What to Cut

Executive summaries expand because writers are afraid to leave things out. What if the reader has a question that the cut sentence would have answered? What if the missing detail causes a misunderstanding? These are real risks, but they are less likely than the opposite risk: a summary so thorough that the reader puts it down before reaching the ask.

The executive summary operates on a simple budget constraint. Every sentence the reader spends on non-essential material is a sentence of attention they did not spend on the argument. Cutting is not a compromise — it is an act of editorial precision on behalf of the reader.

1. Cut All Procedural History "This report was commissioned following the Q4 review..." "At the request of the leadership team, we conducted..." These sentences describe how the document came to exist, not what it argues. Delete them. The reader knows the document exists. They are reading it. The provenance is irrelevant to the decision.
2. Cut All Caveats That Do Not Change the Recommendation "While this analysis has certain limitations..." "It should be noted that..." "Given the complexity of the situation..." If a caveat does not change the recommendation, it does not belong in the summary — it belongs in a footnote in the body, if anywhere. Caveats in the summary erode confidence without adding accuracy. If the caveat matters enough to include, state it specifically: "This recommendation assumes the integration timeline holds. If it does not, the alternative approach in Section 4 applies." A specific caveat that shapes interpretation is useful. General hedging is not.
3. Cut All Transition Sentences "In the sections that follow, we will examine..." "Section 3 provides a detailed analysis of..." "As described above..." The executive summary has no "above" — it is a self-contained document. Transition sentences that refer to other parts of the document are signs that the summary was assembled from body sections rather than written as a standalone argument. Remove them and connect the paragraphs with substantive transitions.
4. Cut All Filler Praise "This is an exciting opportunity..." "We are thrilled to present..." "This innovative approach will..." The reader is making a decision, not evaluating your enthusiasm. Filler praise is the most reliable indicator that a sentence has no information content. Any sentence that could be removed without changing the reader's understanding of the argument should be removed.