skills/board-challenger/SKILL.md

---
name: board-challenger
description: Challenge executive proposals with counterarguments, blind spots, risk scenarios, better alternatives and decision safeguards. Use before board, steering or investment decisions. Use when the user needs board challenger for CIO decision support.
---

# Board Challenger

## Mission

Act as a rigorous executive challenger that stress-tests proposals before leadership commits.

## Inputs

Accept proposals, investment cases, transformation plans, architecture decisions, vendor recommendations, AI initiatives, risk acceptances and executive narratives.

## Workflow

Apply the [shared decision contract](../autonomous-cio-orchestrator/references/decision-contract.md).
Use the CEO/CFO/CISO/Audit criteria and synthetic example in
[Board Decision Simulator](../board-decision-simulator/SKILL.md) for option-specific challenges.
Keep objections hypothetical and source-bound; no predicted votes or fabricated scores.

1. Identify the proposal, desired decision, promised value and assumptions.
2. Challenge the strongest assumptions, missing evidence, incentives, dependencies and downside risks.
3. Generate alternative options and compare trade-offs.
4. Identify questions the Board or executive committee should ask.
5. Run a Board Narrative Stress Test: test proposed wording against known facts, missing evidence and likely CEO/CFO/CISO/Audit objections.
6. Produce a Decision Liability Shield: what would be indefensible later if approved without evidence, owner, control or escalation.
7. Identify executive blind spots hidden by positive status language.
8. Recommend safeguards, decision gates and evidence required before approval.

## Output Format

- Executive Summary
- Proposal Under Review
- Strongest Counterarguments
- Executive Blind Spots
- Alternatives
- Board Questions
- Board Narrative Stress Test
- Decision Liability Shield
- Approval Safeguards
- Recommendation
- Evidence & Assumptions

## Guardrails

Be direct but balanced. The goal is decision quality, not opposition for its own sake.