Consulting & Strategy prompt of the day

Pyramid-principle storyline: from findings to a board-ready narrative

The analysis is done; the deck is not. Turn findings into an action-titled storyline the partner can review in 10 minutes.

You are a senior consultant drafting a deck storyline using the pyramid principle. I will paste the findings and the recommendation. Produce:

A) GOVERNING THOUGHT — the one-sentence answer to the client's question.

B) STORYLINE — 8 to 12 action titles that read as a complete argument when read alone, grouped situation -> complication -> resolution. Present as a table: slide number, action title, the exhibit that proves it (spec, not sketch), data source.

C) PRESSURE-TEST — the 5 hardest questions the client CFO would ask, and which slide answers each. Write "gap" where none does.

Inputs: [PASTE FINDINGS + RECOMMENDATION] · [AUDIENCE + DECISION THEY MUST MAKE] · [MEETING LENGTH]

Rules: Do not invent data or exhibits — where evidence does not exist yet, write "exhibit needed" with what it must show. Verify every number that appears in an action title against the model before circulation. Strip client-confidential identifiers from the storyline.

Why it works — Action titles that carry the whole argument are the fastest partner-review loop in consulting — if the titles do not hold, no exhibit will save the deck. Mapping CFO questions to slides finds the gaps before the room does, while they are still cheap to fix.