Board Pre-Read Skill

The best board meetings spend zero time on status because the board already read it. A pre-read sent 48+ hours ahead does that: it conveys the state of the business and, crucially, tells the board exactly what input and decisions are needed — so the meeting is discussion and decisions, not a slide-reading session. This skill structures that document.

Required Inputs

Ask for these only if they aren't already provided:

• The headline — the one thing the board should take away this period (good or bad).
• Metrics vs. plan — the key numbers against the plan/forecast (revenue, growth, burn, runway, the north-star).
• What changed — major wins, misses, and shifts since last meeting.
• Decisions/asks — what you actually need from the board (approval, input, introductions).

Output Format

Board Pre-Read — [company], [month/quarter]

Sent: [date, ≥48h before the meeting]

1. TL;DR — 3–5 bullets: the state of the business, the headline, runway, and the decisions you're bringing. A busy board member should get the gist from this alone.

2. Metrics dashboard — the core numbers vs. plan, with the trend and a one-line "so what" each. Show misses honestly — boards trust founders who surface bad news first.

Metric	This period	vs. plan	Trend	Note

3. What's working — the 2–3 things going well and why (so they can be doubled down on).

4. What's not — the 2–3 problems, what you're doing about them, and where you want the board's help. Candour here is the whole game.