How to Write an Effective Executive Report

By Dr. Tatiana Kostova

Objectives

It is usually written to influence someone -- not only to inform the reader but to
convince him/her that a particular course of action is appropriate. In the
Recommendations section, sell your recommendations

In managerial writing we are trying to communicate in a noisy and intensively

competitive environment. We are competing for attention. We want the key
decision-maker to read our memo from beginning to end, not to pass it to
subordinates. Make sure you leave the reader with a sense that he/she knows the
main argument or problem and understands the supporting evidence.

It is more than an academic exercise. It is perhaps the most important single factor
in getting promoted. It is the way in which subordinates are most visible to higher
management. He who writes strong, clearly written memos he comes to be known
as a strong, clearheaded person. (“ability to communicate” is the most important
factor for promotable executives; “ambition-drive” and “college education” are
second and third).

Principles:

Meaning always derives from and ultimately resides at the level of the whole.
Orient the reader to the totality of the report in the first sentence and keep him/her
oriented to that whole throughout the document.

The meaning of every element (or part) of a document derives its meaning from
its relation to the document as a totality. In practice:

• after the introductory statement, give the reader a roadmap to the document;
only then the consequent reading becomes meaningful.

• provide signposts (retrospective tie-backs, for example, “we have been talking
about” or disjunctions, for example, “now we will talk about”)

• present your ideas as an organized system of ideas rather than as a mere

collection of unrelated ideas; the organizing principle should be consistent
with the content of the document and the target audience. Ask yourself “What
is the most important thing I wish to say to this person?”. This is the focus of
the document; everything else should be directed towards this focus.
Formula:

Introduction -

Introduce the body of the document with a sentence or a short paragraph

that orients the reader to your report as a totality (“What is this thing I am
confronting at the broadest level”)

Background -

Place your document in the context of previous work (projects,

interventions, etc.) so that the reader can get ready mentally to understand
the ideas and their value. This section is necessary even though you are
writing to people who know about your project. The document should be
self-sufficient. In the last sentence here make a clear, concise statement of
the problem you are addressing with this document. Here you establish the
focus of your document which will be the organizing principle for the rest
of the document. The reader must leave this part of the document
convinced that it is worth reading since it addresses an important problem.

Analysis -

Analyze the facts of the case as they relate to the focus from your
document. Present meaning not just facts. The meaning that is relevant
here is the significance of each fact as at least a partial answer to the
central problem. Use visuals (tables, diagrams, etc.)

Recommendations -

The heart of the document. The document focuses from the problem to
this answer. By the time we get to the recommendations, they should be
pre-sold to the reader. After reading the recommendations, the reader
should be in a .decision-making mode.

Implementation -

It can dilute the document, so some recommend that we put the

implementation in an appendix rather than in the main body of the
document. Besides, the people who will be implementing the chosen
course of action are usually different from the people who will make the
decision on the course of action.