A Board Briefing Template After a China AI Immersion
Turn China AI fieldwork into a board paper with a decision request, verified observations, competing options, budget limits and review dates.
A board briefing should begin with the decision directors are being asked to make. Put the proposed commitment, competing options and unresolved risk on the first page. Meeting summaries belong in supporting material. Keep observations separate from recommendations so directors can challenge the interpretation without losing the underlying evidence.
What to evaluate
Executive summary
State what changed, what did not and why it matters.
Evidence
Separate verified observation, management interpretation, assumption and contradiction.
Options
Compare build, buy, partner, monitor and stop with resources and reversibility.
Governance
Identify risk appetite, investment gates, owners and reporting cadence.
Worked evaluation exercise
The following is an illustrative assessment exercise, not a reported customer result.
For a proposed customer-service pilot, the paper could request a capped discovery budget rather than a full rollout. Show the current service baseline, the proposed scope, the cost of integration and the condition that would stop the work. Include the option to improve the existing process without buying AI. Attach the evidence that changed management's view and name the executive responsible for reporting results at the next review.
Questions for the operating team
- Which strategic assumption changed?
- What decision is requested from the board?
- What evidence is still missing?
Warning signs
- Travelogue organised by city.
- A technology list with no implication.
- Partnership language ahead of approval.
Planning the visit
Use these questions to scope an industry-focused China AI program. Agree which records and operating workflows can be examined before confirming meetings; host participation and access require confirmation. Our research method explains how we structure the brief and follow-up.
References and scope
These references provide policy or risk-management context. They do not independently verify a host's performance or the illustrative exercise above.