💬 Executive Prompt Library

Keep this page nearby during the immersion. These simple prompts are designed for VPs in a commercial bank. Replace bracketed text before use, point Copilot to approved source material, and review the result before sharing it.

TIP

Start with the simplest version of a prompt. Add the audience, source, format, or decision context only when it helps Copilot produce a more useful result.

Prepare for Meetings

Use before leadership or portfolio meetings.

Prepare me for my next meeting about [topic]. Summarize the key context, decisions needed, risks, and questions I should ask.

Summarize for Executives

Use with a document, email thread, or update.

Summarize [source] for a VP. Give me the main takeaway, top risks, decisions needed, and next steps.

Draft a Leadership Update

Use to turn notes into a brief update.

Turn this into a concise leadership update with four sections: Progress, Risks, Decisions Needed, and Next Steps.

Review a Portfolio

Use for a business segment or portfolio.

Help me prepare for a portfolio review on [segment]. Identify trends, risks, opportunities, and questions for the team.

Pressure-Test a Plan

Use to review assumptions and risk before approving a plan.

Review this plan from a risk perspective. What assumptions should I validate before approving it?

Explain Customer Impact

Use for customer-facing or operational changes.

Create three executive talking points about customer impact, operational risk, and next steps based on [source].

Draft an Executive Email

Use for concise executive communication.

Draft a concise email to [audience] about [topic]. Make the ask clear and include next steps.

Tighten a Message

Use to make an existing draft more direct.

Rewrite this for a senior executive audience. Make it shorter, clearer, and focused on decisions and next steps.

Analyze a Forecast in Excel

Use these prompts with the workbook at aka.ms/sampleExcel2. Download it, save it to OneDrive, and open the OneDrive copy before using Copilot in Excel.

Find the major trends

Analyze this workbook for an executive. Identify the biggest revenue, expense, and margin trends, and show the evidence for each.

Investigate margin pressure

Find the areas with the highest margin pressure. Summarize what is driving the issue and suggest three leadership actions.

Build an executive summary

Create an executive summary of this forecast with the top three insights, risks to watch, and questions for the finance team.

IMPORTANT

Treat every output as a draft. Confirm the underlying source, validate material facts and calculations, and clearly label uncertainty before using the result.

Improve Any Prompt

Use this pattern when a first attempt needs more direction:

Goal: [what you want]
Context: [why it matters and who the audience is]
Sources: [specific file, email, meeting, or workbook]
Expectations: [format, length, tone, and sections]

The Commercial Bank Lab shows how several of these prompts connect in a single executive workflow.