Who should sit in the room with you
Invite the right people to the important parts rather than inviting enough people just to fill the room.
Only invite advisors or investors when their presence serves the purpose of the meeting, not out of courtesy or because they want to attend. Outsiders should only participate in areas where they have data or expertise, and leave before the team makes the final decision. Decision-making authority must remain with those who will execute.
- need expertise or internal expectations that are not yet established: invite consultants to clarify the scope before finalizing
- investors are greatly influenced: need to consider the beginning part to listen
- a session to align the interior design team: limit outsiders
- Every investor for the internal page makes the team hesitant to discuss the interior.
- to have external advice on the framework for a reputable session, need to secure ownership rights
The short answer: only invite advisors or investors into the room when their presence serves the purpose of the meeting. Not out of respect, not because they want to attend, and not to create a formal atmosphere. Outsiders bring genuine perspectives and credibility, but along with that come impacts on the room's dynamics that you need to see before extending the invitation.
Why is the list of attendees in the room as important as the agenda?
Priya Parker, author of The Art of Gathering, states: intentional exclusion is as important as inviting. Pleasant people who do not cause trouble but are not relevant to the decision at hand can dilute the meeting. The right question is not "who should be invited for propriety" but "who's presence will help this meeting achieve its purpose."
For brand consulting sessions, the usual goal is: the core team reaches strategic decisions that they understand, agree upon, and feel confident to execute. Everyone present in the room influences the ability to achieve that goal.
What do outsiders bring into the room, and take away?
Advisors and investors can bring in things that the internal team lacks: technical expertise, market data, experience across multiple cycles, or perspectives unaffected by internal culture. That is real value.
However, at the same time, outsiders, especially those in high positions or holding the company's finances, bring about a very subtle effect: the internal team begins to hold back. They do not express what they truly think. They say what they believe outsiders want to hear. Amy Edmondson, a researcher on organizational psychological safety, notes that this is a common effect when the power differential in the room increases. Management literature calls it the HiPPO effect: Highest Paid Person's Opinion, meaning the opinion of the highest-paid person often overshadows the voices of others, even if no one states it outright.
When to invite, when not needed
Should invite specific expertise: Advisors with expertise that the team lacks, investors need to hear the context to make related financial decisions, or outsiders with important field data. Invite them for that part, to present and critique, then ask them to leave before the team finalizes.
No need to invite or should limit: The team needs to speak honestly about direction, unresolved internal conflicts, or options that the team is not ready to present publicly. These discussions require a private space.
Define roles before sending invitations.
The DACI framework (Driver, Approver, Contributor, Informed) clarifies this before the meeting. Advisors and investors often fit the Contributor role, meaning they provide input and perspectives, not the Approver role, which is the final decision-maker.
If investors expect to be the Approver in every brand decision, that negotiation needs to happen beforehand, not on-site during the session. Clarifying roles before sending invitations helps avoid situations where outsiders naturally take control of the entire session just because of their reputation.
Common mistakes when inviting outsiders
- Inviting investors to make the event seem formal results in the team not daring to speak up.
- To have a consultant lead the entire session, the internal team becomes an audience and loses ownership of the decisions.
- Not assigning roles in advance, leading outsiders to misunderstand that they have the authority to finalize, making the team hesitant to make adjustments.
- To ensure outsiders stay for the entire session, including sensitive discussions, the real issues of the business should not be disclosed.
The viewpoint of Sinh Vũ
In the preparation phase, Sinh Vũ sits down with you to filter the list of attendees according to the decisions that need to be made, not based on social niceties. For each external participant, Sinh Vũ specifies: which part they will enter, what role they will play, and whether they should stay during the final decision-making.
The goal is to keep the host team in control of decisions. Because outsiders will leave the room after the meeting, while you and your team are the ones who must implement what has been agreed upon.
Intentional exclusions are as important as invitations. A meeting does not need to gather all stakeholders, but rather the right people for that specific purpose.
Priya Parker, The Art of Gathering
Decision checklist
Topic: Should we invite advisors or investors into the consulting room? Sinh Vũ guide, sinhvu.com
Select each item you find appropriate, then print or save as PDF to take with you.
If you have marked most of the signs above, this is the time to discuss in more detail. Sinh Vũ can help you review and propose a direction.
References
Priya Parker, The Art of Gathering (Shortform summary); Amy Edmondson, research on organizational psychological safety, UC Berkeley Haas; DACI: A Decision-Making Framework, Atlassian Team Playbook.
Frequently asked questions
Investors request to attend the brand consultation. How does Sinh Vũ recommend handling this?
Sinh Vũ suggests inviting them at the beginning to hear the context and express their views, then politely requesting to move to a closed working session. If the investor disagrees, it signals the need to negotiate decision-making rights before delving into brand content. This situation should not be resolved on the spot during the session.
Our strategic advisor is very skilled. Should we let them lead the entire session?
No. The best advisors should only act as providers of information and critiques, not as the ones framing the entire session. When an advisor leads the entire meeting, the internal team can become passive and lose ownership of the decisions, even though they will ultimately be the ones to implement them. Clearly define roles from the start: what the advisor contributes and what the team finalizes.
If investors are not invited to participate, will they feel excluded?
It may be possible, so it’s important to proactively inform about how the session will be organized and why. Explain that the closed part is for the team to speak honestly with each other, not to hide information. After the session, summarize the results and the reasons for choosing that direction thoroughly. Transparency in the process is often enough to address feelings of being overlooked.