Questions that sharpen
decisions.

Read by the challenge you face.

A board pack should make
the next decision clearer.

A board pack can be extensive and still leave directors uncertain about what they are being asked to decide. Begin with the decision, rather than the volume of available information.

For each material issue, ask management to identify the choice, the recommendation, the alternatives and the consequence of waiting. Separate information for noting from matters requiring approval or challenge.

Then test the evidence: what is known, what remains an assumption and what has changed since the previous meeting? A concise view of ownership, risk and progress helps directors connect a recommendation with the organisation’s capacity to deliver it.

Question for the next meeting: If we approve this recommendation, who owns the next action and what evidence will show that it worked?

An investor narrative needs
an execution case.

A persuasive investment narrative explains the ambition. A credible preparation process also shows what must happen after capital is committed.

Work backwards from the intended outcome. Identify the capabilities required, the resources available, the assumptions that matter and the milestones that will test those assumptions. Make dependencies explicit rather than burying them in a timeline.

Before an investor conversation, check whether financial assumptions, governance arrangements and the delivery roadmap describe the same organisation. Where they differ, identify the gap and the action needed to close it.

Question for the leadership team: What would an investor need to believe about our ability to execute, and what evidence can we provide today?

Before resetting a programme,
find the blocked decisions.

When a programme loses momentum, a revised timetable can be useful. Start by understanding why the previous plan stopped moving.

Review the critical path with the people responsible for delivery. Distinguish a capacity shortage from an unresolved dependency, an unclear mandate or a decision waiting for the wrong forum. Each calls for a different response.

Build a short decision register: the choice required, its owner, the evidence needed and the date after which delay affects the outcome. Use it alongside risks and milestones so escalation leads to action.

Agree the recovery priorities with the sponsor and reflect them in the plan, reporting and team responsibilities.

Question for the steering committee: Which decision can we take now that would unlock the most important next step?