Guide
From a messy thread to a board paper
Real decisions don't start as board papers. They start in corridors and threads: half-formed options, a number someone half-remembers, a worry nobody has written down. By the time a board paper is needed, the thinking is scattered across chats, calls and notes, and the paper gets written from memory the night before.
ExecMind keeps the thread, and turns it into a paper when it has to survive scrutiny.
How it works
1. Talk. Open a conversation. Talk the way you would to a colleague who has read the file. The desk matches your register: informal when you're informal, tight when you ask for a memo. You can type, dictate, or use Talk for live, turn-taking voice.
2. Attach what you have. Images are seen. PDF, Word and text files are read. An audio file is transcribed onto the table and labelled with the file name. A recorded management call can become part of the file.
3. Convert. When it has to survive the room, convert to Deep. The thread comes with you, so you don't start again.
4. Pack. Pack writes the board paper from the active file, in five parts: conclusion, constraints, options, recommendation and counterargument.
What stays honest
The evidence ledger keeps known, unknown, assumption and derived on different lines. If a binding input is missing, the desk proceeds symbolically and names the gap. It will not invent the number you have to stand behind. That matters most at the board paper stage, when there's pressure to fill every cell.
Example (fictional)
A COO has spent two weeks discussing whether to consolidate two warehouses. The thread holds the lease dates, a rough saving estimate and a concern about delivery times. Converted to Deep, the ledger shows:
- Known: lease end dates, from the attached leases.
- Unknown: customer delivery-time sensitivity.
- Assumption: the saving estimate (one manager's spreadsheet, unaudited).
- Derived: payback period, calculated from the assumed saving.
Pack then writes the paper with the counterargument (service levels) in its strongest form, and recommends a condition: a 90-day delivery trial before the lease notice date.
What a Pack paper is not
It isn't a polished narrative that hides the working. It's the structure a board needs to decide, built from the file you actually have.
Tips for a better Pack
- Keep the thread on one decision. Open a new conversation for a different one.
- Attach the source documents, not just your summary of them, so the ledger can classify them.
- State the decision you need in one sentence before you convert to Deep.
- Read the counterargument section first. If it's weak, the paper isn't ready.
Questions
What is in an ExecMind Pack?
A board paper in five parts, written from the active file: conclusion, constraints, options, recommendation and counterargument.
Can I start by voice?
Yes. Talk is live, turn-taking speech. Dictate puts words in the box so you can edit them before you send.
Can ExecMind read a recording of a meeting?
Yes. An audio file is transcribed onto the table, labelled with its file name.