Our weekly Level 10 Meeting™ always starts with a Segue, but our team members regularly share rambling personal stories or detailed business updates that eat up ten to fifteen minutes before we even look at our numbers. How do we keep this opening transition tight and professional without killing the human connection?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

The purpose of the Segue is to transition your team from working in the business to working on the business. It is a psychological gear shift, not a therapy session or a detailed project update. To prevent the Segue from consuming your valuable agenda time, you must enforce a strict one-minute rule per person.

The facilitator should state the expectation clearly at the beginning of the meeting: share one personal good news item and one professional good news item, and keep it under sixty seconds. If a leader begins detailing a client project, a vendor negotiation, or a lengthy family vacation, the facilitator must politely but firmly redirect them.

A good segue is quick, high-energy, and focused on positive momentum. It should take no more than five minutes total for a typical five-person or six-person leadership team. If your team struggles with brevity, have everyone write down their two good news items in your meeting portal before the meeting starts. This forces them to crystallize their thoughts beforehand. Maintaining a tight segue keeps the team's energy sharp, honors everyone's time, and ensures you transition into the scorecard review with high momentum rather than conversational fatigue.