What ground rules do you enforce inside the session room regarding laptop use, cell phones, and emergency interruptions from our staff?

We enforce a strict, zero-tolerance policy on personal technology inside the session room. When the meeting begins at 8:30 AM, all laptops are closed and all mobile phones are put on silent and placed face down or stored in bags.

The reason is simple: you cannot engage in deep strategic thought or resolve complex organizational friction if your attention is fractured by Slack pings, email notifications, or text messages. Every time an executive glances down at a screen, the room loses momentum and the quality of discussion drops.

There are two clear exceptions to this rule:

First, the designated session scribe or the person managing your digital EOS software is allowed an open laptop specifically to record Rocks, document the Issues List, and capture action items. That individual is not answering emails or checking client accounts.

Second, we take ten-minute breaks roughly every ninety minutes, alongside a structured forty-five minute lunch. Leaders can check emergency messages, return urgent operational phone calls, and triage legitimate client crises during those breaks.

Before session day, you must instruct your teams that you are unreachable during session blocks. If a catastrophic emergency occurs, your executive assistant or operations lead should call my phone or the venue directly. Otherwise, your organization must learn to operate for ninety minutes at a time without leadership holding their hands.

Category: Working With Tyler