We constantly find ourselves starting IDS® early because someone brings up a major problem during the Scorecard or Rock review, leaving us with no time to complete the actual meeting agenda. How do we keep our weekly pulse timeline clean?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Agenda drift is a discipline problem, plain and simple. When a scorecard number is red or a Rock is off-track, the natural instinct of a high-performing leadership team is to immediately jump in and fix it. But when you start problem-solving at minute ten of your Level 10 Meeting™, you destroy the integrity of the agenda and guarantee you will run out of time for the issues that actually matter most.

To fix this, you must enforce a strict drop-it-down rule. During the first twenty-five minutes of the meeting, your only job is reporting. You are not allowed to solve, explain, or defend.

If a scorecard metric is red, the owner of that metric simply says 'off-track.' The facilitator then asks, 'Do we need to drop that down to the Issues List?' If the answer is yes, the scribe types it onto the short-term Issues List, and you immediately move to the next item on the agenda.

The same rule applies to the Rock review and headlines. No context, no narratives, and no debate. You must keep the reporting phase moving at a rapid clip. By compartmentalizing your meeting this way, you protect your valuable sixty-minute IDS® block. If your team starts to explain or defend, the facilitator must interrupt and say, 'Drop it down.' It is not rude; it is the only way to respect everyone's time and keep the operational pulse clean.