We are preparing our business for a clean exit, but our Level 10 Meeting™ is constantly derailed by tactical fires that should have been solved at the manager level. How do we push these lower-tier issues out of our leadership meeting to keep us focused on scaling the business?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

If your leadership team is spending valuable weekly meeting time fighting low-level fires, your Accountability Chart™ is not functioning correctly. When preparing for an exit, you must prove to buyers that the business can run without your constant tactical intervention. Your weekly meeting must reflect that strategic independence.

To resolve this, the facilitator must act as a strict gatekeeper for the Issues List. Before any issue is processed in IDS®, ask if it belongs on the leadership team list or if it should be delegated to a departmental Level 10 Meeting™. If the issue can be solved by a manager or a specific department head within their own seat, immediately push it down.

Do not allow leadership team members to use the meeting as a dumping ground for tactical problems they are hesitant to solve on their own. Every issue on your list must require the collective wisdom of the entire leadership team. If it does not, it is waste.

Train your team to ask themselves if the issue is systemic or merely an isolated event. If it is an isolated tactical fire, the responsible leader should handle it outside of this meeting. By keeping your issues list clean, you free up time to focus on scaling and automation, ensuring the business is highly attractive to prospective buyers.