Template: Prepare for a career inflection point (promotion, new role, new career path, board position, and so on). User-facing name: Make the Move.
Status: draft. The name, template, stages and the routing example are Kate's (12 October 2026). Everything else is Proposed: drafted by Claude from Step Up's recipe and the prototype, for Kate to confirm. Rules every plan shares are in plans/shared.md.
1. Plan card
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| Intended user situation | A leader facing a specific, consequential moment with a date or a near window: a promotion conversation, an interview for a new role, a move to a new career path, a board appointment, or a negotiation. |
| Desired outcome | She walks in prepared, knowing what is being decided and by whom, with her materials ready and the key conversations rehearsed, and walks out with her next move decided. |
| Common constraints | A fixed date and little time, high stakes and nerves, incomplete knowledge of the people deciding, and confidentiality when the move is outside her current company. |
1.1 How people arrive here
- Direction answer: "I have a promotion conversation in six weeks."
- Timing answer: "I have an important moment in the next 30 days."
- Refinement answer: "A specific upcoming conversation or opportunity."
When another plan fits better
- There is no moment yet, and she needs to build the case first → Step Up.
- She wants a change but does not yet know what to aim for → Chart a New Course.
1.2 Pace
This plan runs to the date of the moment, not to a set number of weeks. With a date six weeks out, stages 1 to 3 share those six weeks; with a date next week, they compress into days. Stage 4 starts after the moment. With no date yet, the agent asks for the likely window and plans to that.
1.3 Stages and success signals
| Stage | Success signal |
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| 1. Frame the moment | She can say what is being decided, who decides, on what basis, and what she wants from it, and has the story she will tell in a first draft. |
| 2. Prepare the materials | Every material the moment calls for is ready, and every claim in her story has proof behind it. |
| 3. Rehearse the key conversations | She can give her case without notes, has answers to the hardest objections, and has prepared for each conversation that comes before or around the moment. |
| 4. Debrief and adjust | She has recorded what happened while it was fresh, and has decided her next move rather than drifting into it. |
2. Action playbook
The agent recommends the step whose trigger matches her situation now. The closer the date, the more it skips to stage 3.
Stage 1: Frame the moment
1.1 Put the moment on paper: what is being decided, by whom, on what basis, and when
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| Horizon | Short-term |
| Trigger | She named an upcoming moment, or chose "an important moment in the next 30 days". |
| Done when | She records the decision, the decision-makers, the basis for it, the date, and what she wants from it. |
| Evidence ExecHQ keeps | The brief, the date, her confirmation. |
| Plan area and signal | Plan area: the moment. Signals: none directly; it decides which signals matter for this moment. |
| Tool | Situation Brief. |
| Follow-up | None: the date drives the plan from here. |
1.2 Write the story she will tell in the room
What she has done, what she wants, and why it should be her.
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| Horizon | Short-term |
| Trigger | The moment is framed, and she has no clear version of her case. |
| Done when | She saves a draft and confirms it is the case she wants to make. |
| Evidence ExecHQ keeps | The saved story, its edit history, her confirmation. |
| Plan area and signal | Plan area: her case. Signals: the base for any profile or bio the moment needs. |
| Tool | Positioning Builder. |
| Follow-up | None. |
Stage 2: Prepare the materials
2.1 Gather proof for every claim in her story
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| Horizon | Short-term |
| Trigger | Her story is drafted, and some claims have no example or number behind them. |
| Done when | Each claim has at least one example with its outcome, the people involved and her role. |
| Evidence ExecHQ keeps | The examples she entered, linked to the claims, a completion timestamp. |
| Plan area and signal | Plan area: her case. Signals: draws on any press, speaking, podcasts or published content she already has, as proof. |
| Tool | Positioning Builder, adding her wins. |
| Follow-up | None. |
2.2 Prepare the materials the moment calls for
For example: a promotion packet, a CV, a board bio, a short case document.
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| Horizon | Short- or medium-term, set by the date |
| Trigger | The moment requires something written, or she will be asked for it. |
| Done when | Each material is marked ready. |
| Evidence ExecHQ keeps | Each material's lifecycle state, its versions, the date she intends to use it. |
| Plan area and signal | Plan area: materials. Signals: none directly. |
| Tool | Positioning Builder for a bio; Situation Brief for a case document. A CV or promotion packet has no V1 tool. |
| Follow-up | None. |
2.3 Make sure her public profile tells the same story
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| Horizon | Short-term |
| Trigger | The people deciding are likely to look her up: an external role, a board seat, or a new career path. |
| Done when | She confirms her LinkedIn headline and About section match her story. |
| Evidence ExecHQ keeps | Her confirmation and the date. ExecHQ does not read her profile in V1. |
| Plan area and signal | Plan area: materials. Signals: LinkedIn and AI discoverability. |
| Tool | Positioning Builder: copy the story for her About section. |
| Follow-up | None. |
Stage 3: Rehearse the key conversations
3.1 Prepare the ninety-second version and say it out loud
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| Horizon | Short-term |
| Trigger | Her story and proof are ready, and the moment is within a few weeks. |
| Done when | She saves the short version and confirms she has said it out loud without notes, twice. |
| Evidence ExecHQ keeps | The short version, her confirmation, the date. |
| Plan area and signal | Plan area: rehearsal. Signals: none directly. |
| Tool | Pitch Builder. |
| Follow-up | None. |
3.2 Prepare answers to the two hardest objections
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| Horizon | Short-term |
| Trigger | She has a short version, and has not yet thought through what will be pushed back on. |
| Done when | She records the two objections she most expects and her answer to each, with proof. |
| Evidence ExecHQ keeps | The objections and answers, a completion timestamp. |
| Plan area and signal | Plan area: rehearsal. Signals: none directly. |
| Tool | Situation Brief. |
| Follow-up | None. |
3.3 Prepare for each conversation around the moment
For example: a meeting with her sponsor beforehand, a talk with her manager, a second interview.
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| Horizon | Short-term |
| Trigger | A conversation before or around the moment is scheduled or needed. |
| Done when | She records the objective, the person, what she needs from them and her key points, and marks it prepared. |
| Evidence ExecHQ keeps | The preparation artifact, its date, completion status. |
| Plan area and signal | Plan area: rehearsal. Signals: none directly. |
| Tool | Situation Brief. |
| Follow-up | The day after, the Loop asks how it went. |
Stage 4: Debrief and adjust
4.1 Record what happened, while it is fresh
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| Horizon | Short-term |
| Trigger | The day after the moment's date, or when she reports it has happened. |
| Done when | She records what was said, what was decided, and how she thinks it went. |
| Evidence ExecHQ keeps | The outcome, the feedback, the date. |
| Plan area and signal | Plan area: debrief. Signals: none directly. |
| Tool | None: it is answered in the Loop. |
| Follow-up | The Loop asks the day after the date. |
4.2 Decide the next move, and adjust the plan
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| Horizon | Short-term |
| Trigger | She has recorded the outcome. |
| Done when | She chooses a next move: a follow-up, a new date, or a different plan. |
| Evidence ExecHQ keeps | Her choice, and any plan change. |
| Plan area and signal | Plan area: plan adjustment. Signals: the outcome changes which signals matter next. |
| Tool | None. |
| Follow-up | Her choice sets the next recommendation. If the moment is behind her, the agent offers the plan that fits what comes next, such as Lead Where You Are in a new role, or Step Up to build toward the next attempt. |
3. Feedback
Kate, 14 Oct. Which steps ask her for feedback, and of which type. The types and their answers are in plans/shared.md, section 6. Proposed, all of the table: the source names no feedback.
The date sets the pace on this plan, so stage check-ins are short: when the moment is less than a week away, the check-ins for Stages 2 and 3 become one, just before it (Proposed).
| Step | Asks? | Type | When ExecHQ asks | What her answer changes |
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| 1.1 Put the moment on paper | No | None | | Recording it is done. Its date sets when 4.1 asks |
| 1.2 The story she will tell in the room | Yes | Is this right? | As soon as it is drafted | "Yes, that's it" completes the step; "Change it" reopens Positioning Builder |
| Stage 1 ends | Yes | Stage check-in | When 1.1 and 1.2 are done | Partly or Not yet: Stage 2 opens with the part of the story she isn't sure of |
| 2.1 Proof for every claim in her story | No | None | | Every claim having an example is done |
| 2.2 The materials the moment calls for | No | None | | Marking each one ready is done. What came of them is asked once, in 4.1, not one by one |
| 2.3 Her public profile tells the same story | No | None | | Confirming the update is done |
| Stage 2 ends | Yes | Stage check-in | When 2.1 and 2.2 are done | Partly or Not yet: one step at the gap before rehearsal. Stuck: the one step most worth doing before the date |
| 3.1 The ninety-second version, said out loud | No | None | | Confirming she has said it twice is done |
| 3.2 Answers to the two hardest objections | No | None | | Recording them is done |
| 3.3 Prepare for each conversation around the moment | Yes | How did it go? | The day after each conversation | It went well: the next conversation, or the moment. Mixed or Not the way I hoped: 3.2 again with what she heard. It hasn't happened yet: asks after the new date |
| Stage 3 ends | Yes | Stage check-in ("Do you feel ready?") | Just before the moment | Partly or Not yet: the one step most worth doing before the date. Never adds work the date can't hold |
| 4.1 Record what happened, while it is fresh | Yes | How did it go? | The day after the moment's date | It went well, Mixed or Not the way I hoped: leads straight to 4.2. It hasn't happened yet: the new date moves the plan |
| 4.2 Decide the next move | No | None | | Her choice is the answer: a follow-up, a new date, or another plan (Lead Where You Are in a new role, Step Up to build toward the next attempt) |
| Stage 4 ends | Yes | Stage check-in | When 4.2 is done | Closes the plan. Her feeling shapes how the next plan starts |
4. Signal emphasis
Internal only, never shown to her. A dash means the plan does not recommend work in that signal in that stage. This plan is about one moment, so signals matter mostly as proof and as what the people deciding will see.
| Signal | 1. Frame the moment | 2. Prepare the materials | 3. Rehearse the key conversations | 4. Debrief and adjust | How it helps her make the move |
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| LinkedIn | Foundation: note whether the people deciding will look | Primary: make the profile match her story | — | Evidence: update it if the move happens | What the people deciding see when they look her up |
| Press | — | Evidence: use relevant coverage as proof | Evidence: have it ready to mention | — | Third-party proof behind her case |
| Speaking | — | Evidence: use past talks as proof of communication | Evidence: draw on them in rehearsal | — | Proof she can represent the organization |
| Podcasts | — | Evidence: use relevant appearances as proof | — | — | Proof of a credible outside perspective |
| Published content | — | Evidence: use published thinking as proof | Evidence: have it ready to mention | — | Proof of how she thinks |
| AI discoverability | Foundation: note whether an outside search matters here | Primary: check what a search for her shows, and fix what contradicts her story | — | — | Whether an outside decision-maker finds the same story she tells |
5. How the agent behaves on Make the Move
It adds to the rules every plan shares (plans/shared.md, section 5).
- The date leads. Every recommendation is weighed against the time left. Close to the date, it drops everything that won't help in the room.
- Calm and specific. The moment is stressful. It is steady, concrete and brief, and never adds alarm.
- Discreet. When the move is outside her current company, it never suggests anything that would make her search visible at work.
- Decided, not drifted. After the moment, it helps her choose the next move on purpose, whatever the outcome was.
- No promise of the outcome. It helps her prepare; it never says she will get the role.
6. Open questions
- Several moments. If she has two moments at once, such as an interview and a review, does the plan track both, or one at a time?
- After the moment. Should stage 4 always end by offering another plan, or can Make the Move run again for the next moment?
- Board positions. A board seat often comes from a slower search than a promotion conversation. Does it belong here, or in Chart a New Course until a specific seat is in view?
- Materials with no tool (2.2). CVs and promotion packets have no V1 tool. Are they in scope?
- No date. What happens when she has a moment but no date: does the agent ask for one, or plan to a default window?