We respect the hard stop of our ninety-minute Level 10 Meeting™ limit, but we consistently leave ten to fifteen critical issues untouched on our list week after week. How do we handle this growing backlog without extending the meeting length?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A massive, stagnant backlog of issues on your weekly list is a sign of poor prioritization and a lack of offline conflict resolution. The goal of the Level 10 Meeting™ is not to solve every single issue on the list; it is to solve the most important issues.

To manage a growing backlog without extending your meeting past ninety minutes, you must introduce a ruthless prioritization process. Before you begin IDS®, the team must look at the list and agree on the top three issues. Only solve those three. Once they are solved, select the next top three. Never start at the top of the list just because it is chronological.

Additionally, the Integrator must clean the backlog regularly using these steps:

- Archive issues that have been on the list for more than three weeks without being selected. If they are truly critical, they will come back.
- Push localized issues that only affect two leaders to an offline meeting. They do not belong on the leadership L10 list.
- Automate operational tracking by using task management software to keep track of minor bugs, keeping the L10 list reserved for leadership-level operational bottlenecks.

By keeping the Issues List lean and focused only on the absolute highest priorities, you ensure the ninety-minute meeting remains highly productive and does not become an exhausting laundry list of complaints.