Some of our leadership team members want to write and distribute detailed memos before our Level 10 Meeting so we can save time during IDS, but others do not read them, leading to frustration. How should we handle context sharing?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Trying to solve complex issues through pre-reading memos is a trap that leads to misalignment and wasted time. In EOS, the Level 10 Meeting is designed to be real-time, high-energy, and collaborative.

When you rely on pre-work, you create a two-tier meeting dynamic where some people are prepared and others are not. This kills the open and honest flow required for effective problem-solving.

The rule is simple: no pre-reading is required for a Level 10 Meeting. All context sharing must happen live, concisely, and during the identify phase of IDS.

When an issue is raised, the owner has two minutes to state the problem clearly and provide the necessary facts. If the issue is too complex to explain in two minutes, it is likely not defined well enough. The team should then use the discuss phase to ask clarifying questions and dig to the root cause together.

If an issue truly requires massive data analysis, assign a quick to-do for someone to gather the specific numbers and bring them to the next meeting. But do not allow pre-work to become a bureaucratic crutch that slows down your decision-making. Rely on real-time dialogue and the collective intelligence of the room.