monday-brief

name	monday-brief
description	- Start of every week — you want a clear picture of where the business stands before the week begins

Monday Brief

When to activate

• Start of every week — you want a clear picture of where the business stands before the week begins
• You feel scattered about what matters most and need to cut to the top 3 priorities
• Preparing for a team standup or partner check-in and want the key numbers ready
• Deciding what to spend your personal focus on today versus what can wait

When NOT to use

• Mid-week — this is a Monday ritual, not a daily dashboard
• You want deep financial analysis — use the Month-End Close or Payroll Planner skills for that
• You are looking for a task manager — this is a decision-support brief, not a to-do list tool

Instructions

What to gather before you start

Everything you need is in your head or one screen away. No exports required:

1. Bank balance — what is in your main checking account right now
2. Total accounts receivable — how much is owed to you across all open invoices
3. Bills due this week — total amount of payables hitting before Friday
4. Pipeline value — dollar amount of active deals that could close this month
5. This week's calendar — your meetings, calls, deadlines (describe them in plain English)
6. Last week's surprises — anything that came in you did not expect, good or bad

That is all Claude needs.

Step 1: Get your one-page brief

Say:

"Here are my numbers for the Monday brief: bank $28,000, AR outstanding $41,000, bills due this week $6,200, active pipeline $95,000 with two deals close to close. Calendar: two sales calls Monday, board update Wednesday, team standup Thursday. Last week: lost the Henderson deal, no explanation given."

Claude produces a structured brief you can read in 60 seconds:

Cash status: Safe. Bank covers this week's bills 4.5x. No cash action needed.

Pipeline health: At risk. Two deals close to close but Henderson loss last week is a signal — find out why before the Monday sales calls so you can address similar objections.

Must-do list (3 items, in order of financial impact):

1. Call Henderson today — understand why you lost before the two remaining deals close. The reason will change how you approach Monday's calls.
2. Prep board update Wednesday — pull Q2 numbers from QuickBooks before Tuesday EOD so you are not scrambling.
3. Confirm deal close dates on both pipeline deals — if either slips past Friday, your month number changes.

One flag: Henderson loss reduces your close probability on the remaining $95K. If both deals slip, you are looking at a gap against your monthly number. Know your fallback plan before Wednesday's board meeting.

Step 2: Surface your weekend emails (optional)

Paste in any emails that came in over the weekend. Ask Claude:

"Here are the emails that came in over the weekend. Which 3 need a response today? Draft a one-line reply for each."

Claude surfaces the highest-priority messages — typically anything from a current client, a deal in motion, or a time-sensitive vendor — and drafts short replies you can send or edit in under 5 minutes.

Step 3: Update the brief mid-week if needed

If something changes significantly (a deal closes, a big invoice comes in, a key employee gives notice), run a quick update. Say:

"Update: the Martinez deal closed at $22,000. How does that change this week's picture?"

Claude refreshes the relevant sections — cash status, pipeline health, priority order — without redoing the whole brief.

Weekly rhythm

Run the Monday Brief every Monday between 8:00 and 9:00 AM before your first meeting. Input takes 3 minutes. Reading the output takes 60 seconds. The value is not the brief itself — it is that you make your first decision of the week deliberately instead of reactively.

Pair with other skills:

• Monday Brief + Payroll Planner (2 weeks before payroll) = full financial clarity
• Monday Brief + Lead Triager (after a campaign) = complete week start routine

Example

You say: "Bank $28,000, AR $41,000, bills $6,200 this week, pipeline $95,000 with two deals close to close. Monday has two sales calls, Wednesday is a board update, Thursday is team standup. Last week: the Henderson deal fell through, no explanation from them yet."

Claude outputs:

Cash status: Solid. $28,000 covers this week's $6,200 in bills 4.5x. No cash action needed this week.

Pipeline health: Watch carefully. $95,000 is strong on paper, but Henderson falling through without explanation is a yellow flag. If the two remaining deals have similar profiles, you need to know what objection killed Henderson before Monday's calls.

This week's top 3:

1. Call Henderson before noon today. You have two sales calls this afternoon — knowing why you lost Henderson lets you address the same concern proactively. One phone call, 10 minutes.
2. Pull Q2 numbers from QuickBooks by Tuesday EOD. Board update is Wednesday. Walking in without your own numbers is avoidable.
3. Get close date confirmations from both pipeline deals today. If either slips out of this month, your board story on Wednesday changes — better to know now.

One flag: If both remaining deals slip to next month, you are looking at a $95,000 gap against whatever your monthly target is. Have a contingency talking point ready for Wednesday's board update in case they ask.

Total time from input to brief: under 2 minutes.