Pre-Meeting Intelligence
We help groups think before they meet.
Every leadership team knows more than its meetings reveal. We help surface that insight before the decision is made. That's Pre-Meeting Intelligence (PMI).
Reflect & Engage
What you didn't know was in the room. It just wasn't invited to speak.
Most groups already have the judgment they need. The problem isn’t insufficient insight or inadequate frameworks — it’s that social dynamics distort perception before anyone notices.
Reflect & Engage works by subtraction: removing the social pressure that silences dissent, challenging assumptions that would otherwise go unexamined, and preventing the premature convergence that locks groups into the first plausible answer.
01
Context Interview
The sponsor, facilitator, and analyst discuss the decision context to inform specific, targeted reflection questions.
02
Individual Reflection
Participants respond anonymously and asynchronously, removing status dynamics and conformity pressure.
03
AI-Assisted Synthesis
Responses are analyzed to surface tensions and divergent assumptions — not to summarize agreement.
04
Facilitator Handoff
The facilitator receives a Field Report mapping the group’s terrain, revealing hidden assumptions and minority perspectives.
How We Work
Preparation shapes what a group can see.
- Surface what participants knew but didn't say
- Give voice to the dissent the room would have swallowed
- Prevent the first plausible idea from locking the group in
We work with facilitators, consultants, and the leaders who engage them.
Fit & Application
Not every decision calls for Reflect & Engage.
The method is most useful when:
- The decision is consequential enough that a distorted picture represents real risk
- Stakeholders are aligned on the facts but not on what they mean
- The conversation keeps recycling positions without advancing understanding
It is not a fit when:
- Speed matters more than seeing the complete picture
- Decision criteria and authority are already established
- The risk of missing something isn't significant
About Us
We build the preparation that makes facilitation work.
Our practice sits at the intersection of facilitation, collaborative research, and systems design.
Laura Black
Co-Founder
Scholar of collaborative sensemaking and shared understanding. Brings that research to the design of our approach.
Dave Bayless
Co-Founder
Architect of reflective systems. Designs the processes and tools that make individual insight visible to the group.
Let's talk about what your group is facing.
A 20-minute conversation to explore whether Reflect & Engage is a fit — no pitch, no demo.