During our in-person Level 10 Meetings, team members are constantly opening their laptops to pull up background data or check emails during our IDS debates, which completely kills our team's focus and momentum. How do we enforce a strict device policy without slowing down our ability to solve issues?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Laptops and phones are the ultimate momentum-killers in a physical meeting room. When team members are looking at screens, they are not fully present in the room, which destroys the collaborative friction required for a healthy IDS session.

To fix this, implement a strict no-tech rule for your weekly Level 10 Meetings. Only one person, typically the scribe, should have a laptop open to manage the Scorecard, track To-Dos, and log issues. Everyone else must close their screens.

If a team member claims they need their laptop to pull up background data for an issue, challenge that behavior. Your Level 10 Meeting is not the place for deep-dive research. If you do not have the data needed to solve an issue, do not waste twenty minutes looking it up. Instead, create a fast To-Do for someone to gather the facts and bring them to next week's meeting, then move to the next issue.

Keeping your meetings device-free forces your team to stay highly focused, listen to each other, and engage in fast, productive debate. It signals respect for everyone's time and keeps your ninety-minute meeting pulse crisp and efficient.