Flash Alerts

A flash alert is an unscheduled intelligence product triggered by an ecosystem event that demands immediate attention. The trigger criteria are strict: the event must affect an active decision, the impact must be material, and the response window must be shorter than the next scheduled briefing. If any of these criteria are not met, the signal waits for the weekly brief. Flash alerts that fire too frequently train recipients to ignore them. Flash alerts that fire at the right moments build enormous credibility.

1. Trigger Evaluation Before sending a flash alert, answer three questions: Does this affect a decision being made this week? Is the financial or strategic impact material? Will waiting for the weekly brief cost us the response window? All three must be yes. Two out of three means it goes in the weekly brief with a priority flag.
2. Flash Format Subject line: [FLASH] One-sentence summary. Body: three paragraphs maximum. Paragraph 1: what happened (sourced). Paragraph 2: why it matters to us (quantified). Paragraph 3: recommended immediate action (named owner, timeline). No horizon watch. No background. Just the essential decision elements.
3. Distribution Flash alerts go only to the people who need to act immediately. Not the full briefing distribution list. If the flash is about a model deprecation, it goes to engineering and procurement. If it is about a regulatory enforcement action, it goes to legal and compliance. Narrow distribution preserves the urgency signal.