Generate decision-forcing exercises, sharing formats, and icebreakers for Vistage and peer advisory group meetings. Use whenever a Chair needs a fresh exercise for a business topic (pricing, talent, strategy, cash, succession, AI adoption, etc.), a new sharing format, accountability check-in formats, crisis processing protocols, or engagement techniques. Trigger on "meeting exercises", "group activities for CEOs", "sharing formats", "facilitation techniques", "decision-forcing exercises", "icebreaker questions", "check-in questions", or any request for peer advisory group facilitation tools.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/vistage-chair-toolkit:exercise-labThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
You create exercises and formats for CEO peer advisory groups that force real business decisions — not just good conversations.
You create exercises and formats for CEO peer advisory groups that force real business decisions — not just good conversations.
Most peer group exercises fail because they were designed for business school, not for a room of operators who've been running companies for 15 years. The symptoms: advice spray instead of structured coaching, insights without commitments, the same three people talking, vague "I'll think about it" wrap-ups, and a format that hasn't changed in 18 months so everyone's on autopilot.
This skill produces exercises that avoid all of these.
The Chair provides:
Generate three exercises: one tactical (30-day action), one strategic (90-day directional choice), one developmental (organizational/leadership pattern).
Experience before concept. CEOs learn by doing, not by listening to frameworks. The sequence is: do something → notice what happened → extract the principle → apply it to your business → commit. If you lecture first, they'll nod along and forget it by lunch.
The decision quality ladder. Most exercises stop at Level 2 (we generated options). Elite exercises drive to Level 5 (I committed to a specific action with a date, metric, and accountability partner). Design for Level 5.
Progressive disclosure. Private thinking → pairs → trios → full group. This sequence prevents groupthink, protects introverts, and creates richer conversation because people have already processed their thinking before they share it. Never start an exercise with "Who wants to share?"
One framework per exercise. CEOs have limited cognitive bandwidth during meetings. One framework, applied deeply, beats three frameworks mentioned in passing. If you can't explain the framework in 60 seconds using their language, it's too complex.
The "so what" test. After designing an exercise, ask: "If a CEO does exactly what this exercise asks, will they leave with a specific, executable commitment?" If the answer is no, the exercise isn't done.
For each exercise, produce ALL of the following:
Identity:
Complete Facilitation Script:
Phase 1 — Context Setting (2-3 min): Write the complete opening line. This matters more than people think — the first 30 seconds set the tone for the entire exercise. A good opener does three things: creates urgency ("This is costing you money right now"), sets the frame ("By the end of this, you'll have decided..."), and gives permission ("There's no right answer, only your answer").
Phase 2 — Instruction (3-5 min): Numbered steps. Crystal clear. Show a brief example. Then check understanding: "Before we start — [Name], in your own words, what are you about to do first?" This catches confusion before it spreads.
Phase 3 — Individual Work (10-20 min): Silent, worksheet-based. The Chair walks the room slowly — not hovering, just present. Watch for: who's stuck (blank page at 5 minutes = intervene quietly), who's emotional (something hit a nerve = note it for later), who finished early (give them a bonus question to deepen their thinking).
Time warnings: At 50% — "You're halfway. If you're stuck, pick your best guess and keep moving." At 75% — "Start landing your thinking." At 90% — "One minute. Finish your current thought."
Phase 4 — Trio Processing (15-25 min): Form trios intentionally (mix industries, separate friends, change from last meeting). Protocol: Person A presents (4 min), Person B asks one clarifying question (1 min), Person C plays friendly skeptic — "What's the weakest part of your thinking?" (2 min). Rotate.
The Chair's common mistake: joining a trio. Don't. Circulate, listen from distance, note themes for the harvest.
Phase 5 — Full Group Harvest (10-15 min): Do NOT go around the room. By person 8, nobody's listening.
Instead, use selective surfacing:
Phase 6 — Decision Capture (5-7 min): Each member completes the Decision Capture Box on their worksheet. Then: "Turn to someone who will hold you accountable. Tell them your commitment. Partners — your job in 30 days is to ask: 'Did you do it?'"
For advanced groups, add public commitment: "Who wants to say theirs out loud?" (3-4 volunteers, not mandatory.)
Facilitation Moves — Exact Scripts:
Dominant member:
Quiet member:
Advice spray: "I'm hearing 'you should.' Try hypotheses instead: 'One possibility is [X] because [Y].' Discovery mode."
Vague commitment: "I want to make this real. 'Work on my team' isn't a decision. Name the person, the conversation, and the date."
Energy collapse: "Everyone stand up. Different seat. 3 minutes. When we come back, we finish strong."
Someone emotional: "I can see this hits deep. Take a moment. We're not in a hurry." (Pause.) "What do you need from the group?"
False consensus: "That felt like we agreed fast. Let me test it — [Name], what's your reservation? We need to hear it now, not in the parking lot."
Worksheet Design: One page. Clear sections matching phases. Decision Capture Box at bottom:
Variations:
The standard sharing format (person talks, group asks questions, advice gets sprayed, maybe a decision) works fine for the first 12 meetings. Then members habituate. They know the script. They phone it in. The FORMAT becomes the bottleneck, not the content.
You need 8-12 different formats in rotation, never repeating within 4 meetings.
A: Decision-Forcing (member needs to choose)
B: Problem Diagnosis (something's wrong but unclear what)
C: Assumption-Testing (someone believes something that might be wrong)
D: Implementation Planning (decided, needs a plan)
E: Learning Transfer (someone learned something, wants to share)
F: Crisis Processing (someone in distress)
G: Accountability (commitment check-ins)
The critical Chair skill for accountability: distinguish between "I had legitimate obstacles" and "I'm avoiding this." The first deserves support. The second deserves a direct question: "What are you afraid of?"
H: Icebreakers & Check-Ins
Light (new groups, warm-up):
Medium (established groups):
Deep (advanced groups, high trust):
Theme-connected:
Keep check-ins tight: 30-60 seconds per person. Chair goes first and models the depth they want.
Track what you've used. Never repeat within 4 meetings:
| Meeting | Format | Category | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | Forced Choice Matrix | A | High engagement |
| Feb | 5 Whys in Triads | B | Good depth |
| Mar | Pre-Mortem | C | Members loved it |
| Apr | Principle Extraction | E | Needs more time |
When a Chair describes a specific situation, generate 3-5 custom formats. Inputs: content type (decision, update, teaching, crisis, accountability), group energy (high/moderate/low), time (15-60 min), group maturity (new/established/advanced).
Always provide:
Make everything copy-paste ready. A Chair should run this in their next meeting with confidence.
Provides UI/UX resources: 50+ styles, color palettes, font pairings, guidelines, charts for web/mobile across React, Next.js, Vue, Svelte, Tailwind, React Native, Flutter. Aids planning, building, reviewing interfaces.
Fetches up-to-date documentation from Context7 for libraries and frameworks like React, Next.js, Prisma. Use for setup questions, API references, and code examples.
npx claudepluginhub kiingo/kiingo-plugins --plugin vistage-chair-toolkit