Leadership
Preparing for a Decision, Not a Presentation
The most useful preparation starts by identifying what must be decided, who owns the decision and what evidence would change the answer.
Eleanor Hayes
4 min read
Many leadership meetings are built around presentations. Slides are refined, data is checked and the narrative is polished. Yet the meeting ends without a decision.
Name the decision
Good preparation begins by writing down the decision in a single sentence. If that sentence is hard to write, the meeting is not yet ready to happen.
Bring the evidence that matters
Instead of presenting everything that is known, focus on the evidence that would change the answer. Make assumptions explicit and show the real options side by side. The quality of the conversation will improve, and so will the decision.
Written by
Eleanor Hayes
Founding Partner, Strategy
Eleanor advises owners and executive teams on corporate direction, growth choices and business model evolution. She brings a structured perspective to complex questions and a focus on decisions that can be acted upon.
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