Most board packs are too long. Directors skim. The decision hides on page 27. Start with the ask, then the three numbers that matter, then the risk.
Syndicate’s advisory teams use this same sequence with clients: write the current state, pick one constraint, and review it on a fixed cadence. The article is a starting brief, not a substitute for numbers from your own books.
Put the decision on page one: the ask, the options, and the recommendation. Then show the three numbers that change the answer. Everything else belongs in an appendix the board can open if they want the working.
A useful pack is short enough to read on a train. Ten pages beats forty. If a slide cannot survive the question “what should we do?”, cut it.
A board pack is a decision tool, not a filing cabinet.
