---
name: Board Meeting Prep for CEOs beginner
description: "From manual board prep to automated, structured outlines with clear decision framing."
velocity:
  skillId: skl_marketing_handout
  activityCode: ACT-000104
  activityName: Board Meeting Prep for CEOs beginner
  version: 1
---

# Board Meeting Prep for CEOs beginner

I turn scattered board prep inputs into a clean, structured board deck outline with clear decisions framed for the board to act on.

## When to use this skill

Invoke me when You says something like "prep for the board meeting," "draft the board deck outline," "help me frame decisions for the board," or drops raw inputs (metrics, updates, asks) that need to become a coherent board narrative. Best used a week or two ahead of a board meeting when materials are still messy or manual.

## Required connections

- Cowork (for pulling project/task status and posting the finished outline back to the team)

## Instructions

1. **Confirm the meeting basics.** Ask You for the board meeting date, the recurring agenda template (if one exists), and any board members or committees with standing asks. If unknown, proceed with a standard structure and flag the gaps.

2. **Gather the raw inputs.** Collect from You: latest financials/KPIs, product/GTM updates, hiring changes, and any open questions. Use Cowork via its API to retrieve current project tasks, deadlines, and progress so status sections reflect real state rather than memory. Summarize what you pulled so You can correct it.

3. **Sort every input into one of three buckets:**
   - **FYI / Update** — for awareness, no board action needed.
   - **Discussion** — board input wanted, but no formal decision.
   - **Decision** — the board must approve, vote, or direct.
   Anything that can't be sorted is a gap — list it and ask.

4. **Build the outline** in this order (adapt if You has a house template):
   - **CEO Summary** — 3–5 bullets: the state of the business, the one thing that changed, and the single most important ask.
   - **Metrics Scorecard** — key KPIs vs. plan vs. last period, with a one-line "so what" per metric.
   - **Wins & Risks** — top 3 wins, top 3 risks, each with an owner and a next step.
   - **Discussion Topics** — each framed as a question, with context and the range of options.
   - **Decisions Requested** — see step 5.
   - **Appendix** — supporting detail that shouldn't crowd the main flow.

5. **Frame each decision explicitly.** For every Decision-bucket item, write a self-contained block:
   - **Decision:** the exact thing the board is asked to approve, in one sentence.
   - **Recommendation:** You's recommended option, stated plainly.
   - **Options:** 2–3 realistic alternatives with the trade-off of each.
   - **Impact if approved / if deferred:** what changes either way.
   - **What we need from the board:** approval, direction, or a specific vote.
   Never leave a decision as a vague topic — if the ask isn't clear, ask You before finalizing.

6. **Tighten for a board audience.** Cut internal jargon, keep each section skimmable, and lead with conclusions. A board member should be able to read only the CEO Summary and Decisions Requested and still know how to vote.

7. **Flag the open questions.** List anything missing (a number, an owner, a legal input) as a short "Before the meeting" checklist so You knows exactly what to chase.

8. **Deliver and optionally circulate.** Output the full outline in markdown. If You wants it shared, use Cowork via its API to post the outline or a summary to the relevant team space and set reminders for the "Before the meeting" items.

9. **Do not fabricate numbers.** If a metric or status isn't in the inputs or retrievable from Cowork, mark it `[TBD — confirm]` rather than guessing.

## Example

**You says:** "Board meeting is in 10 days. ARR is up but churn's creeping. We need to decide on the Series B raise and whether to open the EU office."

**I produce:**

> **Board Meeting Prep — [Date]**
>
> **CEO Summary**
> - ARR grew 14% QoQ; net retention slipping on mid-market churn.
> - Two decisions this meeting: Series B timing and EU expansion.
> - Biggest ask: approve authorizing a Series B process this quarter.
>
> **Metrics Scorecard**
> - ARR: $X vs. $Y plan — *ahead, driven by new logos.*
> - Gross churn: Z% — *above target; mid-market segment.* `[TBD — confirm exact %]`
>
> **Decisions Requested**
>
> **1. Decision:** Authorize a Series B fundraise process this quarter.
> - **Recommendation:** Yes — begin now to close before runway pressure.
> - **Options:** (a) Raise now, (b) Wait one quarter for stronger churn numbers, (c) Bridge round instead.
> - **Impact:** Approve → start banker outreach next week. Defer → raise at lower leverage.
> - **From the board:** Formal approval to open the process.
>
> **2. Decision:** Open an EU office in [City] in H2.
> - **Recommendation:** Approve, contingent on hitting Q3 pipeline target.
> - **Options:** (a) Open H2, (b) Delay to next year, (c) Serve EU remotely.
> - **Impact:** Approve → begin hiring GM. Defer → cede early EU pipeline.
> - **From the board:** Direction on appetite + budget ceiling.
>
> **Before the meeting**
> - [ ] Confirm exact gross churn %
> - [ ] Get finance sign-off on runway assumption for decision 1

I then ask You whether to circulate this to the team space via Cowork.

## Working folder

Save what you produce into the learner's **Velocity Work** folder for this activity — Velocity sets one up named "Board Meeting Prep for CEOs beginner" inside their Velocity Work folder (by default `~/Documents/Velocity Work/Board Meeting Prep for CEOs beginner`). Read their own input files from the folder they connected to this chat. If that folder looks empty, or you're unsure which one to use, ask the learner to confirm or connect the Velocity Work folder for this activity before you write — so their work lands where Velocity (and any runs they schedule later) can find it.

## Recording the invocation

When you start this skill, call the **velocity-receipts** MCP server's `record_invocation` tool with this skill's `skillId` (`skl_marketing_handout`, from the frontmatter above — not the slug) and your starting context. When you finish, call `complete_invocation` with the invocation id, a one-line summary of what you accomplished, and a **dataContext**: pass `metadata: { dataContext: "real" }` when you worked on the learner's OWN data (their Velocity Work folder for this activity) — that records real Value Impact — or `metadata: { dataContext: "practice" }` when you worked on the provided practice data, which is logged as practice and kept out of their Value Impact total. If you're unsure, ask the learner which they used. The MCP server writes a SkillReceipt that compounds into your Value Impact total — no manual recording needed.

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*Velocity skill · ACT-000104 · v1*