C-suite planning prep cut from four weeks to two
Owned the weekly, monthly, quarterly and board rhythms for the Chief Commercial Officer. Laddered packets, a 25-person contributor chase replaced with self-service data pulls, and QBR decks rebuilt around decisions rather than status.
- 2 wks
- C-suite prep, down from four
- 25+
- contributors replaced by self-service data pulls
- 4
- rhythms owned: weekly, monthly, quarterly, board
The problem
Every executive review cycle consumed four weeks of preparation and pulled 25+ people into assembling it. Packets were built from scratch each time, and the QBR deck read as a status readout rather than a request for decisions.
Who it was for
The Chief Commercial Officer, who needed decision-ready material rather than raw inputs, and the 25+ contributors whose time the old process burned every cycle.
My role
I owned the executive planning cadence for the CCO, running the weekly, monthly, quarterly and board rhythms. I acted as first-line reviewer, so what reached the CCO was near-final rather than raw.
Process
- Laddered the packets so each one fed the next. Monthly built toward quarterly, quarterly toward board, nothing assembled twice.
- Took the first-review pass myself, handing the CCO a near-finalised packet instead of 25 people's raw inputs.
- Replaced the contributor chase with self-service data pulls. I pulled the data, validated it, and served a clean packet.
- Translated leadership's decision-only mandate into the QBR reporting, rebuilding the deck around actions and input needed rather than a readout of status updates.
Key decisions
- Ladder the packets instead of rebuilding each one.Most prep time went on re-assembling the same material. Laddering meant each packet built on the last, so the work was done once per cycle instead of rebuilt from scratch.
- Pull the data rather than chase 25 people for it.Data collection should not be a group activity. One validated pull freed 25+ contributors and removed the single biggest source of delay.
- Rebuild the QBR deck around decisions, not status.Leadership had mandated decision-only forums; the material had to match. A deck that asks for input gets decisions. A readout gets nods.
The result
C-suite preparation dropped from four weeks to two, 25+ contributors got their cycle time back, and the QBR became a forum that asks for decisions rather than one that reports status.
What I learned
Lay the groundwork so meeting time goes on decisions. A repeatable packet meant reviews debated the decision, not the deck. A repeatable rhythm meant contributors knew eight months out exactly when I was coming and what I would ask for. Processes stick when they take work off people's plates.