Executive Summary Skill

Create formal, narrative-driven executive summaries for leadership and stakeholders. This skill handles two primary workflows: synthesizing GitHub conversations (issues, pull requests, discussions) and distilling meeting transcripts (Zoom, Teams, etc.) into concise, decision-focused summaries.

Related Skills

Use brain-operating-system skill for:

• Output directory structure and naming conventions (Executive Summaries/YYYY-MM-DD/, Transcripts/YYYY-MM-DD/)
• Date folder creation patterns and file numbering

Use voice-and-tone skill for:

• Narrative construction and paragraph patterns
• First-person framing when appropriate
• Crediting collaborators and showing impact

Use github-interaction skill for:

• Fetching complete GitHub conversations (issues, PRs, discussions)
• Comment and review retrieval patterns
• Pagination handling

Core Principles

All executive summaries follow these unifying principles, regardless of source:

Narrative-Driven Prose

• Structure content as dense, logically-connected paragraphs in formal, authoritative tone
• Avoid bullet points, subheaders, or lists
• Each paragraph builds on the previous, conveying a cohesive narrative of evolution from initial topic through decisions and next steps
• Limit length to 3–5 structured paragraphs (GitHub summaries may run longer for complex decisions)

Impact & Decision Focus

• Include only details that significantly influenced direction, decisions, or outcomes
• Omit administrative commentary, routine pleasantries, subscription messages, procedural remarks, superficial technical minutiae (code diffs, exact timestamps), or automation events
• Center on key debates, decisions, constraints, resolutions, and business/user impact
• Clearly articulate alternatives explored, current status, next steps, and individual responsibilities

Contextual Linking

• Every piece of cited information must link to its source
• Attribute statements to individuals by name (no @ symbol on names themselves)
• Links follow the statement or are integrated into sentences
• Ensure readers can drill into source material for deeper context

Formal Tone & Authority

• Use complete, well-structured sentences
• Integrate all references and links seamlessly without extraneous formatting
• Write for educated, time-constrained readers

Workflow: GitHub Conversations

For GitHub issues, pull requests, and discussions:

1. Fetch the complete conversation using the [github-interaction skill](../github-interaction/SKILL.md). This ensures you capture all comments, reviews, and state changes necessary for context.

1. Identify the narrative arc: What was the initial problem/request? How did the conversation evolve? What decisions were made?

1. Apply the rules from [references/github-conversations.md](references/github-conversations.md), which details:

- How to structure GitHub-specific summaries - Linking patterns for comments, events, and status changes - Handling alternative solutions and partial resolutions - Ignoring bot-generated events

1. Archive the source conversation to Transcripts/YYYY-MM-DD/##.md (use today's date; sequential numbering within each date folder). Format as markdown with the issue/PR title, metadata, body, and all comments preserved.

1. Save the summary to Executive Summaries/YYYY-MM-DD/##.md (use today's date; sequential numbering within each date folder)

Workflow: Meeting Transcripts

For Zoom, Teams, or other meeting transcripts:

1. Fetch the transcript from the provided URI using HTTP or platform-specific tools

1. Parse and prepare the transcript: Extract speaker attributions, timestamps, and key discussion points

1. Apply the rules from [references/transcript-summaries.md](references/transcript-summaries.md), which details:

- Attribution patterns for named participants - How to reference shared documents or screens - Handling decisions and action items - Appropriate scope and constraints for transcript summaries

1. Archive the source transcript to Transcripts/YYYY-MM-DD/##.md (use today's date; sequential numbering within each date folder). Preserve the full transcript text with speaker attributions.

1. Save the summary to Executive Summaries/YYYY-MM-DD/##.md (use today's date; sequential numbering within each date folder)

Quick Reference: Which Workflow?

Tips for Quality Summaries

• Start by understanding the arc: Skim the conversation or transcript to understand the trajectory before drafting
• Prioritize decision impact: What changed as a result of this conversation? Lead with that
• Use participant names strategically: Name decision-makers and key contributors; anonymize or skip minor commenters
• Link judiciously but comprehensively: Every claim should be traceable; avoid standalone links
• Edit for density: Remove connecting words, tighten sentences, but preserve clarity

Source Archival

Source materials (GitHub conversations, meeting transcripts) are archived to Transcripts/YYYY-MM-DD/##.md for future reference. These archives:

• Follow the same naming pattern as executive summaries (YYYY-MM-DD/##.md) but are stored independently
• Are not necessarily paired 1:1 with executive summaries - a transcript may exist without a summary, or vice versa
• Can be referenced from anywhere in the brain: Meeting Notes, Weekly Notes, Daily Projects, or other documents via wikilinks

Naming Convention

Both folders use sequential numbering within each date:

Frontmatter

All output files must include YAML frontmatter. Generate a TID for each file:

node ~/.copilot/skills/frontmatter-add/scripts/generate-tid.js

Executive summary frontmatter:

---
uid: <TID>
type: executive.summary
created: <ISO 8601>
tags: []
links:
  source: [<transcript TID if archived>]
  related: []
---

Transcript archive frontmatter:

---
uid: <TID>
type: transcript
created: <ISO 8601>
tags: []
links:
  related: []
---

The links.source field in the executive summary connects it to the archived transcript.

Archive Format

For GitHub conversations: Include title, URL, author, state, creation date, body, and all comments with author attribution and timestamps.

For meeting transcripts: Preserve the full transcript text with speaker names and timestamps as provided by the source platform.