board-deck-narrative

# Board Deck Narrative Skill

This skill builds the complete narrative and slide structure for a board presentation — from opening framing to closing asks. It produces slide-by-slide content guidance, not just a list of topics.

## Required Inputs

Ask the user for these if not provided:
- **Company stage and context** (Seed / Series A / Growth — and where you are in the year)
- **Board meeting type** (Regular quarterly / Annual / Special / Fundraise-related)
- **Key themes for this meeting** (e.g. strong growth quarter / pivoting strategy / hiring challenge / fundraise update)
- **Key metrics to feature**
- **Decisions needed from the board** (if any)
- **Time available** (e.g. 60 min / 90 min)
- **Audience** (investors only / investors + independent directors / mixed)

## Output Structure

---

# Board Deck Narrative: [Company] — [Quarter/Period]

**Meeting type:** [Regular quarterly / Special]
**Time:** [X minutes]
**Narrative theme:** [The one-sentence story of this quarter — e.g. "We hit our revenue target, but activation is the problem we need to solve together."]

---

## Opening Frame (Slide 1–2)

**Slide 1: Title**
- Company name, quarter, date
- One-sentence framing of the meeting's narrative arc

**Slide 2: Agenda**
- List of sections + time allocation
- Flag which sections need board input vs. are informational

*Presenter note: Board members are busy. Tell them in the first 2 minutes what you need from them today. It changes how they listen.*

---

## Business Performance (Slides 3–6, ~15 min)

**Slide 3: Scorecard / KPI Dashboard**
- Content: Key metrics vs. targets for the quarter. No more than 6 metrics.
- Format: Traffic-light table (Green / Amber / Red against plan)
- Narrative: [1–2 sentences — the headline story of the quarter in numbers]
- *Don't hide reds. Boards lose trust when they discover hidden problems later.*

**Slide 4: Revenue / Growth Deep Dive**
- Content: Revenue breakdown by segment, cohort retention, growth drivers
- Key message: [What the data shows about the health of growth]
- Call out: [Any trend that needs board context or discussion]

**Slide 5: Unit Economics**
- Content: CAC, LTV, payback period, gross margin — vs. last quarter and vs. plan
- Flag: Any metric moving in the wrong direction and what's causing it

**Slide 6: Operational Highlights**
- Content: 3–5 bullet points of the most significant things that happened this quarter
- Format: Each bullet = outcome, not activity. ("Signed 3 enterprise contracts worth £400K ARR" not "Continued enterprise sales motion")

---

## Strategic Update (Slides 7–9, ~15 min)

**Slide 7: Strategy Snapshot**
- Content: Where you said you'd be vs. where you are against the annual plan
- Narrative: [Honest assessment — what's on track, what's shifted and why]

**Slide 8: Key Strategic Decision or Update**
- Content: The one strategic topic that most needs board input this meeting
- Format: Context → Options considered → Recommendation → Question for board
- *This is the highest-value 10 minutes of the meeting. Frame it as a real question.*

**Slide 9: Product & Roadmap (if relevant)**
- Content: Top 3 product bets this quarter — what shipped, what's coming, why these bets
- Tailored for: What the board needs to understand to support strategic decisions, not a sprint review

---

## People & Organisation (Slide 10, ~5 min)

**Slide 10: Team Update**
- Content: Headcount (start vs. end of quarter), key hires made, open roles, any org changes
- Flag: Any people risks or leadership gaps the board should know about
- *Don't skip this slide. Board members often have network value here.*

---

## Financial Update (Slides 11–12, ~10 min)

**Slide 11: P&L Summary**
- Content: Revenue, gross margin, opex by category, EBITDA/net burn — actual vs. budget
- Include: Year-to-date vs. annual plan

**Slide 12: Cash & Runway**
- Content: Cash on hand, monthly burn rate, runway at current burn
- Include: Scenario if burn increases (e.g. key hire made), scenario if growth accelerates
- Flag immediately: If runway is < 18 months — this needs board awareness and planning

---

## Closing & Asks (Slides 13–14, ~10 min)

**Slide 13: Priorities for Next Quarter**
- Content: Top 3–5 priorities and what success looks like for each
- Format: Priority | What we're doing | How we'll know it worked
- *Keeps board accountability consistent across meetings*

**Slide 14: Board Asks**
- Content: Specific things you need from board members before next meeting
- Format: Each ask = specific, named if possible ("Looking for an intro to [Company] — [Board member X], do you have a connection?")
- *A board meeting without specific asks is a missed opportunity*

---

## Appendix (Optional)

- Detailed cohort analysis
- Competitive landscape update
- Full P&L
- Team org chart
- Any supporting data referenced in the main deck

*Appendix slides are available but not presented. Board members who want detail can ask.*

---

## Narrative Principles

- **Lead with honesty.** If it was a hard quarter, say so in the first slide. Don't bury bad news after the wins.
- **One slide = one idea.** If a slide has two messages, split it.
- **Fewer slides, more depth.** A 14-slide deck presented well beats a 35-slide deck rushed through.
- **Every slide has a "so what."** A slide that just shows data without a takeaway wastes board time.
- **Leave time for discussion.** Board value is in the conversation, not the presentation. Aim to spend 40% of the meeting presenting and 60% in discussion.

## Quality Checks

- [ ] Opening frame states the meeting's narrative theme
- [ ] Scorecard slide uses traffic-light format (not just green metrics)
- [ ] Strategic decision slide frames a real question for the board
- [ ] Financial slide includes runway explicitly
- [ ] Board asks are specific and actionable
- [ ] Deck is ≤ 15 slides (excluding appendix)

## Anti-Patterns

- [ ] Do not bury bad news after slides full of good news — boards lose trust when they discover problems w