Capability template for executive and office support
Board meeting pack
Before each board meeting, the CEO gets a pre-read built on the one decision the board is asked to make, with every figure from the company's own reports, an agenda kept mostly for discussion and the questions directors are likely to ask. Afterwards, a record of what was decided. The CEO sends it all.
The outcome
Your board meeting is spent on a decision, not on reading slides aloud. Directors open the pack and see on the first page what they are asked to decide, what the CEO recommends and the two questions where their experience is wanted. Behind that sit three messages, each backed by figures that name the report they came from, a brief that lays out the options, carrying on as planned always one of them, and the standing figures against plan in a fixed order that stays the same from one meeting to the next.
The CEO walks in knowing the questions directors are likely to ask, with a draft answer to each, and having already called each director about every figure well behind plan and every promise from last time that slipped. The agenda gives most of the meeting to discussion.
When the meeting ends, the CEO has a draft record of what was decided, every condition the board added, and an owner and date for each action, ready for the chair to confirm and for whoever keeps the formal minutes. Where two reports disagree, a figure has no cause or an action has no owner, the capability says so and asks. It never chooses the decision, never supplies a cause and never sends anything.
Who starts the work, and when
The CEO starts it, or someone who pulls the papers together on the CEO's behalf, such as the company secretary, the head of finance, or the CEO's chief of staff or assistant. In a nonprofit, the executive director does the same for the board of trustees.
They run it ten days to two weeks before the meeting, once the period's management reports are final, so there is time to settle the questions and speak to directors before the pack goes out. They run it again on the day of the meeting, with the notes. The CEO decides what goes to directors and sends it.
What they supply
- The meeting: the date, length, directors and their roles, and who from management attends.
- The CEO's brief: the one decision, the recommendation, the options considered, the messages the CEO wants to land, the causes behind any figure that moved, and what each director tends to press on.
- The figures: a spreadsheet of each figure with its plan, the prior period and the report it came from, plus the reports themselves.
- The risk list and the record of the last meeting, if the company keeps them.
- After the meeting: the notes, in whatever shape they were taken.
No accounting system, board portal or mailbox is connected. Everything is pasted or attached by a person.
What comes out
- A pre-read pack. The decision on the first page; three messages with their evidence; a decision brief with the options and what each gives up; for a request for money, what has been tried and what milestone comes before any more; the standing figures against plan with a cause for every large variance; the risks; and where last meeting's actions stand.
- Likely director questions, each from a warning sign in the figures or from what a director cares about, with a draft answer and the figure behind it.
- Calls before the meeting: what each director should hear from the CEO first.
- A timed agenda that keeps presentation short and gives the decision the most time, with the share of presentation shown.
- A draft decision record after the meeting: the decision and its conditions, advice given, actions with owners and dates, and any figure corrected in the room.
Every gap comes first, as a question for the CEO or the finance lead.
An invented example
Illustrative example with invented data. Company V is an invented 60-person business that sells booking and membership software to independent gyms and climbing walls. Its people, directors, distributors, reports and figures are all invented. Mara, the CEO, runs the capability twice: on Monday 12 October 2026 to prepare the pack for the board meeting of Thursday 22 October, and on the afternoon of the meeting with the notes. First come the inputs she supplied, in full, then what came back.
Before the meeting
1. The meeting and settings
Today is Monday 12 October 2026.
Company V. Board meeting Thursday 22 October 2026, 10:00, 90 minutes, at our
office and on video.
CEO: Mara. Also attending: Ravi (finance lead).
Directors: Director A (chair, investor director), Director B (investor
director), Director C (investor director), Director D (independent).
Last three meetings: 22 January, 23 April, 23 July 2026.
Settings: the defaults (pack 7 days before; variance threshold 10 %;
presentation limit 30 %; executive session 10 minutes; calls two working
days before; record one working day after).
Minute keeper: the company secretary.
2. Mara's brief
DECISION: Approve $90,000 for a first stage of a partner channel with
gym-equipment distributors, October 2026 to March 2027, taken from the
$240,000 budgeted for two new-business salespeople in the first half of
2027. The two sales hires pause until the April 2027 meeting.
RECOMMENDATION: Approve. It gives up two salespeople's selling time in the
first half of 2027, and partners take 20% of first-year ARR as commission.
OPTIONS:
A. Stay the course: hire the two salespeople in Q1 2027. Cost $240,000 for
the first half. Gives up nothing new, but they won't be fully selling
until late 2027.
B. Partner channel first stage (recommended). Cost $90,000. Gives up: as
above.
C. Cut new-business spend and put the effort into existing customers.
Saves $240,000. Gives up new-customer growth.
FOR THE MINUTES: I own it. Judged at the April 2027 meeting against 30 gyms
signed and $120,000 of new ARR from partners. Approval lets us sign with
Distributor A and one more distributor.
IF NOTHING CHANGES: my estimate is that at Q3's pace, new-customer ARR for
2027 ends about $0.45m below plan.
WHAT WE TESTED: Distributor A, May to August (Partner test summary,
attached).
EARLY SIGN: if fewer than 10 gyms are signed through partners by
31 December, we stop and say so at the January meeting.
COST OF WAITING: deciding in January instead misses the distributors'
spring trade-show season.
RUNS IT: our head of partnerships, no new hire.
ADVICE QUESTIONS:
1. What should our agreements with distributors settle before the first
gym is signed?
2. Should the April meeting see a sales hiring plan whatever the partner
results?
MESSAGES:
1. Growth now comes mostly from existing customers; new-customer sales are
behind for a second quarter.
2. Distributors brought gyms in cheaply in a small test.
3. We have the cash to stage this and decide again in April.
CAUSES:
- New-customer ARR, Q2 and Q3: fewer direct deals won since a competitor
began including booking software with equipment leases.
- Expansion ARR: the class-booking add-on launched in June.
LAST TIME'S ACTIONS: 1 is this pack. 2 is not done yet. 3 is done, both
introductions made in August.
DIRECTORS:
- A (chair) wants every meeting to end with a recorded decision.
- B always asks what a dollar of spend brings back.
- C watches months of cash.
- D (ex-operator) asks who will actually run things.
NOT FOR DIRECTORS: our head of sales told me he plans to leave in the new
year. I'll tell the chair myself.
3. Figures export (prepared by Ravi from the reports)
Metric,Period,Actual,Plan,Prior period,Unit,Better when,Source
Annual recurring revenue,Q3 2026,4.62,4.65,4.31,$m,higher,Management accounts Q3 2026
New-customer ARR added,Q2 2026,0.22,0.30,0.25,$m,higher,Sales report Q2 2026
New-customer ARR added,Q3 2026,0.21,0.32,0.22,$m,higher,Sales report Q3 2026
New-customer ARR added,Q3 2026,0.19,0.32,0.20,$m,higher,Management accounts Q3 2026
Expansion ARR added,Q3 2026,0.17,0.10,0.12,$m,higher,Sales report Q3 2026
ARR lost to cancellations,Q3 2026,0.07,0.08,0.09,$m,lower,Management accounts Q3 2026
Gross margin,Q3 2026,78,77,77,%,higher,Management accounts Q3 2026
Operating expense,Q3 2026,1.46,1.50,1.41,$m,lower,Management accounts Q3 2026
Cash at end of quarter,Q3 2026,3.90,3.70,4.35,$m,higher,Cash report 30 September 2026
Months of cash at current net burn,Q3 2026,26,24,23,months,higher,Cash report 30 September 2026
4. The reports
The management accounts for Q3 2026, the sales reports for Q2 and Q3 2026 and the cash report of 30 September 2026 were attached for the appendix. Every figure the pack uses from them is in the export above. The one report the pack quotes directly is the partner test summary:
Partner test summary, 5 September 2026 (head of partnerships)
Distributor: Distributor A. Period: 1 May to 31 August 2026.
Gyms referred: 41. Gyms signed: 12. New ARR signed: $54,000.
Cost: $22,000 (commission $10,800 and joint marketing $11,200).
5. Risk list
ID,Risk,Owner,Likelihood,Impact,Mitigation,Due,Status,First raised
R1,New-customer sales below plan,CEO,High,High,Partner channel test; decision at October board,2026-10-22,Decision in October pack,2026-04-23
R2,All member payments run through one payment processor,CTO,Low,High,Sign a second processor,2026-12-15,Contract with the second processor under review,2026-01-22
R3,Two largest customers (gym chains) are 14% of ARR,Head of customer success,Medium,Medium,Renewal talks with both,2027-02-28,Talks started with one,2026-01-22
6. Record of the last meeting
Board meeting 23 July 2026. Actions:
1. Bring a recommendation on new-customer sales to the October meeting.
Owner: Mara. Due 22 October 2026.
2. Reconcile the sales report and management accounts definitions of
new-customer ARR. Owner: Ravi. Due 30 September 2026.
3. Introduce Mara to two distributor contacts. Owner: Director B.
Due 31 August 2026.
What came back
BOARD PACK: Company V, board meeting of Thursday 22 October 2026
DRAFT. NOT READY TO SEND: 6 questions to settle.
10:00 to 11:30 (90 minutes), our office and video. Pre-read goes to directors by Thursday
15 October 2026.
Directors: Director A (chair, investor director), Director B (investor director),
Director C (investor director), Director D (independent). Management attending: Mara (CEO),
Ravi (finance lead).
Prepared Monday 12 October 2026 from: Management accounts Q3 2026; Sales report Q2 2026;
Sales report Q3 2026; Cash report 30 September 2026; Partner test summary 5 September 2026;
risk list; record of 23 July 2026; figures export (10 rows).
To settle before this goes out: 6
1. Standing figures: new-customer ARR for Q3 2026 is $0.21m in the sales report and $0.19m
in the management accounts. Which goes to directors? (Ravi; the July action to reconcile
the two is not done.)
2. Standing figures: ARR lost to cancellations was 12.5 % better than plan, and the brief
gives no cause. What was it?
3. Messages: message 1 says growth comes "mostly from existing customers". In Q3, expansion
ARR was $0.17m and new-customer ARR $0.21m (sales report) or $0.19m (management
accounts). Reword it, or supply the figure that supports it.
4. Request for money and message 2: the cost of new ARR through direct sales is not in the
material, so the test cannot be set against it and "cheaply" is not shown. Supply it, or
say in the pack that it is not available and reword message 2.
5. Likely director questions, Q9: the first stage takes $90,000 of the $240,000 budgeted
for the two hires. What happens to the other $150,000 while the hires are paused?
6. Decision brief and request for money: partners take 20 % of first-year ARR as
commission, and the test's $22,000 included commission. Is the commission paid out of
the $90,000, or on top of it?
1. THE DECISION ASKED FOR
Decision: Approve $90,000 for a first stage of a partner channel with gym-equipment
distributors, October 2026 to March 2027, taken from the $240,000 budgeted for two
new-business salespeople in the first half of 2027, with the two sales hires paused until
the April 2027 meeting.
Recommendation: Approve.
Advice asked on: (1) What should our agreements with distributors settle before the first
gym is signed? (2) Should the April meeting see a sales hiring plan whatever the partner
results?
2. THREE MESSAGES
M1. Growth now comes mostly from existing customers; new-customer sales are behind for a
second quarter. CHECK: in Q3 more ARR came from new customers than from expansion
(To settle 3).
- Expansion ARR added, Q3 2026: $0.17m against plan $0.10m (Sales report Q3 2026).
- New-customer ARR added, Q3 2026: $0.21m against plan $0.32m (Sales report Q3 2026);
$0.19m (Management accounts Q3 2026).
- New-customer ARR added, Q2 2026: $0.22m against plan $0.30m (Sales report Q2 2026).
M2. Distributors brought gyms in cheaply in a small test. CHECK: "cheaply" needs the
direct-sales comparison, which is not in the material (To settle 4).
- Distributor A, 1 May to 31 August 2026: 12 gyms signed, $54,000 of new ARR for
$22,000 (Partner test summary, 5 September 2026).
M3. We have the cash to stage this and decide again in April.
- Cash at end of Q3 2026: $3.90m; 26 months at current net burn (Cash report
30 September 2026).
- First stage: $90,000 of the $240,000 budgeted for the first half of 2027 (CEO's
brief).
3. DECISION BRIEF
What has changed: new-customer ARR has been well behind plan in both Q2 and Q3: $0.22m
against $0.30m in Q2, 26.7 % worse (Sales report Q2 2026), and $0.21m against $0.32m in
Q3, 34.4 % worse (Sales report Q3 2026; To settle 1). Total ARR is close to plan, $4.62m
against $4.65m (Management accounts Q3 2026), while expansion ARR was $0.17m against a
plan of $0.10m (Sales report Q3 2026).
If nothing changes: CEO's estimate: at Q3's pace, new-customer ARR for 2027 ends about
$0.45m below plan.
Options:
A. Stay the course: hire two new-business salespeople in Q1 2027. Cost: $240,000 for the
first half of 2027 (CEO's brief). Gives up: nothing new, but the two will not be fully
selling until late 2027.
B. Partner channel first stage, October 2026 to March 2027. Cost: $90,000 (CEO's brief);
whether partner commission is paid from it or on top: To settle 6. Gives up: two
salespeople's selling time in the first half of 2027; partners take 20 % of first-year
ARR as commission (CEO's brief).
C. Cut new-business spend and put the effort into existing customers. Cost: saves
$240,000 (CEO's brief). Gives up: new-customer growth.
Recommendation: B. Gives up: two salespeople's selling time in the first half of 2027, and
20 % of first-year partner ARR as commission (CEO's brief).
For the minutes: Mara runs a first stage of the partner channel, $90,000 taken from the
first-half 2027 sales hiring budget with the two hires paused, by 31 March 2027, judged at
the April 2027 meeting against 30 gyms signed and $120,000 of new ARR from partners
(CEO's brief).
Frees up: signing with Distributor A and one more distributor.
4. REQUEST FOR MONEY
Why this, and why now: new-customer ARR well behind plan in Q2 and Q3 (section 3). Cause
(CEO): fewer direct deals won since a competitor began including booking software with
equipment leases. Waiting a quarter misses the distributors' spring trade-show season
(CEO's brief).
What has been tried, and what it showed: Distributor A, 1 May to 31 August 2026: 41 gyms
referred, 12 signed, $54,000 of new ARR for $22,000, which is $2.45 of new ARR for each $1
spent (54,000 / 22,000) (Partner test summary, 5 September 2026). One distributor only;
the first stage adds a second (CEO's brief).
What this amount buys, against the best other use: $90,000 for the first stage, against
$240,000 for two salespeople for the first half of 2027 (CEO's brief). Whether partner
commission is paid from the $90,000: To settle 6. The cost of new ARR through direct
sales: NOT IN THE MATERIAL SUPPLIED (To settle 4).
Result needed before more money is asked for: 30 gyms signed and $120,000 of new ARR from
partners, judged at the April 2027 meeting (CEO's brief).
Early sign it is not working, and the cost of waiting: fewer than 10 gyms signed through
partners by 31 December 2026 stops the stage, reported at the January meeting. Deciding in
January instead misses the distributors' spring trade-show season (CEO's brief).
5. STANDING FIGURES (Q3 2026, against plan; threshold 10 %)
- Annual recurring revenue: $4.62m (plan $4.65m, prior $4.31m).
Behind plan: 0.6 % worse. Source: Management accounts Q3 2026.
- New-customer ARR added, Q2 2026: $0.22m (plan $0.30m, prior $0.25m).
Well behind plan: 26.7 % worse. Cause (CEO): fewer direct deals won since a competitor
began including booking software with equipment leases. Source: Sales report Q2 2026.
- New-customer ARR added: $0.21m (plan $0.32m, prior $0.22m).
Well behind plan: 34.4 % worse. Cause (CEO): as above. Source: Sales report Q3 2026.
TO SETTLE (1): the management accounts give $0.19m.
- New-customer ARR added: $0.19m (plan $0.32m, prior $0.20m).
Well behind plan: 40.6 % worse. Cause (CEO): as above. Source: Management accounts
Q3 2026. TO SETTLE (1): the sales report gives $0.21m.
- Expansion ARR added: $0.17m (plan $0.10m, prior $0.12m).
On or ahead of plan: 70.0 % better. Cause (CEO): the class-booking add-on launched in
June. Source: Sales report Q3 2026.
- ARR lost to cancellations: $0.07m (plan $0.08m, prior $0.09m).
On or ahead of plan: 12.5 % better. CAUSE NEEDED (To settle 2). Source: Management
accounts Q3 2026.
- Gross margin: 78 % (plan 77 %, prior 77 %).
On or ahead of plan: 1.3 % better. Source: Management accounts Q3 2026.
- Operating expense: $1.46m (plan $1.50m, prior $1.41m).
On or ahead of plan: 2.7 % better. Source: Management accounts Q3 2026.
- Cash at end of quarter: $3.90m (plan $3.70m, prior $4.35m).
On or ahead of plan: 5.4 % better. Source: Cash report 30 September 2026.
- Months of cash at current net burn: 26 (plan 24, prior 23).
On or ahead of plan: 8.3 % better. Source: Cash report 30 September 2026.
6. RISKS
- R1 New-customer sales below plan. Owner: CEO. Mitigation: partner channel test; decision
at October board, due 22 October 2026. Status: decision in October pack.
On its 3rd pack; mitigation not finished.
- R2 All member payments run through one payment processor. Owner: CTO. Mitigation: sign a
second processor, due 15 December 2026. Status: contract with the second processor under
review. On its 4th pack; mitigation not finished.
- R3 Two largest customers (gym chains) are 14 % of ARR. Owner: Head of customer success.
Mitigation: renewal talks with both, due 28 February 2027. Status: talks started with
one. On its 4th pack; mitigation not finished.
New since last meeting: none. Closed since last meeting: none supplied.
7. SINCE THE LAST MEETING (23 July 2026)
- Bring a recommendation on new-customer sales to the October meeting. Owner: Mara. Due
22 October 2026. Not yet due: this pack delivers it (CEO's brief).
- Reconcile the sales report and management accounts definitions of new-customer ARR.
Owner: Ravi. Due 30 September 2026. Not done: CEO's brief. Due date passed.
- Introduce Mara to two distributor contacts. Owner: Director B. Due 31 August 2026. Done:
both introductions made in August (CEO's brief).
8. LIKELY DIRECTOR QUESTIONS
Q1. What has changed in how gyms choose their booking software since the plan was set?
From: a figure well behind plan in this period and the one before; R1 on its 3rd pack.
Draft answer: the CEO's cause is fewer direct deals won since a competitor began
including booking software with equipment leases; the decision in this pack is the
response. Behind it: $0.22m against $0.30m in Q2 (Sales report Q2 2026); $0.21m
against $0.32m in Q3 (Sales report Q3 2026).
Q2. How much of the quarter's growth came from customers we already had? From: a total
near plan while a part is well behind.
Draft answer: expansion added $0.17m against a plan of $0.10m, while new customers
added $0.21m against $0.32m. Behind it: Sales report Q3 2026.
Q3. Which new-customer figure is right, and why are the two reports still apart? From:
reports that disagree; a July action not done.
Draft answer: ANSWER NEEDED (To settle 1). The July action to reconcile the two
definitions is not done. Behind it: $0.21m (Sales report Q3 2026); $0.19m
(Management accounts Q3 2026).
Q4. Why were cancellations lower than plan? From: a variance with no cause.
Draft answer: ANSWER NEEDED (To settle 2). Behind it: $0.07m against plan $0.08m
(Management accounts Q3 2026).
Q5. Will the second payment processor be signed by 15 December? From: a risk on its third
or later pack with its mitigation not finished (R2, 4th pack).
Draft answer: the risk list shows the second processor's contract under review, due
15 December 2026. Behind it: risk list, R2.
Q6. What happens if one of the two large chains leaves? From: a concentration in the risk
list; a risk on its third or later pack with its mitigation not finished (R3, 4th
pack).
Draft answer: together they are 14 % of ARR; renewal talks are due to finish by
28 February 2027 and have started with one of the two. Behind it: risk list, R3.
Q7. What exactly will the minutes record today? From: Director A (chair).
Draft answer: the sentence under "For the minutes" in section 3. Behind it: CEO's brief.
Q8. What does a dollar of partner spend bring back, compared with direct sales? From:
Director B (investor director).
Draft answer: in the test, $2.45 of new ARR for each $1 (54,000 / 22,000). Direct
sales: ANSWER NEEDED (To settle 4). Behind it: Partner test summary, 5 September 2026.
Q9. Does this use more cash? From: Director C (investor director).
Draft answer: the first stage is $90,000 taken from the $240,000 already budgeted for
the first half of 2027, not added to it (CEO's brief). Whether the other $150,000 is
spent while the hires are paused: ANSWER NEEDED (To settle 5). Whether commission is
paid on top of the $90,000: To settle 6. Behind it: CEO's brief;
26 months of cash at current net burn (Cash report 30 September 2026).
Q10. Who runs the partner channel day to day? From: Director D (independent).
Draft answer: the head of partnerships, with no new hire. Behind it: CEO's brief.
9. BEFORE THE MEETING: CALLS FOR THE CEO, by Tuesday 20 October 2026
- Director A (chair, investor director): new-customer sales behind plan for a second
quarter; the ask is $90,000 for a first partner stage. Hear first: new-customer ARR well
behind plan in Q2 and Q3; the July reconciliation is not done.
- Director B (investor director): the same headline and ask. Hear first: new-customer ARR
well behind plan in Q2 and Q3; the July reconciliation is not done; the test's $2.45 of
new ARR for each $1, and that the comparison with direct sales is still open.
- Director C (investor director): the same headline and ask. Hear first: new-customer ARR
well behind plan in Q2 and Q3; the July reconciliation is not done; 26 months of cash,
and the $90,000 taken from the hiring budget, not added to it.
- Director D (independent): the same headline and ask. Hear first: new-customer ARR well
behind plan in Q2 and Q3; the July reconciliation is not done; the head of partnerships
runs the channel, with no new hire.
10. AGENDA
1. 10:00 to 10:03 (3 min). Opening: what the board is asked to decide, and Mara's
recommendation. Presentation. Lead: Mara.
2. 10:03 to 10:13 (10 min). Look back: figures, risks and July's actions, with the pre-read
taken as read. Presentation. Lead: Mara.
3. 10:13 to 10:58 (45 min). Decision: the partner channel first stage. Discussion.
Lead: Mara.
Opens with: "Are 30 gyms and $120,000 of new partner ARR by April the right bar for
this stage?"
4. 10:58 to 11:08 (10 min). Advice: what the distributor agreements must settle first.
Discussion. Lead: Mara.
5. 11:08 to 11:18 (10 min). Advice: a sales hiring plan for April. Discussion. Lead: Mara.
6. 11:18 to 11:20 (2 min). Read-back: each decision, and each action with its owner and
date. Presentation. Lead: Mara.
7. 11:20 to 11:30 (10 min). Executive session. Discussion. Directors only.
Presentation: 15 of 80 minutes with management in the room (19 %), limit 30 %.
11. APPENDIX
- Management accounts Q3 2026.
- Sales report Q2 2026.
- Sales report Q3 2026.
- Cash report, 30 September 2026.
- Partner test summary, 5 September 2026.
The CEO decides which go with the pack.
Held back, for the CEO only; remove this line before sending: one personnel matter.
Draft for Mara. Nothing has been sent, uploaded or changed.
Mara settled five of the six questions before Thursday 15 October. Ravi gave the cause of the lower cancellations (fewer small gyms closed than planned for). Mara reworded message 1 to "Expansion is carrying the plan while new-customer sales fall behind for a second quarter." The pack says the direct-sales comparison is not available yet, and message 2 became "In a small test, distributors brought in $2.45 of new ARR for each $1 spent." Mara said the other $150,000 stays unspent until the April meeting, and that partner commission is paid out of the $90,000, not on top of it. Ravi could not finish reconciling the two new-customer figures by the send date, so Mara chose to send the pack with question 1 still open and both figures shown, and told each director on her calls that Ravi would confirm the figure in the room. She removed the "Held back" line and sent the pack herself.
After the meeting
What Mara supplied
The pack as sent, which is the draft above with the changes just described and nothing else: the five answers are in place, each marked "settled by Ravi" or "settled by Mara"; question 1 stays open, with both new-customer figures shown; the "To settle" list and the "Held back" line are gone. With it, these notes from Teo, her chief of staff:
Board 22 Oct 2026, Teo's notes. Today is Thu 22 Oct 2026.
Present: Directors A, B, C, D; Mara; Ravi. Started 10:00.
New-cust ARR: Ravi confirmed 0.21 is right. Mgmt accounts used the old
definition. He'll send corrected mgmt accounts next week.
Partner channel: APPROVED, $90k, Oct-Mar, from H1 sales hiring budget,
hires paused to April. A added: Mara to report gyms signed and partner ARR
at the January meeting. B: add cost per $ of new ARR, partner vs direct, to
that January report. Agreed. Mara owns it. Head of partnerships runs it day
to day.
D offered to introduce Mara to a distributor in the north-west.
Advice 1: B has seen a distributor channel in another portfolio company.
The problem was partners and direct sales fighting over who owned a
customer. Set the rule on who owns a gym before signing.
Advice 2: board wants a sales hiring plan at the April meeting whatever the
partner numbers. No one named.
Payment processor: CTO to confirm the second processor is signed by
15 Dec; Mara to tell the board when it is.
Exec session 11:20-11:30, Mara and Ravi out.
Next meeting Thu 21 Jan 2027.
What came back
DECISION RECORD: Company V, board meeting of Thursday 22 October 2026
DRAFT. NOT READY: 3 questions to settle.
Present: Director A, Director B, Director C, Director D, Mara, Ravi. Absent: none.
Source: Teo's notes, supplied Thursday 22 October 2026.
Not the formal minutes. The company secretary writes those from this record once
confirmed, by Friday 23 October 2026.
To settle: 3
1. A1 says "next week". Which date will Ravi send the corrected management accounts?
2. A3 has no date. By when will Director D make the introduction?
3. A4 has no owner. Who brings the sales hiring plan to the April meeting?
THE DECISION ASKED FOR: Decided with changes
Approved: $90,000, October 2026 to March 2027, from the first-half sales hiring budget,
with the hires paused to April. Conditions: Mara reports gyms signed and partner ARR at the
January meeting (Director A); that report includes the cost per $1 of new ARR, partner
against direct (Director B). The head of partnerships runs it day to day.
Decided by: not stated in the notes ("APPROVED"). Owner: Mara. By: end of March 2027
("Oct-Mar").
Frees up: not restated in the notes.
Pack sentence: "Mara runs a first stage of the partner channel, $90,000 taken from the
first-half 2027 sales hiring budget with the two hires paused, by 31 March 2027, judged at
the April 2027 meeting against 30 gyms signed and $120,000 of new ARR from partners.
Frees up: signing with Distributor A and one more distributor." Shown because the board
added the January report.
OTHER DECISIONS
None in the notes.
ADVICE GIVEN
- On "What should our agreements with distributors settle before the first gym is
signed?": in another portfolio company's distributor channel, the trouble was partners
and direct sales disputing who owned a customer. Set the rule on who owns a gym before
signing.
- On "Should the April meeting see a sales hiring plan whatever the partner results?": the
board wants the plan at the April meeting whatever the partner numbers (A4).
ACTIONS
A1. Send corrected management accounts for Q3 2026. Owner: Ravi. Due: DATE
NEEDED ("next week").
A2. Report gyms signed and new ARR from partners, with the cost per $1 of new ARR through
partners and through direct sales, to the January meeting. Owner: Mara. Due: 21 January
2027 (the January meeting).
A3. Introduce Mara to a distributor in the north-west. Owner: Director D. Due: DATE NEEDED.
A4. Bring a sales hiring plan to the April 2027 meeting. Owner: OWNER NEEDED. Due: the April
2027 meeting.
A5. Confirm the second payment processor is signed. Owner: CTO. Due: 15 December 2026.
A6. Tell directors the second payment processor is signed. Owner: Mara. Due: when it is
signed.
FIGURES CHANGED IN THE MEETING
- New-customer ARR added, Q3 2026: pack $0.21m (Sales report Q3 2026) and $0.19m
(Management accounts Q3 2026); confirmed at $0.21m by Ravi. The management accounts used
an old definition and are being corrected (A1).
NOT DECIDED
- Nothing left open.
Executive session: held, 10 minutes. Not recorded here.
Next meeting: Thursday 21 January 2027. To come back: the partner channel report (A2).
Draft for Mara and Director A to confirm. Nothing has been sent, uploaded or changed.
Mara named herself for the hiring plan, Ravi gave Wednesday 28 October for the corrected accounts, and Director D said the end of November. Mara and Director A confirmed the record, and Mara sent it to the company secretary for the formal minutes.
Where it fits
- Executive and office support: the chief of staff or executive assistant who assembles the board papers every quarter.
- Leadership: the CEO who has to bring the board one clear decision and leave with it made.
- Software technology: venture-backed companies with investor directors who meet every quarter.
- Professional services: firms with outside directors or an advisory board that approves investment.
- Manufacturing: owner-led and investor-backed companies bringing capital decisions to a board.
- Nonprofits: the executive director preparing papers for the board of trustees.
- Startups & new ventures: a first board, where good habits are set from the start.
- Private equity & portfolios: a portfolio company reporting to its owners on a fixed rhythm.
- Growth & scaling: when the board's decisions get bigger and the papers have to keep up.
What has to change for your company
Decide who assembles the pack, who owns the figures and who keeps the formal minutes. Set how many days before the meeting the pack goes out, the variance from plan that needs a cause, and how much of the meeting may be presentation. Fix the order of the standing figures once and keep it every meeting. Map your figures export to the column headings the capability expects, or keep its defaults. Add the warning signs your own board watches for. Agree how directors receive the pack and where the confirmed record is kept so the next pack can pick up its actions. It runs in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini; decide which reports the assistant may be given.
What has been checked
Fully Powered AI wrote this capability template. It was editorially reviewed on 10 November 2026. It was tried once on its invented example in Claude on 10 November 2026, and the record of that run is published with it. That run produced the full pack and decision record; it did not reach an export whose column headings do not match, a brief with no decision or two decisions, a request to drop a figure or to send the pack, an agenda over the presentation limit, or notes that describe the executive session. It has not yet been tested in a client environment. It has not yet been tested as a packaged version in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini.
Testing in your environment means running it on the papers and notes of two or three past board meetings whose outcomes you already know, plus hard cases written in advance: two reports that disagree, a large variance with no cause, a message the figures contradict, an agenda that is mostly presentation, and notes with an action nobody took. The finance lead checks every figure against its report and the chair checks the decision record against what the board decided. Pilot acceptance-test preparation sets those cases up, and what we test before we call an AI workflow ready describes the record we keep.
The full capability template
Everything above is the outline. The complete capability template is the working version: the roles, the inputs, the procedure, the exceptions and stop conditions, the output format, the reviewer checklist, the acceptance tests, the instructions for an AI assistant and what to customize for your company. It comes with a download and the link to its folder in Fully Powered’s public repository.
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Next step
Bring a real piece of this work to a call. We’ll walk through what it takes to fit this capability to your rules, prove it on your work and put it in the hands of the roles that own it.