Our leadership team is highly cohesive, our scorecard is completely green, and our Rocks are on track, which leaves us with a very short Issues List. We often finish our Level 10 Meetings in under an hour. Is this a sign of operational excellence or are we missing something?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

While it is tempting to celebrate a short meeting as a sign of operational excellence, a consistently empty Issues List is usually a warning sign of complacency. In a growing business, there is always friction, and if you are not finding issues, you are likely not looking hard enough.

First, raise the bar on your standards. If your scorecard is always green, your targets may be too easy. Challenge your team to set more aggressive, leading-indicator goals.

Second, look deeper at your strategic horizon. Use the extra time to bring long-term opportunities or potential market threats from your V/TO onto the table. Just because there are no operational fires today does not mean you should not be actively planning for the future.

Third, practice proactive issue discovery. Ask each leader: what is the one thing in your department that is currently working but will break if we double our revenue? This simple question will instantly generate high-value, forward-looking issues.

Do not let a smooth-running operation turn into a comfortable retirement home. Use your weekly ninety minutes to push the boundaries of what is possible, prepare the business for an eventual clean exit, and ensure your team is always growing.