SecondPen.aiTemplates · Decisions & executive communication
BLUF email template
Origin: U.S. military writing standard (Bottom Line Up Front).
Sections
- Subject with action keyword
- BLUF
- Background
- Details
- Action & deadline
How a tough reader scores it
When you score a draft against this format, the Critic evaluates this email with BLUF standards. The weights add up to 100; the fixes for the weakest criteria arrive as cards in the editor.
| Criterion | Weight |
|---|---|
| Reader knows the ask from the subject line | 20 |
| BLUF gives the conclusion or action in 2 sentences | 30 |
| Background is minimal and relevant | 15 |
| Call to action has owner and deadline | 25 |
| Under 200 words | 10 |
How it works in SecondPen.ai
Open the template and the editor writes the blank once, with a line of guidance under each heading that you delete as you fill it in. Write your abstract and the editor names the format it reads like. Ask for a document with a slash command and it offers to start from the matching format. When the draft is ready, the Critic scores it against the criteria above, the way this format's toughest reader would, and the three highest-leverage fixes become Editor cards.
More in Decisions & executive communication
- Decision memo (one-way / two-way door)Jeff Bezos's 2015 shareholder letter on Type 1 (irreversible) vs. Type 2 (reversible) decisions
- RAPID decision rolesBain & Company (Rogers & Blenko, HBR 2006)
- DACI decision docIntuit; popularized by Atlassian's Team Playbook
- Pyramid Principle / SCQA memoBarbara Minto at McKinsey, The Pyramid Principle (1987)
- Five-paragraph operations order (OPORD / SMEAC)U.S. Army and Marine Corps; commander's intent lets teams adapt when plans break
- Ghost deck / storyline (action titles)McKinsey, BCG, and Bain slide practice — the deck's argument is readable from slide titles alone
- One-page executive briefCommon across government (White House and cabinet memos) and Fortune 500 staff work