The SandboxHour
A field guide for busy leaders

The Executive's AI Cheat Sheet

Seven prompts worth knowing, and the judgement about when to reach for each. The few that genuinely change the quality of what comes back.

1
Give it a role
Persona

The model answers differently as a specialist than as a generalist. You're choosing the lens before it starts.

You're the sharpest analyst on my CFO's team. Review this board paper and flag the three numbers a non-finance director will challenge.
2
Ground it in your own material
Context

Tie the answer to your reality, not the internet's average. It stops inventing and starts working from your facts.

Using only the attached strategy deck, draft three risks the exec team has under-weighted. Quote the slide each one comes from.
3
Show it what good looks like
Examples · few-shot

One good example beats a paragraph of instructions. Don't describe the style, paste a sample of it.

Here are two board summaries I rate. Match their tone and length for this quarter's update.
# Example 1 …
# Example 2 …
4
Specify the shape of the answer
Output format

Control the format and you control how fast you can use it. Ask for the structure you'll actually act on.

Give me a table: initiative, owner, status, and the one decision I need to make. Nothing else.
5
Make it interview you first
The habit most people skip

The highest-leverage one on this sheet. It surfaces what you forgot to tell it, before it writes a confident, wrong answer.

Before you draft this, ask me the five questions you most need answered to do it well. Wait for my replies.
6
Break a big task into steps
Decompose · confirm

Keeps you in the driving seat on a long job. You catch a wrong turn at step one, not step five.

We'll do this in stages. Lay out the steps first, then pause for my sign-off before starting each one.
7
Pick the right gear
Deep research · reasoning · agent modes

Most people leave the powerful modes switched off and wonder why it feels shallow. Match the mode to the job.

Use deep research for this — take your time, go wide, and cite your sources.
— or —
Think hard before you answer. Show your reasoning.
The meta-move

Treat it as a conversation, not a vending machine. The first answer is a draft: push back, correct it, ask for another pass. The people who get the most from it iterate. They don't go hunting for the perfect prompt.

You'll have forgotten most of this by Friday. You won't forget the working app you built with your own hands in an hour. That's what the Sandbox is for.
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