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Back a decade ago when I was doing cyber security work we would have to generate executive summaries of our reports. The only way for this to make any sense is
by austincheney 6y ago
Back a decade ago when I was doing cyber security work we would have to generate executive summaries of our reports. The only way for this to make any sense is to imagine the audience is an ADD 3 year old. Here were some of the factors that determined an executive summary:
* Very few words, and no jargon. Every statement is a meaningful fragment, like a subtitle.
* Colors, but not too many. Think of a pie chart.
* Numbers. Executives love numbers, but be careful. The numbers have to mean something that contains very few words and no jargon.
* Keep it short, because they don't care anyway. They are just concerned that something was wrong, something was done, and finally risk was reduced. All your words and fancy colors are quickly discarded so that a quick pass reassures them emotionally.
That is exactly how I would brief a business partner today unless I have full faith they are actively involved in the health of the product. It isn't that they are stupid, but that they don't care and you cannot make them care.
- igotroot 6y agoThis was solid advice. I've been wanting to move into the CTI space and I haven't come across too many tips that break down writing an effective executive summary.
- austincheney 6y ago1. Have a problem statement: What is wrong from a business perspective. Example: Password are unencrypted which dramatically increases risk of class-action lawsuits. 2. Have a list of corrective controls: Staff training, audits, technical controls 3. Cost statement: X control costs $Y. 4. Risk analysis: Problem reduced by 43%. 5. Summary statement: Execute this, it pays for itself. Bear in mind an executive summary is either superficial or its a lie. You need to have a real technical report behind the executive summary so that it isn't a lie.
- HatchedLake721 6y agoCTI?
- igotroot 6y agoCyber Threat Intelligence!
- b0rsuk 6y agoThe cyberpunk stealth/tactics game Invisible, Inc. describes executive terminals as large devices with simplified buttons. Or something along these lines.
- sidlls 6y agoCan't upvote this enough. Especially heed the advice regarding words. Even technical peers do not appreciate walls of text.
- znpy 6y agothis. if we're in a recurring, scheduled meeting, i don't want to hear the story of your life.
- dustingetz 6y agoBook: Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff Get the audiobook, tone of voice matters. (Root cause of this dysfunction is the principle agent problem, you can't fix it, everyone tries, everyone fails, accept it and get on with the job.)