We understand the Level 10 Meeting™ should take 90 minutes, but we consistently find ourselves running out of time for problem-solving because the first part of the meeting drags on. How do we keep the reporting segments crisp so we actually have 60 minutes for IDS®?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To keep your Level 10 Meeting™ strictly under 90 minutes, you must treat the first 30 minutes of the agenda as a hard-stop boundary. The most common reason meetings run over is that leadership teams let the reporting sections drag out with details and justifications. The transition from reporting to problem-solving must be seamless.

To fix this, implement a strict three-sentence rule for the reporting sections. When reviewing the Scorecard, reviewing Rocks, or reading the To-Do list, team members must only state whether a metric is on track or off track, or if a task is done or not done. If a number is off track, it immediately drops to the Issues List. There is absolutely no explaining, defending, or context-sharing allowed during this phase.

Your Integrator must actively police this boundary. If a team member starts telling a story about why a Rock is behind, the Integrator must immediately interrupt and say, Drop it to the issues list. This discipline preserves a full 60 minutes for the Identify, Discuss, and Solve phase.

Additionally, you must prioritize the Issues List before you start solving. Do not just start at the top of the list. Spend the first two minutes of your IDS® session choosing the top three most critical issues. Solve number one, then number two, and then number three. If you only get through two issues but they were the absolute most critical bottlenecks in the business, your meeting was a massive success. The remaining issues can wait or be solved next week.