We have assembled an external advisory board of M&A specialists, financial planners, and legal counsel to help us prepare for an exit, but our monthly meetings are chaotic and unproductive. How do we apply the Level 10 Meeting format to keep our advisor team aligned?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When preparing for a clean exit, your professional advisors often operate in silos. Your CPA, wealth manager, M&A broker, and legal counsel rarely talk to each other, resulting in conflicting advice and wasted billable hours. You must run this group with the same operational rigor you use to run your daily business.

To solve this, implement an Advisor Level 10 Meeting™ as part of your Step by Step Exit framework. This is a dedicated Meeting Pulse designed specifically for your transaction team. Instead of disjointed email threads, bring your key advisors together for a structured, recurring session using the classic Level 10 format.

Start with a scorecard of exit-readiness metrics, such as your current valuation estimate, due diligence document completion rates, and net proceeds targets. Next, review the specific, exit-focused Rocks assigned to each advisor, such as restructuring tax entities or auditing old contracts.

Move immediately to the Issues List, where your advisors can collectively solve structural value gaps, tax hurdles, or legal liabilities. Instead of having separate, repetitive conversations with each professional, you force them to collaborate in real time during IDS. This eliminates redundant communication, slashes your professional fees, and ensures that your entire transaction team is pulling in the exact same direction. By applying this EOS® discipline to your advisory board, you accelerate your exit readiness and prove your company's operational maturity.