, and every figure carries its page in the report.
The second document holds three short executive summary examples: a consulting report, a project proposal and a business case. A before-and-after rewrite then turns a method-first summary into an answer-first one, with a note on each change. Paste your report's key findings, and River drafts the summary, keeping your figures exactly and leaving any answer your findings don't reach in brackets. To summarize a whole report or deck, use the executive summary generator. If the answer isn't clear yet, work it out in the pyramid principle template.
What lands in your doc
What's inside the executive summary template
- An answer-first structure
A headline, then situation, complication and answer in the first lines, each with a guidance line on what belongs there. - Three supporting points
Each written as a claim, with its figures exactly as the report gives them and the page each one sits on. - The ask
The decision you need, who makes it and by when, plus what happens once they say yes. - A length rule
One page for most reports, under 10% of a long study, and what to cut first when it runs over. - Three worked examples
A consulting report, a project proposal and a business case, each summarized on less than a page. - A before-and-after rewrite
A method-first summary rewritten answer first, with notes on each change, plus a checklist before you send.
How it works
From key findings to a one-page summary
Open the template
Click Edit with AI. The template opens in River, with the three examples and the rewrite beside it.
Paste your findings
Optional. Paste your report's key findings, and River drafts the headline, the opening, three supporting points and the ask.
Check every figure
Match each number to its page in the report, then settle each bracket and estimate on the To confirm list.
Send it with the report
Run the checklist, then ask River for a one-slide version or a short covering email.
Questions consultants ask
Common questions
What is an executive summary?
An executive summary is the page a decision-maker reads instead of the full report. It gives the answer the report reaches, the few reasons that support it, and the decision or action needed, so the reader can act on that page alone. It goes at the front of the report but is written once the report is final.
What's the right length for an executive summary?
One page, about 250 to 400 words, suits most consulting reports, proposals and business cases. For a long study, USC's guide caps it at 10% of the original and ten pages at most. If yours runs long, cut background and method before evidence, and leave the detail in the report. For more, see these executive summary examples for five kinds of document.
What's the difference between an executive summary and an introduction?
An introduction prepares the reader to read the report: background, scope and how it is organized. An executive summary replaces the report for a reader who won't read it, so it gives the conclusion and the evidence. If yours describes what the report will cover rather than what it found, it is an introduction.
Should an executive summary include recommendations?
Yes, if the report makes them. Put the main recommendation in the first few lines, in bold, then the reasons. Never add a recommendation the report doesn't reach. If the work isn't finished, state the main finding instead, and say what is still needed before you can recommend anything.
Can I use bullet points in an executive summary?
Yes, for the supporting points and the ask, as long as each bullet is a full-sentence claim with its figure. Keep the situation, complication and answer as two or three short sentences of prose, because they read as one argument. A summary made only of fragments leaves the reader to join them up.
How do I turn the summary into slides?
Make the headline the title of your first slide, and each supporting point the title of a section, so the titles alone tell the story. The storyline builder turns findings into a slide-by-slide outline with action titles, and the consulting deck review checks the finished deck.
Does River write the summary for me?
Only a first draft, and only from the findings you paste. Every figure stays exactly as you gave it. If your findings don't reach a clear answer, River leaves the answer in brackets and says what's missing rather than inventing one. You decide the answer and the ask, and you can change every line.
Your next step
More for your project
Make page one the page they act on
Open the template with three worked examples beside it, or paste your report's key findings for a first draft.