Writing for somebody who will skim

Nobody reads a business document the way you wrote it. They open it, read the first paragraph, look at the headings, glance at a table, and decide whether to read more. Almost every failure in business writing comes from ignoring that.

So put the conclusion first. Not the background, not the method, not a chronological account of what you did. What you found and what you recommend, in the first paragraph. Everything else supports it underneath for whoever wants the detail.

This feels wrong to anybody trained academically, where you build to a conclusion. Business writing is the opposite, and using the academic shape is the most common reason a good piece of work is not acted on.

Write for the decision. A report exists so somebody can decide something. Before writing, answer two questions: who is deciding, and what do they need to know to decide. Anything that does not serve that is padding, however interesting it was to produce.

Assume they read only the first page, and make sure that page alone would be enough.

Keep it short. Length is not thoroughness. A four page report that is read beats a twenty page one that is filed.

And write it after you have decided what you think. A document written to work out your own view reads exactly like one, and the reader is doing your thinking for you.