A field tool
The Stay Conversation Planner
One page. Fill it in before you walk in.
What this is
A stay conversation is the talk you have with a good person who has started to slip, while there is still time to change the story. This planner is the single page you fill in before that conversation, so you walk in clear instead of winging it. It takes a few minutes. Those few minutes are the difference between a conversation that helps and one that makes things worse.
How to use it
Fill it in quietly before the conversation, not during. Keep it short. The goal is not a script you read aloud. It is a clear head: one purpose, one good opener, one real ask, and a plan to actually listen. Bring the page in your pocket, not in your hand.
This stays on your device. What you write here is saved only in this browser. It is never sent to us or to anyone.
The one rule
Never ask if they are leaving.
Do not ask “are you thinking about leaving?” It backs the person into a corner, makes the moment feel like an exit interview, and almost always gets you a guarded answer that helps no one. It can even plant the idea. Always reframe forward: ask what would make the work better, what they want more of, what is getting in their way, what would make them want to stay and grow here.
Instead of
“Are you unhappy here? Are you looking around?”
Try
“I want to make sure this is still a place you want to build something. What would make the next few months better for you?”
The person, and the specific change that brought you here. One or two lines.
The one outcome that matters most. Not ten things. One.
The first sentence, written down so it lands warm and not loaded. Care first, agenda second.
The single most important question. Forward-looking. Never the red-line question.
What you are hoping to understand. Aim for them speaking most of the time.
One specific, time-bound next step, theirs and yours, before the conversation ends.
A date. The conversation is not done when it ends. The follow-through is the work.
A few reminders
- Lead with care, not with the agenda. Meaning before measurement.
- Listen more than you talk. If you are doing most of the speaking, slow down.
- What is said stays between you. Protecting trust is the whole point.
- If it goes sideways, that is normal. Stay calm, stay curious, and still close on one small next step.
Planning one good conversation by hand is doable. Planning a tailored one for every person who needs it, with the right words for who they are, every time, week after week, is where even the best manager runs out of hours.
When one conversation becomes thirty.
Preparing one stay conversation well is a skill you can build today. Keeping the right preparation ready for every person, every time, is more than hands can sustain. That is the lift Anchor was built for. No pressure, and no pitch.
See how Anchor could help youLeads to a short request form. We reach out to talk, not to sell.