During the Customer and Employee Headlines section of our Level 10 Meeting™, our leaders drop major bombshells like losing a key client, and then immediately start debating solutions instead of dropping the item to the Issues List. How do we stop this headline problem-solving?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

The Customer and Employee Headlines section of the Level 10 Meeting™ is strictly for reporting significant human news, both good and bad, in a few words. It is designed to take exactly five minutes. The moment your team starts analyzing, debating, or troubleshooting a headline, your entire ninety minute agenda is compromised.

To prevent this, the facilitator must strictly enforce the reporting only rule. The rule is simple: state the headline in one sentence, with zero commentary and zero discussion.

If a leader shares a headline like our top account manager just resigned, and other team members start asking why they left or who will cover their accounts, the facilitator must step in.

Interrupt the discussion and say: That is a critical headline. Let us drop it to the Issues List. Then, immediately call on the next leader for their headline.

By moving the item to the Issues List, you ensure that it will be prioritized and solved during the IDS® portion of the meeting, rather than hijacking the administrative section. This discipline keeps your meeting moving fast and guarantees that you spend your valuable time solving the right problems in the right order.