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The 10-Minute CEO Briefing Formula

Issue #021

This week's strategic brief (5-minute read)

Hi Reader,

I used to walk into CEO briefings with detailed slides and quarterly dashboards. My CEO would glaze over by minute three.

Then I realized: CEOs don't need fundraising briefings. They need intelligence that helps them make decisions.

Here's the formula that transformed those conversations from "fundraising updates" to "strategic partner briefings."

When 10 Minutes Changed Everything

Our 100th anniversary is in July 2030. My team started asking: "Should we do a capital campaign?" "How much could we raise? $50 million?" "What a perfect milestone!"

Who makes the decision to begin a massive project like this?

I had 10 minutes to help my CEO think through whether to move forward, pump the brakes, or take a different path entirely.

Here's the framework that gave me clarity:

Step 1: Set Context (3 minutes)

Don't start with the fundraising opportunity. Start with the reality and decision timeline.

What I said: "Our 100th anniversary will generate excitement and expectations about a major campaign. But if we're going to launch a $50M+ campaign timed to close in 2030, we need to begin planning right now. Before we involve the board, we need to decide if this is the right move for the organization."

This frames it as a time-sensitive, enterprise-level decision that requires executive judgment before board engagement.

Step 2: Define Criteria (3 minutes)

Walk through how you're weighing options. This is where you demonstrate you've already done the work.

What I said: "I'm evaluating five factors: First, can we sustain a major campaign on top of our current $27M annual goal without cannibalizing revenue or burning out donors? Second, given the political and social challenges we're navigating as an organization, do we have bandwidth for this level of external focus? Third, do we have the staff and volunteer capacity to execute both without sacrificing quality? Fourth, what case would compel donors to invest at this scale? And fifth, what's the opportunity cost of committing our next four years to this vs. other strategic priorities?"

I'm not asking if we can raise the money. I'm analyzing whether we should commit the organization to this path.

Step 3: Drive Conclusion (4 minutes)

Deliver your recommendation with clear rationale and next steps.

What I said: "Here's what I'm seeing: The president-elect takes office in January 2026, which means this campaign decision lands squarely on his watch. That gives us four months to get him thinking about this before he's in the chair and feeling pressure to decide.

I recommend we engage him now, before the decision's urgency kicks in. I've got a board chair campaign leadership guide ready to go. We need his help privately socializing this with the board and figuring out the case. With all our challenges, is there an appetite for a sustained campaign? What would we raise money for? Once we know what we're building toward, then we can quietly test feasibility with donors.

What I need from you: permission to loop the president-elect into campaign planning now, and your support in framing this as leadership development, not campaign commitment."

Decision made in 9 minutes. Stakeholder strategy mapped. Leadership succession planned.

Sample 10-Minute Script

1. Context – “Here’s the situation in plain language…”
2. Criteria – “Here’s how I’m weighing the options…”
3. Conclusion – “Here’s my recommendation and why it supports our strategy…”

What I Learned the Hard Way

Early in my career, I treated CEO briefings like status reports. I once spent 15 minutes walking through our donor visits and metrics. My CEO finally interrupted: 'Christine, what do you need from me?' That's when I realized I was wasting both our time.

CEOs don't care what you did last week. They care what decisions you need them to make and why.

Now? My CEO appreciates our time together. Why? Because I deliver strategic intelligence that helps him lead the organization, not just fundraising updates.

Your Turn

This week: Audit your last three CEO briefings.

Ask yourself:

• How much time did I spend on activity updates vs. strategic intelligence?
• Did I position myself as a competent manager or strategic partner?
• What decision did I ask the CEO to make?

Top fundraisers don't wait to be asked for their input – they deliver it consistently, concisely, and at the right level.

Coming Next Week

Next Sunday: "The Hidden Cost of Being Everyone's Fundraising Therapist"

You've mastered getting CEO decisions in 10 minutes. Now let's talk about the work nobody sees.

Managing team anxiety. Calming donor fears. Absorbing board concerns. It's consuming so much of your time.

Next week: The systems that eliminate emotional escalations before they start—so you can stop being the therapist and start being the strategist.

Question for You

What's the biggest decision you need from your CEO right now? Reply and tell me. I'd love to help you structure the briefing that gets it approved.

Until next week,
Christine

P.S. CEOs don’t remember your slide decks. They remember whether you made complex choices simple. A 10-minute briefing done right positions you as a strategist, not a fundraiser.