Write a Brief Work Can Finish

Try it: build a brief

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The four parts, for Work

• Result. Name the deliverable and its shape: “a leadership brief and a six-slide presentation”, “a workbook with a summary tab”. Define the audience, the output format and the length.
• Sources. Attach the files, or name the plugins and sites to use. Include only relevant sources, and limit the date range when it matters. If the answer must come from your material, say “Use only the supplied sources. Flag missing information instead of guessing.”
• Review criteria. Say how you'll judge the result, so Work can check against the same bar before it finishes: “cite each number to its source file”, “check that the brief and slides agree”.
• Boundaries. Add the one or two that matter most, usually about anything that affects other people: “Prepare the message as a draft. Don't send it.”

Here's one of OpenAI's own example prompts. It covers all four parts in four sentences:

Use the attached quarterly reports to create a leadership brief and a six-slide presentation. The audience is the executive team. Lead with the three decisions they need to make, distinguish reported facts from your analysis, cite each number to its source file, and check that the brief and slides agree before you finish.

Notice what it leaves out. It doesn't say which slide layout to use or how to read the reports. It names the result, the reader, the standard of evidence, and a final check, then leaves the method to Work. That's the balance to aim for.

Boundaries: fewer, firmer

It's tempting to fence in every step. Resist it. OpenAI's guide says you don't need to control every step ChatGPT takes; pick the one or two boundaries that matter most. The ones that almost always matter are about other people: require your approval before ChatGPT sends, publishes, or changes information other people rely on. Everything else, such as which sites to read first or how to lay out a table, is usually better left to Work, with your review criteria as the guardrail.

Separate the must-haves from the nice-to-haves, too: “Required: the comparison table and the recommendation. Optional, only if there's time: a migration timeline.” That keeps a run from spending its effort, and your credits, on polish you didn't need.

Ask it to check itself, then check it yourself

For important work, end the brief with a final check: “Before you finish, confirm every action item has an owner and a due date, and list anything you couldn't verify.” A self-check catches a lot, especially gaps and contradictions, but it isn't a substitute for your review. OpenAI's guidance is explicit: review the result yourself before you use or share it.

Your first brief doesn't need to be perfect, either. Review the first result, then ask for the specific change: add a missing source, correct the direction, ask for another option, or change the level of detail, without starting over. When a brief works, keep it. It's the seed of a template, a skill or a scheduled task later in this course.