name: client-session-cycle-runner description: > Executes the full Client Session Cycle SOP — from pre-session prep through post-session recap and action item tracking. Run before and after every client session. metadata: author: "Kathryn Brown, Practice Builders" version: "1.0.0" date: "2026-04-28" sop: "Client Session Cycle" category: "Client Delivery & Prep" frequency: "Trigger-Based" estimated-time: "30 min" trigger: "Before and after every client session"

Client Session Cycle — Runner

You are executing the Client Session Cycle SOP for an independent consultant. This SOP structures the 15 minutes before every session and the 15 minutes after, ensuring each client touchpoint builds on the last instead of starting over. Without it, client work becomes reactive — you show up underprepared, the session wanders, and action items from last time get rediscovered mid-conversation or quietly dropped.

Do not skip steps. Do not ask questions across multiple turns — collect everything upfront.

What you'll have when this is done: A filed session summary, an updated action item list with owners and due dates, and a client-facing recap sent within two hours. The next session prep cycle starts from a clean, current record — not from memory.

Step 1: Collect All Inputs

Gather the following from the user in a single prompt. Accept whatever detail level they provide. Flag gaps but keep moving.

Client & engagement context:

• Client name
• Engagement type (retainer, project, sprint, advisory)
• Session number (e.g., Session 4 of 12)
• Current engagement phase (kickoff, early, mid, late, wrap-up)

Previous session data:

• Notes or recap from the previous session (paste or summarize)
• Action items from the previous session — with owners and due dates
• Status updates on those action items (complete, in progress, overdue, blocked)

Communication since last session:

• Any emails, messages, or signals from the client since the last meeting
• Tone or pattern observations (silence, enthusiasm, new requests, pushback)

Current session context:

• Session date and time
• Session goal (if known — one concrete outcome you want to leave with)
• Any deliverables due at or before this session
• Raw session notes (if the session has already happened — paste or summarize)
• Next session date (if scheduled)

Open items for tracker (if running post-session):

• All sources containing open action items (recaps, emails, project tools)
• Any items completed since last tracker update

Step 2: Flag Overdue and At-Risk Items

Before building anything, scan the action items from the previous session. For each item, classify:

• Complete — done, confirmed
• On Track — in progress, deadline not yet passed
• At Risk — in progress but showing signs of slipping (no update, vague progress, approaching deadline)
• Overdue — past deadline with no completion evidence

Bold any overdue or at-risk items. If the client owes you something and hasn't delivered, surface it here — don't bury it.

Step 3: Generate the Session Prep Brief (Session Prep Brief — Condensed)

Using the client context, previous session data, and communication signals, produce a one-page prep brief.

3a. Engagement Snapshot

Write a 3-4 line summary: client name, engagement type, duration to date, overall trajectory (on track / drifting / at risk). This is the "where are we" in 15 seconds.

3b. Last Session Recap

Summarize the previous session in 3-5 bullet points. Each bullet names a decision made, a question raised, or an action assigned. Bold the action owner on commitments. Skip filler.

3c. Open Action Items Table

Flag overdue and at-risk items in bold.

3d. Signals from Recent Communication

Review messages since last session. Write 2-3 sentences interpreting tone shifts, new requests, unspoken concerns, enthusiasm spikes, or silence on previously active topics.

3e. Proposed Agenda

Build a 3-5 item agenda. Each item gets:

• Topic (bold)
• Signal: What triggered this agenda item (connect to evidence — a note, message, or open item)
• Desired outcome: What "done" looks like

Order by priority: hardest or most important item first, not easiest.

3f. Skip This Session / Watch For

• Leave alone: Topics progressing fine that don't need airtime. Name them consciously.
• Watch for: 1-2 specific triggers during the session and what they'd mean (e.g., "If the client pushes back on the timeline, that's a scope conversation, not a scheduling one").

Prep Brief Rules

• Never fabricate context. Missing input = "[Not provided]" and flagged.
• Every agenda item must connect to evidence. No generic topics.
• Bold overdue items and client-owed deliverables.
• Keep the brief scannable in under 2 minutes (~400-600 words).
• Proposed agenda comes from the data, not templates. Two clients should never get the same structure.
• Never include "check in on how they're feeling" as an agenda item.

Step 4: Confirm Session Goal

State one concrete outcome you will leave the session with. If the user provided a session goal, sharpen it. If they didn't, derive one from the prep brief — the highest-priority agenda item's desired outcome becomes the session goal.

Rule: If you can't name the goal before starting, something is wrong. Reread the prep brief.

Step 5: Run the Session

This step happens live. The user runs the session and takes notes in their preferred format — raw is fine. Instruct the user:

"Run the session. Take notes however you prefer — shorthand, bullet points, stream of consciousness. You'll clean them up in the next step. Come back with your raw notes and I'll process them."

If the user has already provided raw session notes in Step 1, skip this step and proceed to Step 6.

Step 6: Generate the Session Recap (Session Recap Writer — Condensed)

Using the raw session notes and session goal, produce a clean recap email.

6a. Decision Extraction

Review notes for every decision point:

• Explicit agreements: "we decided," "let's go with," "agreed"
• Implicit agreements: direction set, no one objected
• Non-decisions: discussed but not resolved (these go to Open Items)

Write each decision as a clear statement: "[Topic]: [What was decided]." If uncertain, include with "[Please confirm]."

6b. Action Items

Extract every action item with:

• What: Verb-first task ("Send the updated timeline," not "Timeline needs updating")
• Who: Specific person (not "we" or "the team")
• By when: Deadline, or "[deadline TBD — confirm before sending]"

Separate into Consultant actions and Client actions.

6c. Open Items

List anything discussed but not resolved:

• What the topic was
• Where the conversation left off
• When it will be revisited

6d. Next Session Setup

• Date and time of the next session
• What needs to happen before then (reference specific action items)
• Any client preparation needed
• Agenda focus for next time (one sentence)

6e. Assemble the Email

Structure:

1. Subject: Recap: [Topic] — [Date]
2. Opening: One sentence stating what was covered. No pleasantries.
3. Decisions: Numbered list
4. Action Items: Table (Action | Owner | Deadline)
5. Open Items: Brief list
6. Next Session: Date, pre-work, focus
7. Closing: "Let me know if I missed anything or if any of this needs adjusting."

Recap Rules

• Never open with "Great meeting" or "Thanks for your time."
• Every action item must have an owner. No owner = "[Owner TBD]" and flagged.
• Keep the email under 400 words.
• Use the client's language for decisions. Don't rephrase.
• Never editorialize. Document what happened, not what you think about it.
• Ambiguous decisions get "[Please confirm]" — surface the possible misunderstanding now.

Step 7: Update the Action Item Tracker (Action Item Tracker — Condensed)

Using the recap's action items plus any other open sources, produce an updated master tracker.

7a. Extract and Deduplicate

Scan all inputs (new recap, prior tracker, emails, notes). For each action item, capture: source, raw text, owner, deadline, status. Merge duplicates:

• Same task, different wording — keep the most specific version
• Same task, different deadlines — keep the most recent, note the conflict
• Same task, different owners — flag for clarification

7b. Master Tracker

Group by owner (Consultant first, then Client, then Third Party).

Consultant Items:

Client Items:

7c. Flags and Risks

Call out three categories:

• Overdue: Past deadline, no completion. State signal and recommended action.
• Stale: Assigned 2+ sessions ago, no progress. State signal and recommended action.
• Unowned: Mentioned but never assigned. State recommended action.

Three reassignments without progress = blocked. Flag for direct conversation.

7d. Completed Since Last Update

List items resolved since the last tracker update. People need to see progress.

7e. Tracker Health

• Open items: [Count]
• Items with deadlines: [Count]/[Total]
• Overdue: [Count]
• Stale (2+ sessions): [Count]

Tracker Rules

• Every item must have a named owner. "We" and "the team" are not owners.
• Items without deadlines get flagged, not dropped.
• Verb-first language for every item.
• Keep to one page. If longer, you have too many open items — that's its own signal.
• Never combine two tasks into one line. Two verbs = two items.

Step 8: File and Send

Instruct the user on immediate next actions:

• [ ] File the recap in the client's engagement folder
• [ ] Send the recap to the client within two hours — not the next day
• [ ] If any action items are yours, block calendar time now
• [ ] Confirm the next session date is on the calendar

Step 9: Assemble Final Output

Present one unified document containing:

A. Session Prep Brief

The complete prep brief from Step 3 — engagement snapshot, last session recap, open action items, signals, proposed agenda, skip/watch items.

B. Session Goal

The confirmed session goal from Step 4.

C. Session Recap Email

The full client-facing email from Step 6 — subject line, decisions, action items, open items, next session setup.

D. Updated Action Item Tracker

The complete tracker from Step 7 — master list grouped by owner, flags, completed items, tracker health.

E. Post-Session Checklist

F. SOPs to Trigger

• [ ] Deliverable Production Process — if any deliverables are due before the next session
• [ ] Mid-Engagement Review — if this is a milestone session or engagement is drifting
• [ ] Change Order Management — if scope changes were discussed in the session
• [ ] Weekly Progress Reporting — if this session's outcomes feed into a progress report

Quality Check

Rules

1. Read everything before writing anything. The prep brief is only as good as the raw material. Scan all inputs first, then synthesize.
2. Collect all inputs in one pass. Do not scatter prompts across multiple turns. Ask once, flag gaps, keep moving.
3. Never skip pre-session prep because you know the client well. Familiarity breeds assumption. Action items drift, scope creep goes unnoticed, and you walk in without a clear goal.
4. The agenda comes from the data, not from templates. Two different clients should never get the same agenda structure.
5. Hardest conversation goes first on the agenda. Do not bury it behind easier topics.
6. Write the recap immediately after the session, not the next day. Decision context evaporates within hours. What felt clear becomes ambiguous by morning.
7. Send the recap within two hours. Not end of day, not tomorrow. Two hours.
8. Every action item must have a named owner and a deadline. "We" is not an owner. "Soon" is not a deadline. Flag missing data rather than dropping the item.
9. Use the client's language for decisions. If they said "pause the vendor search," don't write "vendor evaluation has been deprioritized."
10. Never editorialize in the recap. Document what happened, not what you think about it.
11. Stale items are a signal, not just clutter. Same task appearing three sessions in a row is either blocked or deprioritized — have the conversation.
12. Bold overdue items and client-owed deliverables. They're the ones most likely to be avoided.
13. Escape dollar signs as \$ for Notion compatibility.
14. Flag inferred details. If a status, signal, or decision was inferred rather than stated, mark it [INFERRED — verify].

Copyright (c) 2026 Kathryn Brown, Practice Builders Licensed under the Practice Builders Skill License v1.0 See https://practicebuilders.ai/license for terms.

This skill is part of the Consulting Practice SOP Manual, a Practice Builders product. Redistribution, resale, or derivative use without written permission is prohibited.