Stakeholder Update

Stakeholders are busy and skim. A good update answers their questions before they ask them, in under 60 seconds of reading.

The four sections

Every update has exactly these, in this order:

1. Status — a one-line health signal + a sentence of context.
2. Decisions made — what was decided since the last update (and by whom).
3. Help needed — explicit asks, with owner and deadline. This is what gets you unblocked.
4. Next milestones — what's coming and when.

Template

Subject: [Project] Update — <date> — <Status emoji/word>

Status: 🟢 On track | 🟡 At risk | 🔴 Off track
<One sentence of context.>

Decisions made:
- <decision> — <owner> — <date>

Help needed:
- <specific ask> — owner: <who> — needed by: <date>

Next milestones:
- <milestone> — <target date>

Details (optional, for those who want them):
<links, metrics, deeper context>

The RAG status

Use Red/Amber/Green honestly:

• Green — on track, no help needed.
• Amber — at risk; there's a specific thing that could derail it. Name it.
• Red — off track; you need a decision or resource now.

Sandbagging (saying green when it's amber) destroys trust the moment reality hits. Flagging amber early is a sign of a strong owner, not a weak one.

Writing rules

• Lead with the signal. Status first, then context. Bottom line up front.
• Make asks unmissable. "Help needed" should be the most scannable section.

Each ask names a person and a date.

• Quantify when you can. "70% complete, 2 of 3 integrations done" beats "good progress".
• Keep the core under 150 words. Push depth into a "Details" section or linked doc.
• Be consistent. Same format, same cadence (e.g. every Friday) so readers learn where to look.

Cadence

• Weekly for active projects; biweekly for slow-burn.
• Send same day, same time — predictability reduces "where are we?" pings.

Anti-patterns

• Burying a blocker in paragraph four — no one reads that far.
• Listing activity ("had 5 meetings") instead of outcomes ("aligned on scope").
• Surprising stakeholders with a red status that was actually amber for weeks.
• Writing a wall of text — if it takes more than a minute to read, restructure it.