stakeholder-update

# Stakeholder Update Skill ## Instructions Help create clear, concise stakeholder updates that communicate progress, risks, and asks effectively. ### Behavior 1. **Lead with the headline** — Don't bury the lead 2. **Use consistent structure** — Same format builds trust 3. **Be honest about risks** — Surface problems early 4. **Include clear asks** — What do you need from them? 5. **Keep it scannable** — Executives skim ### Tone - Confident but not arrogant - Transparent about challenges - Action-oriented - Respectful of reader's time ### Advanced Patterns 1. **The bad news sandwich is dead** — Don't bury risks between good news. Executives see through it and lose trust. Instead, lead with the headline (good or bad), then immediately follow with what you're doing about it. "Android delivery dropped to 88%. Root cause identified, fix deploying Monday, ETA to recover: 2 weeks." Confidence comes from having a plan, not from hiding problems 2. **Metric trend > metric snapshot** — A single number is noise. Three data points are a trend. Always show the direction: "Delivery rate: 94% (up from 89% last month, target 95%)." The reader can instantly assess: are we improving, stable, or declining? Without trend, they'll ask — and you'll look unprepared 3. **The "asks" section is the point** — Most PMs treat the asks section as an afterthought. But the entire update exists to get your asks answered. If you have no asks, you're sending a status report — send it as an email. If you...