What Is a Level 10 Meeting?
A Level 10 Meeting is a weekly meeting used in the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS). Its main goal is to keep teams aligned and focused. The name “Level 10” comes from the idea that teams should rate the meeting a 10 out of 10 for effectiveness.
This meeting has a clear structure. It covers key updates, solves issues, and helps everyone stay on track. It usually lasts 90 minutes and happens on the same day and time each week.
When done right, it boosts communication, improves problem-solving, and strengthens team accountability.
Why Level 10 Meetings Work
Level 10 Meetings work because they follow a simple and repeatable format. Everyone knows what to expect. This helps people stay focused and use time wisely.
The meeting allows teams to quickly review goals and fix any problems that get in the way. It also makes sure that important issues don’t get ignored or pushed aside. It helps teams build trust by creating space for open and honest conversations.
The Right People in the Room
The power of a Level 10 Meeting comes from focus. Limit attendance to leaders who directly own company-wide priorities. This keeps the meeting strategic rather than tactical. If team members want visibility, cascade the outcomes through department meetings. The leadership team should walk out aligned and ready to communicate clarity downstream.
The Level 10 Meeting Agenda
The agenda should be the same every week. This builds a habit and helps everyone stay efficient. Here’s what a typical Level 10 Meeting looks like:
Starting Strong With a Segue
Every Level 10 Meeting begins with a brief “Segue.” It takes no more than five minutes, but it sets the tone for everything that follows.
Each person shares one professional win and one personal highlight from the past week. This quick round does more than break the ice. It reinforces team connection, builds trust, and shifts the room out of day-to-day firefighting mode. Leaders arrive centered, positive, and ready to focus on company-level priorities.
The Segue may feel small, but over time it creates cultural glue. Teams that consistently start this way report stronger relationships, higher engagement, and fewer communication breakdowns.
Keeping Score With the Scorecard
The Scorecard is the heartbeat of a Level 10 Meeting. It tracks the small set of numbers that show whether the business is healthy and moving in the right direction.
Most teams use five to fifteen key metrics, each with a clear weekly target. The review stays short and factual. If a number is off track, it is flagged and addressed later in the IDS portion of the meeting.
The strength of the Scorecard is that it surfaces issues early. A drop in qualified leads this week, for example, points to a revenue problem months down the road. By catching trends quickly, leadership teams can act before problems grow.
Here are examples of what a Scorecard might track:
| Metric | Target | What It Measures |
|---|---|---|
| Qualified Leads | 50 per week | Top of sales funnel health |
| Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) | 90%+ | Quality of customer experience |
| On-Time Delivery | 95%+ | Operational efficiency |
| Weekly Revenue | $250,000 | Sales performance |
| Employee Turnover | <5% per quarter | Team stability |
Rock Review Keeps Goals on Track
Quarterly priorities in EOS are called “Rocks.” These are the three to seven goals that matter most in the next 90 days. Limiting the list forces discipline. If everything is a priority, nothing is.
Each week in the Level 10 Meeting, every leader gives a simple update: “On Track” or “Off Track.” No long explanations. No debate. The purpose is visibility and accountability.
When a Rock is marked off track, it is not ignored or pushed to the side. It immediately moves to the IDS portion of the meeting where the team decides how to fix it. This keeps problems from festering and ensures quarterly goals stay alive throughout the 13-week cycle.
A consistent Rock Review creates focus. Leaders cannot drift for weeks at a time without anyone noticing. Instead, the company sees progress in real time and can make the right adjustments before it is too late.
Here’s an example of how Rocks might be tracked in a Level 10 Meeting:
| Rock | Status |
|---|---|
| Launch new customer portal | On Track |
| Reduce churn by 10% | Off Track |
| Hire VP of Sales | On Track |
Customer and Employee Headlines
This part of the Level 10 Meeting is for quick updates about customers and employees. It keeps the leadership team informed about the people who matter most to the business.
A headline might be a positive customer story, like a new contract signed or an outstanding review. It could also highlight risks, such as a key account expressing concerns. On the employee side, leaders may share promotions, recognition, or important departures.
The purpose is not to debate or problem-solve in the moment. It is simply to surface information that the team should know. If a headline points to a deeper issue, it can be flagged for the IDS portion of the meeting.
When done well, this step keeps leaders connected to the front lines without getting lost in detail. It reminds everyone that behind the metrics and Rocks are real customers and real employees who drive the company forward.
Here are some examples of the types of headlines a team might share:
- “Customer X just renewed their contract for another year”
- “We received a 5-star review highlighting our support team”
- “One of our top engineers was promoted to team lead”
- “A long-time employee announced their retirement”
- “Customer Y flagged delivery delays as a growing concern”
Accountability Through the To-Do List
This part reviews last week’s action items. Each person says if their task is “Done” or “Not Done.” There’s no room for long excuses. Tasks that aren’t finished may become issues to solve later.
Keeping this short helps build a habit of accountability.
The Power of IDS: Identify, Discuss, Solve
IDS is the centerpiece of the Level 10 Meeting. It is where the real work gets done. The team builds a list of issues, ranks them by importance, and then tackles them one at a time.
The IDS process has three steps:
- Identify: Find the root of the issue, not just the symptom
- Discuss: Talk it through openly until the real obstacle is clear
- Solve: Agree on a concrete action or decision that moves the business forward
The key is discipline. Only the most important issues make it onto the IDS list, and only one issue is solved at a time. Rambling, side conversations, and vague commitments drain value. A strong facilitator keeps the group focused and makes sure every solution ends with a clear to-do assigned to someone in the room.
If time runs out, lower-priority issues stay on the list for the next meeting. That is not failure, it is focus. The measure of success in IDS is not how many issues you talk about, but whether the right issues are solved in a way that clears the path for progress.
Wrap Up With Clear Next Steps
Every Level 10 Meeting ends with clarity. The team confirms new to-dos, makes sure every task has a clear owner, and closes by rating the meeting itself. This step locks in accountability and creates a habit of continuous improvement.
Here’s what to cover in the final five minutes:
- Review new to-dos: Capture commitments made during the meeting and assign them to one person each
- Rate the meeting: Each participant scores the meeting from 1 to 10 for effectiveness
- Gather feedback: If someone gives a low score, ask what would make it better next time
By ending this way, teams leave aligned, accountable, and with a clear path for improving how they work together week after week.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Even well-intentioned teams can stumble when running Level 10 Meetings. The most common pitfalls usually come from drifting away from the agenda or trying to do too much at once.
- Rushing through sections or skipping parts of the agenda
- Letting updates turn into long side stories
- Trying to solve every issue instead of focusing on the top priorities
- Changing the format from week to week, which breaks the habit
- Allowing vague to-dos without clear ownership
Avoiding these mistakes is less about perfection and more about discipline. Stick to the format, keep conversations focused, and let repetition build mastery over time.
Making the Meeting a Habit
The real power of a Level 10 Meeting comes from consistency. Hold it at the same time and place each week, and treat it as non-negotiable. Cancel only in true emergencies.
Over time, the team will get faster at moving through the agenda, sharper at solving issues, and more disciplined about accountability. Trust will grow as everyone sees progress week after week.
Commitment to the process is what turns Level 10 Meetings from another calendar event into a driver of long-term results.
Conclusion: Why It Matters
A well-run Level 10 Meeting does more than keep a team organized. It creates alignment, drives accountability, and ensures that leadership spends its time solving the issues that matter most. The result is a team that makes faster decisions, executes with clarity, and builds trust week after week.
If you want stronger results, start with stronger meetings. Commit to the Level 10 process and use it with discipline. Over time, it becomes not just a meeting, but the operating rhythm that powers growth.
Want your Level 10 Meetings to run at a true 10 out of 10? At ScaleUpExec, we help leadership teams master EOS by facilitating meetings that stay focused, solve the right issues, and drive accountability every week. Whether you need guidance setting up the process or a fractional COO to serve as Integrator, you can see how ScaleUpExec can help your team build a meeting rhythm that powers real growth.
Schedule a call with ScaleUpExec today and learn how to turn your Level 10 Meetings into a true engine for results.
