We want to roll out Level 10 Meetings to our smaller departments, but some of our specialized teams like HR and Marketing only consist of two people. Running a full ninety-minute meeting for just two people feels like overkill and a waste of time. How do we structure the weekly pulse for these tiny departments?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Every department needs a weekly pulse to stay aligned, regardless of team size. A two-person department is still prone to communication breakdowns, misaligned priorities, and dropped tasks. However, you do not need to force a two-person team into a rigid ninety-minute block if they can achieve the same results in less time.

For departments with only two people, implement a compressed version of the Level 10 Meeting. You must keep the exact same sequence and agenda, but you can scale the time limits down to forty-five or sixty minutes.

Maintain this structured flow:
- Spend five minutes on the segue to share personal and professional bests.
- Spend five minutes reviewing the departmental Scorecard to check lead measures.
- Spend five minutes checking the progress of their departmental Rocks.
- Spend five minutes reviewing customer and employee headlines.
- Spend five minutes confirming that last week's tasks are done.
- Dedicate twenty to thirty minutes to identifying, discussing, and solving issues.
- Spend five minutes wrapping up, assigning new tasks, and rating the meeting.

Never skip the meeting just because the team is small. The discipline of the same day, same time, and same agenda is what keeps the department aligned. If you cancel the meeting, you will inevitably end up interrupting each other throughout the week with ad hoc questions, which wastes far more time than a structured weekly pulse.