How Effective are Your L10s, Really?

Whenever I meet with a Visionary about my services, I always ask to sit in on one of their L10™ meetings. My offer is usually accepted. What do they have to lose? Most of them feel that they are already doing a good job in their L10s, but perhaps I can make some observations or suggestions that would be helpful to them.

In reality, I rarely sit in on a well-run L10. Here are some of the common mistakes I see companies make in their L10s:

· They don’t start or end on time. This disrespects everyone’s time and causes problems as meetings run over into other commitments.

· While they think they are following the L10 agenda, they are really just using the agenda as a rough guideline. They don’t understand the importance and purpose of each step, so they are not getting full benefit from them.

· They don’t follow the suggested times for each item on the agenda and instead use up lots of time discussing during the reporting part of the meeting.

· As a result, they have less than 60 minutes to work on solving Issues – which is the real purpose of the L10.

· There is no accountability among the team members. Sometimes there are no Rocks that the team members are working on, or there is no concern when To Dos do not get done.

· Their Scorecard is incomplete, not comprehensive, or not very effective at communicating what happened the prior week.

· They do not use the earlier agenda items to create Issues to solve later in the meeting, or the team does not generate any Issues to discuss together.

· The Visionary dominates every conversation, or the team members wait for the Visionary to make their opinion clear before speaking up, always in agreement.

· Team members are afraid to be open and honest with each other. Too much “Minnesota Nice.”

· They do not understand how to IDS™. There is no clarity around what the Issue really is.They do not move purposefully through the stages: Identify – Discuss – Solve. They often move on to the next Issue without clearly solving the first Issue and creating To Dos for follow up. They unknowingly switch to another Issue, or they conflate two Issues. As a result, they don’t solve any problems! There is lots of discussing but no solving.

· Tangents!

· People distracted by their cellphones.

· Rating the meeting an 8 simply to avoid having to comment on how the meeting could be improved.

As a result of these deficiencies, most of the L10 meetings I sit in on are nothing more than a loosely run staff meeting! They have none of the benefits of a well-run L10.

Does any of this sound familiar? Be honest.

An effective L10 should include:

· Three to seven Issues solved

· Effective use of the IDS process

· Demonstrated team member accountability

· An energized team

· Better decision making

· A rating of 9 or 10!

If that does not sound like your L10 meetings, then here are some things you can do to improve them:

· Watch this video. Here Gino Wickman himself explains the L10 agenda in great detail. Learn the importance of each item, why it is there, and what it is supposed to accomplish.

· In your L10s, follow the L10 agenda closely. The agenda is proven. It works. Follow it.

· Master the art of IDS. Done well, IDS will elevate your meetings because you will solve more Issues. Here’s a great resource on how to effectively IDS.

· Ban cellphones in your L10s.

· Train your team to spot and call out tangents as soon as they happen. This will keep you focused.

· Everyone has a responsibility, as a member of the Leadership Team, to contribute. Make sure that everyone is speaking up and that the Visionary is not dominating the discussions.

· Remember that healthy friction is good, so encourage diverse opinions in the interest of making better business decisions.

· Build a culture of accountability. By making every team member say “done/not done” and “on/off track” every week, you will be creating a culture that helps you achieve one of the best benefits of using EOS™.

If you still need help, reach out to me. I have been a fractional Integrator for five years and have run hundreds of L10s for my clients in a variety of industries. I have helped them reach their goals, starting with holding more effective L10 meetings. I can be reached at roger@rogerscherping.com or 651-247-1993 or my LinkedIn page.

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