Playbooks
1. Board Strategy - Issues Resolved
How to Use PreEmpt.Life to Prepare a Board for a Major Strategic Decision
Making Humans Wiser, Not Just Smarter
Version 1.0 | February 2026
PHASE 1: THE CHALLENGE QUESTION
The process begins with crafting a powerful challenge question. This is where “thinking slow” happens. One member takes 30 minutes to frame the strategic question. If the board chair wants input from other directors or the executive team, allow a few days for collaborative refinement. The quality of this question determines everything that follows.
The bounds-and-angles methodology helps sharpen vague questions into precise, productive ones. Rather than “Should we do X?”, the reframe becomes: “What decision space exists, and where are critical thresholds forcing discrete choices?”
Example Challenge Questions
AI Strategy: “What is the decision space for AI deployment given our regulatory constraints, workforce readiness, and competitive position, and where do the thresholds force us to choose between speed and trust?” Market Entry: “What are the hard bounds on entering Southeast Asia within 18 months, and where do our growth and risk-tolerance objectives conflict?” Acquisition: “Does acquiring Company X compound or erode our durable power across all four layers, and what would change our mind?” Restructuring: “Where is enforcement rising while explanation is falling in our current structure, and what does the early-warning cascade tell us about urgency?”
PHASE 2: ALEXIS ANALYSIS
Once the challenge question is set, ALEXIS analyses it through the Five-Layer Dome. The member controls the depth—from a focused one-hour scan to a comprehensive three-day exploration using the Timing Matrix.
2.1 Signal Scanning (Layer 1)
ALEXIS runs a dual-scan protocol: every finding assessed for both threat AND opportunity across six domains tailored to the strategic question.
| Domain | What ALEXIS Scans |
|---|---|
| Competitive | Who has moved, what results they report, where the gap between claim and evidence sits |
| Regulatory | Current and emerging compliance requirements, thresholds that could become hard bounds |
| Technology | Maturity curves, vendor lock-in risks, interoperability constraints, build vs buy thresholds |
| Workforce | Skill gaps, displacement risks, cultural readiness, sentiment, retraining capacity and timelines |
| Ethical | Bias risks, transparency requirements, stakeholder trust implications, reputational exposure |
| Financial | Total cost of ownership, hidden integration costs, opportunity costs of delay, ROI timelines with uncertainty ranges |
2.2 Mapping Bounds
Hard Bounds (Non-negotiable)
Constraints the organisation cannot cross: regulatory requirements, contractual commitments, fiduciary duties, and constitutional values. Options violating hard bounds are rejected before analysis.
Soft Bounds (Negotiable)
Preferences that can be stretched: budget allocations, timeline preferences, risk tolerance, and change appetite. For each, ALEXIS presents the trade-off explicitly: “This exceeds your stated tolerance by 15%. The benefit: first-mover advantage. Include it?”
2.3 Calculating Angles Between Objectives
Strategic decisions involve competing objectives. The platform maps the angular relationship between each pair, revealing where trade-offs are real and where they are illusory.
| Angle | Relationship | Board Implication |
|---|---|---|
| 0°–30° | Aligned | Pursuing one helps the other. No trade-off needed. |
| 30°–60° | Compatible | Minor tension, manageable with adjustment. |
| 60°–90° | Conflicting | Real trade-off. Board must be explicit about priority. |
| 90°–120° | Opposing | Pursuing one significantly harms the other. Choose primary or reframe. |
| 120°–180° | Contradictory | Cannot meaningfully pursue both. Board must abandon one. |
2.4 Trajectory Analysis
ALEXIS maps how sharply the proposed strategy diverges from the organisation’s current path. A gentle turn (0°–15°) means small adjustment. A sharp turn (45°–90°) means strategic pivot. A U-turn (90°–180°) means complete reversal. The board needs to know whether the organisation has the transformation capacity the strategy requires.