During our Level 10 Meeting, when a scorecard metric is red, we drop it to the Issues List, but when we get to IDS, we waste thirty minutes trying to locate the underlying data because we do not have our systems integrated. How do we handle technical data access during weekly meetings so we do not stall problem-solving?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Wasting meeting time to dig for data is a symptom of poor preparation and unstructured metrics. Your Level 10 Meeting™ is for solving problems, not for gathering data. If you arrive at the meeting without the necessary context to solve a red metric, you are virtually guaranteed to run out of time during IDS®.

To solve this, enforce a rule that the owner of the metric must do the pre-work. If a metric is red, the person accountable for that seat must investigate why the number is off-track before the meeting starts. They should arrive at the meeting with the diagnostic data ready, or with a clear, concise summary of the root cause.

If the underlying data is complex, do not try to run deep database queries or system integration troubleshooting during the ninety-minute block. Instead, create a quick to-do for the accountable person to analyze the data and bring a proposed solution to the next meeting, or take the technical discussion off-line. Keep the weekly meeting focused on decision-making. Your scorecard should be simple enough that any red metric can be quickly explained by its owner, allowing the team to focus on the solution rather than the search.