During our weekly Level 10 Meeting, we frequently start debating and trying to solve problems during the Scorecard, Rock, or To-Do review. By the time we actually reach the IDS portion of the agenda, we have already wasted thirty minutes on unstructured arguments. How do we stop this reporting drift?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is one of the most common ways a Level 10 Meeting™ loses its power. When a scorecard metric is red, a Rock is off track, or a To-Do is not done, the natural human reaction is to defend, explain, or immediately start fixing it. The moment anyone starts explaining or debating during the first twenty five minutes of the meeting, the facilitator must step in.

The facilitator must say one phrase: Drop it to the Issues List. There is no negotiating here. The reporting section of the agenda is strictly for reporting. It is binary. The metric is either on track or off track. The To-Do is either done or not done. If it is not done or off track, it is dropped to the bottom of the list.

Do not allow a single sentence of explanation. If a leader says the number is off because a vendor was late, stop them. Just say, drop it. You will have plenty of time to dissect the vendor issue during the IDS® portion, where you can prioritize it against everything else. This keeps your reporting fast, keeps your energy high, and ensures you spend your seventy minutes of IDS® solving the most critical issues first, rather than whatever happened to be read first on the scorecard.