What Is a Level 10 Meeting and How to Run One (+Template)

Did you know that 71% of people think that meetings are unproductive and inefficient? 

However, if you implement the discipline of a Level 10 meeting, you can make your meetings more productive. 

A weekly Level 10 meeting helps keep you focused on the tasks at hand and helps you know the problem areas so that you can devise effective solutions. Let us first understand what a Level 10 meeting is.

What is a Level 10 meeting?

A Level 10 meeting is a core element of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS). It is a practical tool system that helps entrepreneurs get what they want from the business. 

Primarily designed for leadership teams, a Level 10 is a weekly 90-minute meeting that helps recognize the significant problems and focuses on finding viable solutions.

It is called a level 10 meeting because, at the end of the meeting, each participant has to rate it on a scale of 1 to 10. Although the aim is to get a perfect 10/10, it is good to have slightly less, as it leaves room for improvement. 

A good rule of thumb is to have the meeting on the same day and time every week and stick to a plan to achieve your goals. Also, it is crucial to have the same start and end times for the meeting. 

The benefits and constraints of Level 10 meetings

Timely Level 10 meetings are instrumental in keeping the team focused on the goals. Even if your organization does not use EOS as a business tool, you can leverage the L10 meetings to maximize efficiency. 

“As a leader, you must consistently drive effective communication. Meetings must be deliberate and intentional - your organizational rhythm should value purpose over habit and effectiveness over efficiency.”-Chris Fussell

Here are a few key benefits of these meetings:

1. Effective utilization of time 

A Level 10 meeting lasts for precisely 90 minutes-not a minute more or less. As time is limited, everyone focuses on making the best use of time, and the key is to stick to the agenda. 

Eventually, this helps train the team to make the most of the limited time and focus on resolving the issues at hand.

2. Better problem solving 

These meetings follow a structured pattern encouraging the team to analyze the problem and brainstorm for an effective solution. Learning to identify the root cause of the problem takes time and patience, but it helps develop creative and effective solutions. 

3. Keep your goal oriented

EOS believes in having Rocks, a type of SMART goal for the leadership team and everyone in the organization. These goals are reviewed every 90 days. 

Not only do they set a clear path but also a time frame to achieve them. These goals are tracked regularly during the meeting, and if they are off track, the number one priority is to focus on ways to achieve them.

Level 10 meeting shortcomings

These meetings have a plethora of benefits but there are some challenges too. First, you must follow a structure that requires felicitation to make the meeting successful. Second, a lot of preparation goes into the session. For instance, the team has to prepare a segue, scorecard, etc.

So, having an effective meeting is dependent on the time and effort that each member puts in prepping up for the meeting.

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Level 10 meeting agenda template

A typical EOS Level 10 agenda meeting template has the following components:

Check-In

Also called the segue, the idea is to kick off the meeting on a good note. So each person shares a piece of good news right at the start of the session. The information could be either personal or professional.

Score-card

A scorecard comprises a collection of your key metrics and measurables. The information in the scorecard is collected before the meeting.

Rocks

Rocks are a list of three to seven goals in a quarter that the organization must accomplish to meet the long-term targets. Basically, rock updates are linked to the company’s objectives for the current year. 

Headlines

A headline section in the template is where you can share any new information about an occurrence in the company. It could be related to the customer, an employee, or any other significant person. 

The purpose of headlines is to make everybody aware of the latest developments that may affect decision-making in the future.

To-do list

For every meeting, you come up with a list of things to be done, and each person is assigned an action item. So, during every session, you go through the last week’s to-do list. 

The person responsible for the task has to report whether it has been accomplished. If the task is still pending, it is regarded as an issue to be discussed later.

IDS

IDS is the heart of the meeting and is the acronym for Identify, Discuss, and Solve. This session lasts for about an hour, and the team identifies the three most important issues and focuses on resolving them.

With regular practice and disciplined efforts, the teams learn to prioritize issues and develop creative solutions.

Wrap up

In the last five minutes, the facilitator summarizes the to-do list, and everyone rates the meeting on a scale of 1 to 10.  The standard score is a minimum of 8, and if it is less, you specify the reason for giving the low score. Based on the scores, you get to know the areas of improvement for the next meeting. 

With this EOS Level 10 meeting template, you will have a complete agenda which is the key to a successful meeting. You can make changes to the plan and also update the action items. 

How to prepare for a Level 10 meeting?

Would you attend a client meeting without being prepared? Well, no, because it is a recipe for disaster. Similarly, Level 10 meetings need adequate effort and preparation to make them a success.

Here are a few steps that will help you in getting ready:

• Go through the Level 10 meeting agenda and the other essential tools such as a Scorecard, Rocks, To-do list, and the Issues List. It is good to identify the top three issues before attending the meeting.

• Ask yourself what’s in it for me so that you have a clear idea of the expectations and goals. 

• Gather any relevant information that will help in resolving the issues. 

Once everyone is ready for the meeting, you will notice that you will get more time to focus on resolving the issues. 

Pro tips for a successful Level 10 meeting

For the meetings to have an ROI, it is essential to follow these steps:

• Although the discussion topics will vary, having a consistent agenda helps everyone prepare well and avoid last-minute hiccups.

• Everyone’s time is valuable, so ensure that the meetings start and end on time. It saves time by giving perspective to the people who arrive late, as the purpose is to respect each other’s time.

• Encourage everyone to have one topic for discussion at a time to focus on the meeting. People often tend to go off track, but the facilitator should remind them to focus on the issue at hand for a quick resolution. Other subsequent topics can be included in the IDS and discussed later.

The central part of the meeting should be reserved for discussing the issues that need immediate attention. A successful Level 10 meeting is dependent on analyzing the root cause of the problems and finding ways to fix them.