# Board Update

> Turn a messy quarter into a GTM board update a director reads in two minutes. Leads with the number versus plan, surfaces the two or three things that actually matter, names the risks honestly instead of burying them, and ends with clear asks. Verdict first, short, no victory lap. Built for B2B GTM and revenue leaders, customizable to your metrics and your stack. Trigger on "write the board update", "GTM update for the board", "exec summary for the QBR", "what do I tell the board", "draft my leadership update", or any board or exec GTM write-up.

- Skill: `heath-gtm/board-update` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add heath-gtm/board-update`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/heath-gtm/board-update/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Marketing & Growth
- Author: heath-gtm (https://skillmd.com/u/heath-gtm)
- Updated: 2026-08-19
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/heath-gtm/board-update

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# GTM Board Update Writer

## What this does
Takes your quarter and writes the update a board actually wants: the number against plan at the top, then the two or three things that moved it, the risks named before someone asks, and the asks stated plainly. It leads with the verdict, keeps it short, and does not dress a miss as a win or bury a win in caveats.

## What you'll need
You do not need to connect anything to get value today. Bring your results and the skill runs now. Connect the tools below and the numbers come straight from source instead of a paste.

- Works today with: the period result versus plan, pipeline and a couple of leading metrics, and the two or three things on your mind. Paste it or upload a sheet.
- More powerful connected to a CRM: it pulls bookings, pipeline, and win rate directly so the numbers match the system of record.
- Sharper with a BI or reporting tool: it reads the trend, not just the point, so "up or down" is grounded.
- Sharper with a data warehouse: it reconciles the number against finance so the board sees one truth.

## How this runs at your connection level
This skill is never reliant on a connector. It runs on the numbers you give it today and gets more powerful as you connect tools. It never invents a metric it cannot see. A blank is a prompt, not a guess.

- **Bring your data**: paste your results and context. The skill drafts the full update today on your real numbers. No connection required.
- **Connect your tools**: the same skill pulls bookings, pipeline, and trends automatically, so the update matches the system of record without a manual pull.
- **Just exploring**: no data yet? Get the framework, the exact inputs it reads, and a worked example on sample numbers, so you can see the shape before you feed it.

Every run ends with the one input that would make the next update sharper, a metric to add or a source to connect.

## Customize this for yourself
This was built for a B2B SaaS GTM leader reporting to a board or exec team. Set these to your stack:

| Set this | What it is | Default / Example |
|---|---|---|
| HEADLINE | the one number that matters | new ARR or net-new bookings vs plan |
| PLAN | what you committed to | the board-approved target |
| LEADING | one or two forward metrics | pipeline coverage, win rate, CAC payback |
| MATTERS | how many themes to surface | 2 to 3, never more |
| RISK_BAR | what counts as a named risk | anything that threatens next quarter |
| ASKS | what you need from the board | hiring, budget, intros, a decision |
| LENGTH | ceiling on the whole thing | one screen, verdict in the first line |
| TONE | how you carry a miss | own it, then the plan, no spin |

Run any format your board prefers. The skill leads with the verdict and keeps it short, so point it at your metrics, not a template you inherited.

## The method

### Number versus plan, first line
Open with the result against PLAN. Not the journey, not the context, the number. A board reads the first line and decides how worried to be, so make that line true and make it early. Green, yellow, or red, then the figure.

### The two or three things that matter
Pick MATTERS themes, no more. A board update that lists ten things says the writer does not know which three count. Each theme is one line of what happened and one line of the so-what. If it does not change a decision, it is not a theme, it is a detail, and details go in the appendix.

### Risks named honestly
State the risks that threaten the next period before anyone has to pull them out of you. A risk you name is a risk you look in control of. A risk the board finds is a credibility hit. For each, give the exposure and what you are doing about it. No hedging, no "some headwinds."

### The asks, verdict-first and short
End with what you need, stated as decisions or resources, not as an open-ended discussion. A board can approve a hire, unblock a deal, or make an intro. Ask for the specific thing, name who or what, and stop. If there is no ask, say that too.

## Quality gates
- The number versus plan is in the first line, before any narrative.
- No more than three themes, each with a so-what, or it gets cut.
- Every risk carries an exposure and a mitigation, never a vague "watching it."
- Asks are specific and actionable, never "support" or "alignment."
- A miss is owned in plain words before the recovery plan, never spun.

## Output (example)
```
GTM BOARD UPDATE · Q3 · illustrative
HEADLINE: $8.2M new ARR vs $9.0M plan. RED, 91% of plan.

What mattered:
  1. Enterprise slipped. 3 deals ($1.4M) pushed to Q4 on procurement, not loss.
  2. Mid-market held. Win rate up, coverage healthy into Q4.
  3. New rep ramp is a quarter behind. Capacity gap opens in Q4.

Risks:
  - Q4 rests on the 3 slipped deals closing. Exposure $1.4M. MAPs in place, dates set.
  - Ramp gap leaves Q4 ~1.5 heads light. Backfills accelerated.

Asks:
  1. Approve pulling 2 Q4 reqs into now to close the ramp gap.
  2. One board intro to the slipped enterprise account's exec sponsor.
```

## Where the numbers come from
The one-screen ceiling, the two-to-three theme cap, and the verdict-first line are defaults, not laws. They suit a board that wants signal over story. If your board reads deeper, add an appendix, but keep the front page short. The structure does not change. The length is yours.

## Example chat
**You:** Q3 came in at $8.2M against a $9M plan. Write the board update.

**Claude:** Verdict first, no burying it.
```
HEADLINE: $8.2M new ARR vs $9.0M plan. RED, 91% of plan.

What mattered:
  1. Enterprise slipped. 3 deals ($1.4M) pushed to Q4 on procurement, not loss.
  2. Mid-market held. Win rate up, coverage healthy into Q4.

Risks:
  - Q4 rests on the 3 slipped deals closing. Exposure $1.4M. MAPs in place, dates set.

Asks:
  1. Approve pulling 2 Q4 reqs into now to close the ramp gap.
```
The line that matters most here isn't the miss, it's that the risk section names the exact exposure ($1.4M) instead of "some headwinds." A board that gets a number can judge it; a board that gets a vibe starts asking harder questions.

**You:** Should I add the rep ramp issue too?

**Claude:** Yes, that's your third theme, and it's already tied to the ask (pulling 2 reqs forward). One sharpener: connect your CRM so next quarter's headline number pulls straight from the pipeline instead of a manual paste, that's usually where a stale number sneaks into a board deck.

## Go further
Writing the update by hand each quarter works. Here's how it stops depending on someone remembering to draft it.

- **Pull the headline number live.** Connect Salesforce or HubSpot so bookings and pipeline feed the first line automatically instead of a manual export the week before the board meeting.
- **Schedule the draft.** Set a scheduled Claude task to generate a draft update the Monday before every board meeting, so the leader edits instead of starting from a blank page.
- **Reconcile against finance first.** Pull the number through Snowflake or your warehouse so the board sees one number that already matches finance, not two versions that need explaining.

A board that trusts the number trusts the plan that follows it.

## Make it yours
Fork it. Change the headline metric, the theme count, the format. The point is not to run someone else's update template. It is to write yours, verdict first and honest, so the board trusts the next one too. Built by an operator. Customize it, break it, make it better.