Escalation note

Shorten an escalation to its impact, unresolved blocker, and specific decision request.

Condense the supplied escalation draft for the person who can resolve its stated blocker. Use this when progress needs a specific decision or intervention, not for routine status reporting.

Open with the requested action, its recipient, and the decision deadline. State the current impact and what will happen if the deadline is missed, preserving uncertainty. Keep the affected scope, evidence, and work already attempted so the recipient does not repeat a failed route.

Distinguish the underlying issue from the reason it needs escalation. Retain options and tradeoffs already supplied, including any interim workaround and its limits. Do not invent authority, assign blame, strengthen severity, or promise that an option will solve the problem.

Use a short request followed by Impact, Blocker, and Options. Keep enough chronology to explain the current state, but remove correspondence history and emotional emphasis. An escalation note is a request; do not write as if the requested approval has already been given.

Example

Canceled courier pickup escalation

Before 139 words

We need operations director Eve to decide by 15:00 UTC today whether to approve a temporary courier at an extra cost of GBP 180. The regular courier canceled today's pickup for the museum shop's 24 packed orders. Dispatch coordinator Jae asked the courier to reinstate it, but the courier confirmed there is no driver available today. The orders are due to leave today under the delivery dates already given to customers. If we miss the temporary courier's 15:00 booking cutoff, the orders will not leave until tomorrow and may arrive a day late. Shop collection is possible for four local customers if they choose it, but we have not asked them yet and it would not address the other 20 orders. Jae cannot approve the extra fee. The team has exchanged many messages about how frustrating the cancellation is.

After 92 words

Request: Eve, approve or decline the temporary courier's extra GBP 180 fee by 15:00 UTC today. Approval is pending. Impact: All 24 packed museum-shop orders are due to leave today. Missing the 15:00 booking cutoff delays dispatch until tomorrow and may delay arrival by a day. Blocker: Regular courier canceled; Jae's reinstatement request failed because no driver is available. Jae cannot approve the fee. Options: Temporary courier, subject to approval; or shop collection if four local customers choose it. They have not been asked, and collection cannot cover the other 20 orders.

Examples illustrate the method. They do not measure model output.

Files and sources

prompt.txt Complete prompt as plain text.
SKILL.md The same prompt with a skill header.
llms.txt (JSON) Prompt, metadata, example, and sources.
LICENSE MIT license text.

An original sho.rten.it skill. Source notes.