board-meeting preparation worksheet

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BOARD-MEETING PREPARATION WORKSHEET
Critical Path | Plain-text worksheet | 2026-09-21
Guide: https://www.quadrant.works/guides/board-meeting-preparation

An operational planning aid, not legal advice or a board-portal replacement.
Use your organization's approved governance and confidentiality process.
Keep restricted materials and the official record in approved systems.

BLANK PLAN
Meeting date: __________ time: ______ timezone: _________________
Pre-read date: _________ time: ______ timezone: _________________
Meeting owner: _________________________________________________
Operator coordinating preparation: _____________________________
Approved packet location (reference only): ______________________
Intended recipients / access owner: _____________________________

DECISIONS TO ENABLE
1. Question: ___________________________________________________
   Decision authority: ________________________________________
   Evidence owner: ____________________________________________
   Main uncertainty / tradeoff: ________________________________
2. Question: ___________________________________________________
   Decision authority: ________________________________________
   Evidence owner: ____________________________________________
   Main uncertainty / tradeoff: ________________________________
3. Question: ___________________________________________________
   Decision authority: ________________________________________
   Evidence owner: ____________________________________________
   Main uncertainty / tradeoff: ________________________________

BACKWARD PLAN — DUPLICATE ONE ROW PER COMMITMENT
Commitment | Owner | Due date | Effort | Input needed | Exit evidence
__________ | _____ | ________ | _____ | ____________ | _____________
__________ | _____ | ________ | _____ | ____________ | _____________
__________ | _____ | ________ | _____ | ____________ | _____________
__________ | _____ | ________ | _____ | ____________ | _____________
__________ | _____ | ________ | _____ | ____________ | _____________

CALENDAR CHECK
Total operator effort: ______ minutes / ______ hours
Meetings and other contributors' work counted separately: _______
Transition time and contingency left available: _________________
Verified working blocks: _______________________________________
Capacity shortage decision and owner: ___________________________

PLAN STEPS FOR ONE COMMITMENT
Parent task: ___________________________________________________
[ ] State the decision requested
[ ] Reference approved evidence
[ ] Describe the main tradeoff
One completed step means one check complete, not one third of effort spent.

CONFIDENTIALITY / DISTRIBUTION CHECK
[ ] Task titles and calendar details contain only appropriate information
[ ] Source documents remain in the approved restricted repository
[ ] Intended recipients and actual access verified
[ ] Agreed distribution time checked separately from date-only task fields
[ ] Required reviews complete or unresolved issues explicitly identified

POST-MEETING CLOSE-OUT
Official decision record location: ______________________________
Decision | Next action | Accountable owner | Due date | Acknowledged
________ | ___________ | _________________ | ________ | ____________
________ | ___________ | _________________ | ________ | ____________
________ | ___________ | _________________ | ________ | ____________

One preparation improvement for next time: ______________________

FICTIONAL WORKED EXAMPLE — NOT A COMPANY OR BOARD RECORD
Meeting: Friday, week 2. Agreed pre-read: Wednesday, week 2.
The exact dates, time, timezone, and approval process must be confirmed locally.

Week 1 Monday: Confirm decision questions — 30 min
Week 1 Tuesday: Collect approved evidence — 90 min
Week 1 Thursday: Draft recommendation narrative — 120 min
Week 1 Friday: Review assumptions and gaps — 60 min
Week 2 Monday: Revise decision packet — 90 min
Week 2 Wednesday: Distribute and verify access — 30 min
After Friday's meeting: Record decisions and next actions — 60 min

Total operator effort: 480 minutes = 8 hours.
This excludes the meeting, other contributors' effort, and transition gaps.
If an input is late: name the missing evidence, its owner, and the decision
needed about scope or timing. Do not silently move the pre-read commitment.

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