An executive summary, sometimes called a management summary, is a short, typically one page, outline of a business report or proposal designed so that readers can absorb material from a larger body of text without actually reading it. It is intended to provide potential investors with enough information to give them a brief overview of a business, its goals and its potential for growth, with the
. hope that potential investors will want more information and be willing to schedule a meeting.A good executive summary makes a compelling and convincing case for the business's current and potential value, focusing on its strengths, its place in the market and its potential for growth. This is essentially the selling point for a business venture. The more technical and complex the business proposal, the more important the executive summary.Just like an essay, an executive summary begins with a thesis or statement of the problem or proposal outlined in the larger document. Next, it provides background information relevant to the topic, analysis of important data and a conclusion.A typical executive summary is approximately 10% the size of the original document and derives exclusively from it, with no original or unique information. It consists of short, easy-to-read paragraphs with information placed in the same order as the report or proposal.Two helpful resources for writing an effective executive summary are http://rfptemplates.technologyevaluation.com/Executive-Summary-Template-and-Sample.html and http://www.scribd.com/doc/18038562/Executive-Summary-Template. These two pages offer templates, give advice on the type of language to use and highlight common errors and pitfalls business leaders commonly face when writing executive summaries.An executive summary is not the same as an abstract. An abstract is typically shorter than an executive summary, and it contains a brief, unbiased outline of the proposal or report. Whereas an executive summary is designed to "pitch" a proposal to investors, an abstract serves only to define the proposal, without regard for a target audience. More reference links: http://rfptemplates.technologyevaluation.com/Executive-Summary-Template-and-Sample.html http://www.scribd.com/doc/18038562/Executive-Summary-Template
