Use Last Month’s as a Guide

“Last month’s file can tell you how this work has been done. It cannot tell you why every choice in it was made.”

The situation

Your manager asks: “Can you put together this month’s performance update? Last month’s is in the folder. Use it as a guide.”

You have the last three monthly updates, this month’s dashboard and data, and access to your workplace’s approved AI.

Your call

The prior updates all cover Revenue, Pipeline, and Risks. Last month spent extra space on a drop in conference registrations. This month’s biggest change is churn.

What would you copy from last month—and what would you change?

Decide before you keep reading.

What Danielle notices

“Look across more than one example. What stays? What changes? What gets explained?”

An example contains both pattern and circumstance. The job is to infer what is probably structural without treating precedent as a rule—then identify the remaining question only a human with current context can answer.

Let AI do the boring comparison

“And yes, let AI do the boring comparison if your workplace allows it. The important part is knowing where the evidence stops.”

A prompt that works: “Compare these three prior updates with this month’s data. Identify the recurring sections, recurring metrics, and the biggest changes this month. Separate what is directly shown in the files from any interpretation.”