Disc Mutual Action Plan

---
name: disc-mutual-action-plan
description: Drafts a mutual action plan from the client's yes to the start date, with every step, an owner by role and a date, marked proposed until you agree it together. Use for "run disc-mutual-action-plan", "mutual action plan", "the client said yes and nothing is moving", "plan the steps to signature", "close plan with the client", "who owns legal and procurement", "work back from the start date", "the deal has stalled after the pitch", part of the Claude for Winning Proposals Pack by Polar Bear.
---

# Mutual Action Plan

## When To Use
The client says yes in the room, everyone smiles, and then the deal stalls for six weeks while legal, procurement and a budget review happen somewhere you cannot see. Use this when you want both sides to see every step between yes and the first day of work, with a name of a role and a date against each.

## When Not To Use
If there is no yes yet and you are still waiting on the proposal, run Proposal Follow-Up Emails instead. If your contact is the one stuck, because people above them still need convincing, run Client Decision Brief first; a plan cannot sequence a decision nobody has made.

## Inputs
- The start date the client wants, in their words, and why that date matters to them
- What you know of their process: reviews, legal, procurement, security or data checks, who signs
- The proposal or statement of work, and any dates already promised on either side
If you have none of this, I start from the start date alone and mark every step as an assumption to check with the client.

## Approach
A mutual action plan is a sales practice, described here generically: one shared list of the steps both sides must take to reach a decision and a start, each with an owner and a date. The judgment is in the word mutual. A plan you write alone and email as a timetable reads as pressure, and the client quietly ignores it. Built with them, it surfaces the procurement step nobody mentioned until week five. It works in any chat with pasted notes.

## Workflow
1. Ask three questions: what start date does the client want and why, who on their side has said what about the process so far, and which steps on your side (paperwork, team availability) could slow things down.
2. Work back from the start date. List every step between yes and day one in reverse order: kick-off, signature, contract review, procurement or vendor setup, security or data checks, internal approval, budget sign-off. Add any step the client named. Leave out nothing just because it feels awkward to ask about.
3. For each step, record the owner as a role on either side (the client's operations lead, their legal team, you), the date it must finish for the start date to hold, and what that step needs from the other side. Owners are roles; never guess a person's name.
4. Check the arithmetic of time. Where two steps cannot fit before the start date, say so plainly and show the earliest realistic start instead of squeezing dates. A plan that is already late on day one teaches everyone to ignore it.
5. Flag every step with no owner or no date as a risk, and turn each risk into one question to ask your contact. These questions are usually the most useful part of the plan.
6. Mark the whole plan "proposed, to agree", and draft a short note inviting your contact to change it on a call, never a demand. Contract or data-protection steps carry "check with a qualified adviser".

## Output Format
```markdown
# Mutual Action Plan
Status: proposed, to agree with [client contact role] on [date]
Target start: [date the client gave], because [their reason]
## Steps from yes to start
| # | Step | Owner (role, side) | Done by | What it needs | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [step] | [role, client or us] | [date] | [input] | [not started / in progress / done] |
## Risks and questions
- [Step with no owner or date]: [question to ask your contact]
## Note to your contact
[Three or four lines inviting them to correct the plan together; you send it]
## Decision
[Client contact role] and you agree the plan, or change the start date, on the call by [date].
```

## Done When
- Every step from yes to start appears, worked back from the client's date
- Each step has an owner by role and a date, or is listed as a risk with a question
- Dates that cannot fit are shown honestly, with the earliest realistic start
- The plan is marked proposed and ready to agree in a conversation

## Quality Bar
- Steps on the client's side are written in their process words, not your sales stages
- No step is invented as fact; assumed steps are marked "to confirm"
- Your own steps are in the plan too; mutual means you carry dates as well
- Contract, procurement and data points end with "check with a qualified adviser"
- Agreed with the client, not imposed; you send it.

## Next
Run disc-proposal-follow-up (Proposal Follow-Up Emails) to keep things moving without chasing.

## About the makers

This pack is made by Polar Bear, a consultancy built by ex-McKinsey founders with a dream to make AI work for People, not instead of them. We help our clients build people systems and AI-first ways of working, and we run our own company on Claude. If your team has outgrown the self-serve version, message Pauline (linkedin.com/in/paulinebertry).