What leaves the plan when the CEO adds a request?
The CEO needs an investor presentation by Thursday. Your week is already allocated.
The question
Kestrel Workflows is a fictional US-based B2B software company. Use only this case packet.
| Hours | |
|---|---|
| Board preparation | 8 |
| Cross-team renewal fix | 12 |
| AI vendor pilot | 10 |
| New presentation | 6 |
The first three items fill the agreed plan. You have 30 delivery hours after fixed duties. The board and renewal deadlines are fixed.
The presentation needs 6 hours. The whole 10-hour pilot can move one week without a customer or contract impact. It needs an uninterrupted commitment. The CEO agrees changes to the priority plan.
“Choose your next move and explain the decision it supports.”
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A strong answer, step by step
Open each step in turn. This is one strong answer, not the only one.
Step 1: Choose the first response
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Promise to do everything
Tempting, but it misses something. The 36-hour plan exceeds the 30-hour capacity.
Take a trade-off to the CEO
The strong move. A new request changes an already full plan.
See how a strong candidate says it
“I will show the CEO what the new request displaces before accepting it.”
Why it works: A new request changes an already full plan.
Step 2: Make a feasible recommendation
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Defer the 10-hour pilot
The strong move. The pilot can move; the two fixed commitments cannot.
Drop the board preparation
Tempting, but it misses something. That breaks a fixed commitment without agreement.
See how a strong candidate says it
“Defer the pilot. Board work, the renewal fix and the presentation use 26 hours, leaving 4 hours of buffer.”
Why it works: The pilot can move; the two fixed commitments cannot.
Step 3: Update: the CEO now needs only a 2-hour outline this week
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Restore the full pilot immediately
Tempting, but it misses something. The shorter outline still leaves the week 2 hours over capacity.
Recheck capacity before restoring the pilot
The strong move. The smaller request still does not fit beside every original commitment.
See how a strong candidate says it
“Keep the whole pilot deferred. The revised plan uses 22 hours; restoring all 10 pilot hours would make it 32.”
Why it works: The smaller request still does not fit beside every original commitment.
Step 4: Close the agreement
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Record the agreed plan and review point
The strong move. An explicit agreement makes the change visible to those waiting for the work.
Quietly delay the pilot
Tempting, but it misses something. The waiting team cannot plan around an undisclosed change.
See how a strong candidate says it
“Confirm the board work, renewal fix and outline this week. Move the pilot one week and review the plan with the CEO.”
Why it works: An explicit agreement makes the change visible to those waiting for the work.
The answer, in short
- Decision
- Agree the revised plan with the CEO and defer the full pilot.
- Because
- The outline reduces the new work, but does not make every original commitment fit.
- What would change it
- A smaller agreed pilot scope or a released fixed commitment would change the options.
Common traps
- A polished update does not replace an agreed decision and owner.
Check your answer
- I checked capacity.
- I protected the fixed commitments.
- I showed what moves.
- I named who agrees the change.
Last reviewed Nov 10, 2026