A Level 10 Meeting™ is a weekly, structured meeting designed to help leadership teams stay focused, solve Issues, and drive accountability. It follows a strict agenda and is a key to running on EOS® (Entrepreneurial Operating System®). Integrating these meetings into your weekly routine using Ninety's platform allows you to streamline processes and enhance team collaboration.

Introduction to Level 10 Meetings

Level 10 Meetings are designed first and foremost for leadership teams, but any kind of team can utilize their framework and agenda — many department-level teams reduce the length of the meeting from 90 minutes to 60 minutes. 

Forming your team's meeting cadence around weekly Level 10 meetings is essential for providing a consistent forum for evaluating key metrics, reviewing goals, addressing pressing Issues, and ensuring everyone is aligned with the company's Vision. The ultimate aim is to make these meetings so effective that participants would rate them a "10" on a scale of 1 to 10.

Key Features of Level 10 Meetings

• Consistent Scheduling: Teams should hold their Level 10 Meetings on the same day and time each week to establish a reliable rhythm.
• Structured Agenda: A standardized agenda ensures all critical topics are covered efficiently.
• Time Management: Each meeting segment is time-boxed to maintain focus and productivity.
• Issue Prioritization: Emphasis on identifying and resolving the most pressing Issues affecting the team or the organization.
• Accountability: Regularly review action items and goals to track progress and hold team members accountable.

Running Level 10 Meetings with Ninety

We've designed our platform to facilitate seamless Level 10 Meetings by automating agendas, tracking time, and documenting outcomes. Here's how to effectively run these meetings using Ninety:

• Schedule your meetings ahead of time.
• Prepare for your L10 by keeping Ninety's tools up-to-date.
• Conduct your meetings on Ninety.

Scheduling Your Level 10 Meetings

To schedule a Level 10 Meeting™ for your team:

1. Click Meetings from the left navigation.
2. Click Schedule a Meeting.
3. Select Level 10 Meeting™ from the Agenda dropdown.
4. Click the calendar icon to select a meeting date.
5. Enter the start time for the meeting based on your time zone in Ninety.
   1. (Optional) Choose when to repeat the meeting from the Repeating Meeting Cadence dropdown.
   2. (Optional) Choose a facilitator and scribe from the respective dropdowns.
6. Click Save.
7. (Optional) Add the meeting to your work calendar.

Preparing for Your Level 10 Meeting

To prepare for an upcoming Level 10 Meeting on Ninety, ensure the items you're accountable for are up to date, including:

• Measurables in the Scorecard tool.
• Quarterly goals and Milestones in the Rocks tool.
• Action items in the To-Dos tool.
• Problems, obstacles, and opportunities documented in the Issues tool.
• Announcements in the Headlines tool.

Conducting Your Level 10 Meeting

We've pre-populated the tried and true Level 10 Meeting™ agenda in our Meetings tool. To start your Level 10 Meeting on Ninety:

1. Click Meetings from the left navigation.
2. Click the Start a Meeting button.
3. Select Level 10 Meeting™ from the Agenda dropdown.

Note: If your meeting was previous scheduled, click Start for the corresponding meeting in the Upcoming Meetings section.

The Level 10 Meeting™ Agenda

Here's a breakdown of the agenda:

1. Segue (5 minutes): Each participant shares personal or professional good news to build rapport and transition into the meeting mindset.
2. Scorecard Review (5 minutes): Assess key Measurables. Any off-track metrics are added to the Issues List for deeper discussion.
3. Rock Review (5 minutes): Evaluate the status of quarterly goals. Any goals not progressing as planned are noted as issues.
4. Customer/Employee Headlines (5 minutes): Share significant updates or feedback. Positive news is celebrated, while concerns are moved to the Issues List.
5. To-Do List Review (5 minutes): Verify the completion of action items from the previous meeting. Incomplete items are examined to understand obstacles.
6. Identify, Discuss, Solve (IDS) (60 minutes): Prioritize and address the top Issues. Utilize Ninety's tools to document discussions and assign actionable steps.
7. Conclude (5 minutes): Recap new action items, determine any messages to cascade to the broader team, and rate the meeting's effectiveness on a scale of 1 to 10.

Tips and Best Practices

Holding effective Level 10 Meetings every week is essential to strengthen your organization's Meetings Componenet, one of the Six Key Components® identified by the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS®). You can learn more about the Six Key Components and the EOS Model from this blog and more about Level 10 Meetings in this article, both written by a Professional EOS Implementer®.

Here are some quick tips and best practices to improve your team's Level 10 Meetings:

• Start and end your meeting on time.
• Create Issues on topics that need to be discussed.
• Wait until the IDS® section of the meeting to discuss Issues.
• Stay on topic and start with high-priority Issues.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How can I customize the Level 10 Meeting agenda in Ninety?

Customizing a Meeting Agenda

Editing an Existing Agenda or Create a Custom Agenda

Users with the role of Manager or higher can edit and customize meeting agendas. Read more about roles here.

Editing Agendas

1. Click Meetings from the left navigation.
2. Click the Agendas tab.
3. Choose the correct team from the Team dropdown.
4. Click the agenda to edit from the list shown.
5. Customize the agenda by:
   1. Toggling on or off listed agenda sections.
   2. Click the pencil icon to edit a section's details.
   3. Click Add Custom Section to create your own agenda item.
   4. Click Add Tool Section to a Ninety tool to the agenda.
   5. Click and drag items to rearrange the agenda.
6. Click Save Changes.

 

 

 

Creating New Agendas

1. Click Meetings from the left navigation.
2. Click the Agendas tab.
3. Choose the correct team from the Team dropdown.
4. Click + Create Agenda at the bottom of the agendas list.
5. Name the agenda.
6. Add custom and/or tool sections.
7. Drag and drop agenda items into the desired order.
8. Adjust the duration of each item.
9. Click Create Agenda.

 

 

 

 

You cannot update the Meeting name of a default agenda.

 

 

Adding Custom Text or a URL to a Section

You can add pre-written text or a custom URL to a product board, spreadsheet, or any website the team uses. To create this kind of custom page, use the pencil icon to the right of any section and update the rich text window or URL field accordingly.

Things to remember when adding a URL:

• The URL needs to be HTTPS (we are a secure site, so the site entered needs to be secure).
• The URL needs to be public. It cannot be behind a password-protected page (iframe-friendly URLs are recommended).

 

If you see a padlock icon (instead of a pencil icon), the section has predetermined text or functionality that cannot be edited.

 

 

Starting a New Meeting With a Custom Agenda

All your agendas (custom-made included) appear in a list when you're starting or scheduling a meeting. To start a meeting with a custom agenda:

1. Click Meetings from the left navigation.
2. Choose the team from the Team dropdown.
3. Click Start a Meeting.
4. Choose the custom agenda from the list shown.

 

Customizing Agendas for the Whole Company

To push a custom agenda to all teams, an Admin, Owner, or Implementer use company settings.

1. Click your name from the bottom of the left navigation.
2. Click Company Settings.
3. Click Meetings.
4. Select an agenda from the dropdown or click the plus button to create a new agenda.
5. Click Save.
6. Click More Options.
7. Click Push to All Teams.

Now, all the teams in your organization will have this agenda as a default option for their meetings. Clear and focused agendas are critical for meeting efficiency. Team members should know what to expect when they enter a meeting and how they can participate.