Focus first, procedure second
The review starts with measurement, not impressions: two meeting cycles clocked minute by minute against one question — could only the board have done this? Papers, agendas and minutes face the same test, and each director is interviewed solo.
It ends with a tight written report and a guided board session: five changes in order, each with an owner and a deadline. Usual reforms include consent agendas with bite, one-page decision briefs, and a fixed opener that snares what the papers miss.
- Duration: six weeks, two board cycles observed.
- Deliverables: attention analysis, written report, facilitated session.
- Suits: boards sensing full agendas and thin debate.
The six weeks, week by week
01 · Observe
Session observation, document review and private director conversations — the evidence base, gathered discreetly.
02 · Diagnose
Focus mapping and pattern work: where attention runs, where it sticks, and what the board habitually skirts.
03 · Reform
Report, five ordered changes, and a guided session converting findings into owned pledges.
Neighbouring engagements and reading
Field note: a development bank board
An attention review in action — consent agendas, decision briefs and livelier debate.
Decision audit
A four-week forensic sweep through a year of your organisation’s heaviest calls.
Retained counsel
Monthly sessions plus a phone line for hard weeks, once the review settles in.
