Note · 27 September 2026
Ten blind spots to look for in a plan before the committee
In front of a committee, a strategic plan often stands or falls on the first question nobody has prepared an answer for. Here are the ten kinds of blind spot we look for first in a document, each with the question it triggers in the meeting.
By Pierre Courrieu, Hundred Miles
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A central assumption with no downside scenario
An average day rate held for three years, order volumes rising steadily: the plan rests on one figure, and nothing says what happens if it slips. The committee often knows your largest clients, and it will ask what happens if one of them cuts back.
The committee’s question“What happens to the margin if your largest client cuts its volumes by 20%?”
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An investment with no stop milestone
The plan says how much it invests and what it expects in return. It rarely says what signal would make it stop. A board approving €1.2m wants to know when it will revisit the decision, and on which indicator.
The committee’s question“What signal would make you stop, and who would call it?”
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Two figures for the same thing
One headcount on page 12, another on page 31. One margin in the summary, another in the appendix. Nobody noticed while preparing the document; a board member will notice while reading it.
The committee’s question“Which of the two figures is right?”
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One person everything depends on
The head of the new offering, the seller of an acquired company: the plan assumes they stay, without saying so. A credit committee looks for that assumption first.
The committee’s question“Who runs the offering if its head leaves?”
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Clients taken for granted
In an acquisition business plan, the two largest clients sometimes account for most of the revenue. They stay because they know the seller; no contract guarantees it once the seller has gone.
The committee’s question“How much revenue is left if the seller leaves after six months?”
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A list with no priorities
Twelve AI use cases, grouped by theme, with no order of priority. The board does not know what it is approving, or what it will fund first.
The committee’s question“Which of these cases do you launch first, and how do you measure them?”
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A timetable that ignores the committee’s
An investment committed just before the year-end close, a recruitment drive planned during a budget freeze. The plan has its timetable; the committee has its own, and in the meeting the committee’s is the one that counts.
The committee’s question“Why now rather than after the year-end close?”
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Hires assumed already made
Twenty engineers to be hired in year two, in a market where each hire takes several months. The plan’s revenue follows the planned headcount; the actual headcount will arrive later.
The committee’s question“At what pace are you hiring today, and what would speed it up?”
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Cash left out
The profit and loss account is complete; the cash requirement appears nowhere. Yet payment terms and the gap between spending and income are what set the cash low point.
The committee’s question“What is your cash requirement at the low point, and when do you reach it?”
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Workstreams with no owner
Each workstream has an objective and a budget. It lacks a name. A committee that approves a plan wants to know whom it will hold to account in six months.
The committee’s question“Who answers to this committee for each workstream?”
Before the meeting
Simple questions, except in the meeting
None of these questions is difficult. They become difficult when they come up in the meeting with no written answer. The “Prepare for a committee” stress test looks for these blind spots in your document. Within 72 hours, you receive up to ten blind spots ranked from blocking to minor, and the three questions your committee is likely to ask.