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Inside Business

Executive Summary

The executive summary (epitome, executive overview, management summary, or management overview) is a one- or two-page condensation of a longer document. The audience is managers who rely on summaries to cope with the tremendous amount of paper crossing their desks every day. Managers do not need or want a detailed understanding of the various projects undertaken in their organizations; this kind of understanding would be impossible for them because of limitations in time and technical knowledge.

What managers do need is a broad understanding of the projects and how they fit together into a coherent whole. Consequently, a one-page executive summary has become standard for documents under 20 pages.

The special needs of managers dictate a two-part structure for the executive summary:

• Background.  Because managers are not necessarily technically competent in the writer’s field, the background of the project is discussed clearly.  The specific problem or opportunity is stated explicitly—what was not working, or not working effectively or efficiently; or what potential modification of a procedure or product had to be analyzed.

• Major findings and implications.  Because managers are not interested in the details of the project, the methods rarely receive more than one or two sentences.  The conclusions and recommendations, however, are discussed in a full paragraph.

For instance, if the research-and-development (R&D) division at an automobile manufacturer has created a composite material that can replace steel in engine components, the technical details of the report might deal with the following kinds of questions:

• How was the composite devised?

• What are its chemical and mechanical structures?

• What are its properties? 

The executive summary will address managerial implications such as:

• Why is this composite better than steel?

• How much do the raw materials cost?  Are they readily available?

• How difficult is it to make the composite?

• Are there physical limitations to the amount we can make?

• Is the composite sufficiently different to present any legal problems?

• Does the composite have other possible uses in cars? 

Executives are less concerned about chemistry than about how this project can help them make a better automobile for less money. Remember to analyze your audience before you write. 

In drafting an executive summary, use similar headings as those that follow: 

1. Background. Describe the background specifically including costs and savings. Instead of saying that the present equipment used for cutting metal foil is ineffective, say that the equipment jams on the average of once every 72 hours, and that every time it jams, we lose $400 in materials and $2,000 in productivity.  Show totals for monthly and yearly losses. 

2. Opportunities. Your company uses thermostats to control the heating and air conditioning.  Research suggests that if you had a computerized energy-management system, you could cut your energy costs by 20 to 25 percent.  Quantify these percentages to give your readers a good understanding of what motivated your study. 

3. Methods. In most cases, your principal reader doesn’t care how you did what you did.  The executive assumes you performed your work competently and professionally.  You’ll include all the details on methodology in the longer report, but in the executive summary, include only a brief description. 

4. Findings. Describe the findings in accordance with your readers’ needs.  If your readers understand your subject sufficiently and want to know your principal results, provide them.  

5. Conclusions. Describe or list your recommendations based on your findings.

Have someone who is not involved with the project read your executive summary.  What questions do they ask?  These questions will guide you in your revision.  Finally, place the executive summary before the body of the report and list it in the table of contents.

Below, you will find examples of well-designed executive summaries written by former BA students at the Goizueta Business School.

1. Executive Summary 1 (Word)   (PDF)

2. Executive Summary 2 (Word)   (PDF)

3. Executive Summary 3 (Word)   (PDF)

4. Executive Summary 4 (Word)   (PDF)

Adapted by Deborah Valentine from Technical Communication: Situations and Strategies, 4th Ed., by Mike Markel, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1996.