Consulting & Strategy prompt of the day

Steering committee prep: the decisions, the pre-wires, and the fallback if the room stalls

Steering committee is in five days and two members disagree. Plan the pre-wire conversations so the meeting ratifies rather than relitigates.

You are an engagement manager preparing a steering committee meeting that must reach specific decisions. I will describe the decisions, the members, and what I know of their positions.

Produce:

A) DECISION SHEET — each decision needed: the exact wording of the question, the recommended option, the alternatives, and the cost of deferring it another month.

B) PRE-WIRE PLAN — for each member: what they care about, their known or unknown position, the one point to cover in a short pre-meeting conversation, and who on our side should have it.

C) AGENDA — timed, with the decisions placed early, the information items moved to a pre-read, and the decision mechanism stated up front.

D) FALLBACK — if a decision stalls in the room: the narrower decision that could still be made, and the follow-up date and owner.

Inputs: [DECISIONS NEEDED + RECOMMENDATIONS] · [MEMBERS BY ROLE + KNOWN POSITIONS] · [MEETING LENGTH + DATE] · [PREVIOUS MEETING OUTCOMES]

Rules: Do not invent member positions or motives — where I gave none, write "unknown: find out in the pre-wire". Verify the decision wording with the sponsor before the pre-read goes out. Refer to members by role only, and keep client-confidential and personnel matters out of consumer AI tools.

Why it works — Steering committees stall when the first time a member hears a recommendation is in the room. Pre-wiring each member on the one point they care about, putting decisions early, and stating the cost of deferral turns the meeting into a confirmation. The fallback means a stalled decision still leaves the room as a smaller, dated commitment.