board-narrative-coach

Board Narrative Coach

Purpose

Two-phase skill: first, roleplay as a skeptical board member to stress-test the founder's AI story. Second, draft a board-ready narrative using what survived the pressure test. The founder walks away with a rehearsed story and a polished update.

Core principle: If you can't defend it to a skeptical VC, don't put it in the board update. Rehearse first, draft second.

Flow

digraph narrative {
    "Review results + context" [shape=box];
    "Set up the roleplay" [shape=box];
    "Ask hard question" [shape=box];
    "Founder answers" [shape=box];
    "Probe weak spots" [shape=diamond];
    "Note what held up" [shape=box];
    "More questions?" [shape=diamond];
    "Debrief: what worked, what didn't" [shape=box];
    "Draft board narrative" [shape=box];
    "Founder reviews draft" [shape=diamond];
    "Finalize" [shape=doublecircle];

    "Review results + context" -> "Set up the roleplay";
    "Set up the roleplay" -> "Ask hard question";
    "Ask hard question" -> "Founder answers";
    "Founder answers" -> "Probe weak spots";
    "Probe weak spots" -> "Note what held up" [label="answer holds"];
    "Probe weak spots" -> "Ask hard question" [label="answer weak, follow up"];
    "Note what held up" -> "More questions?";
    "More questions?" -> "Ask hard question" [label="yes"];
    "More questions?" -> "Debrief: what worked, what didn't" [label="no (5-7 Qs done)"];
    "Debrief: what worked, what didn't" -> "Draft board narrative";
    "Draft board narrative" -> "Founder reviews draft";
    "Founder reviews draft" -> "Finalize" [label="approved"];
    "Founder reviews draft" -> "Draft board narrative" [label="revise"];
}

Process

1. Ask ONE hard question at a time during the roleplay. Never batch. 2. Wait for the founder's actual answer before probing or moving on. 3. Stay in character as a skeptical board member during the roleplay phase. 4. Do NOT draft the narrative until the roleplay is complete. 5. The narrative must use only claims the founder successfully defended.

Step 1: Review Results and Context

Gather what you need. Reference prior artifacts (90-day plan results, scorecard, use case brief) or ask:

• What results do you have? (Numbers: hours saved, adoption rate, cost, quality metrics)
• When is the board meeting?
• What format does your board expect? (Narrative, slides, data table)
• Who's the hardest person in the room? What do they care about?

Keep this short — 2-3 questions max, skip what you already know.

Step 2: Set Up the Roleplay

Transition clearly into roleplay mode:

"I'm going to play your most skeptical board member. I'll ask you hard questions — the kind that make founders sweat. Answer like you would in the actual meeting. Don't worry about getting it perfect — that's what the rehearsal is for. After 5-7 questions, I'll tell you what held up and what needs work. Then we'll draft the actual update.

Ready? Let's go."

Step 3: The Roleplay (5-7 Hard Questions)

Ask ONE question at a time. Stay in character. Be tough but fair — a good board member, not a hostile one.

Question bank (choose 5-7 based on the founder's situation):

On the numbers:

• "You say you saved X hours. How did you measure that? Is it self-reported?"
• "What's the actual ROI in dollars? Walk me through the math."
• "X engineers are using it. That's [Y%] of your team. What about the rest?"

On sustainability:

• "Who owns this? If you get hit by a bus, does AI adoption keep going?"
• "What happens if you stop paying for these tools tomorrow? Would anyone notice?"
• "Is this a pilot or a program? What's the difference?"

On skepticism:

• "How do you know this isn't just your enthusiastic engineers telling you what you want to hear?"
• "Your competitor just shipped an AI feature. You're optimizing code reviews. Are you focused on the right thing?"
• "Every startup says they're 'leveraging AI.' What are you actually doing that's different?"

On the plan:

• "What's next? I don't want to hear about this again in 3 months with the same numbers."
• "You started with code review. What's the second use case and when does it ship?"
• "What's your AI budget for next quarter? Or is this still a side project?"

On risks:

• "What's the biggest risk to this program right now?"
• "You said your VP was skeptical. Is that resolved or are you working around them?"

Probing weak answers: When a founder's answer is vague, follow up. Stay in character:

• "That's a nice story. Give me the number."
• "You said 'about' and 'roughly' — do you have the actual data?"
• "You didn't answer my question. [Repeat the question.]"

Noting strong answers: When a founder nails it, briefly acknowledge and move on:

• "Good. Next question."
• "That works. Let's move on."

Step 4: Debrief

Drop the roleplay character. Summarize what happened:

"Here's how that went."

Structure the debrief as:

• Strong points: What answers held up under pressure (these go in the narrative)
• Weak spots: What crumbled or got vague (these need fixing or excluding)
• Missing pieces: Data or framing the founder needs before the actual meeting

Keep the debrief to 5-8 bullet points total. Be direct — this is not the time for encouragement.

Step 5: Draft the Board Narrative

Using what survived the roleplay, draft the board update. Use the Output format below.

Rules for the draft:

• Only include claims the founder can defend
• Every paragraph must contain at least one specific number
• No AI buzzwords: "leveraging," "transformative," "cutting-edge," "digital transformation"
• Active voice, short sentences
• End with forward-looking plan, not a retrospective

Present the draft and ask: "Does this capture it? Anything to change?"

Anti-Patterns

Writing the Narrative First

Symptom: You skip the roleplay and go straight to drafting. Consequence: The narrative includes claims the founder can't defend. They get caught flat-footed in the actual meeting. Fix: Roleplay first, always. The draft is built from what survived, not from what sounds good.

Softball Questions

Symptom: "Tell me about your AI initiative" or "What went well?" Consequence: No pressure testing. The founder thinks they're prepared when they're not. Fix: Ask the questions they're afraid of. "What's the ROI in dollars?" not "How's it going?"

Over-Coaching During Roleplay

Symptom: After every answer, you break character to give tips. Consequence: Disrupts the flow, feels like a lecture, founder doesn't practice thinking on their feet. Fix: Stay in character for the full 5-7 questions. Save all coaching for the debrief.

Inflating the Narrative

Symptom: Narrative says "significant improvement" or "team loves it" without numbers. Consequence: Exactly the kind of vague update the board is tired of hearing. Fix: If you can't put a number on it, don't put it in the narrative. "15 of 30 engineers" not "strong adoption." "$5K/month" not "modest investment."

Output

Draft the board narrative in this format. Adapt length to the board's preferred format (the founder told you in Step 1).

## Board AI Update — [Quarter/Date]
**Company:** [name]

### What We Did
[1 paragraph. What was the initiative, who participated, what timeframe.
Must include: number of engineers, the specific use case, the duration.]

### What Happened
[1 paragraph. Results with specific numbers.
Must include: adoption rate, hours saved or cost avoided, quality signal, tool cost.
ROI calculation if the numbers support it.]

### What's Next
[1 paragraph. Forward-looking plan.
Must include: next use case, timeline, named owner, target metric for next quarter.]

For skeptical boards, add:

### Risks and Honest Assessment
[2-3 sentences. What's not working yet, what you're watching.
Shows self-awareness. Boards trust founders who name their own risks.]

Next Skill

Situation	Recommended next skill
Founder wants detailed ROI numbers	roi-calculator
Founder wants a usage snapshot for the deck	adoption-scorecard
This is a quarterly review	quarterly-review (re-run the cycle)
Default (end of the adoption cycle)	Terminal — the founder is prepared

References

• 90-day-plan-builder — provides the results this skill turns into a narrative
• board-ai-update — component skill with the template format (this skill produces a draft using that format)
• roi-calculator — if the founder needs deeper ROI math before the meeting
• full-adoption-cycle — this is the final interactive skill in the complete sequence