How to Run a Perfect L10 Meeting Every Week (Step-by-Step Agenda)
· Zentrix Team
But in most small and mid-sized businesses, the problem isn't email vs. meetings. The problem is that the meetings themselves are broken. They run long. They go off-track. Nothing gets decided. The same issues surface week after week with no resolution. People leave feeling drained instead of energized.
If you're running on EOS — or thinking about it — the Level 10 Meeting (L10) is the antidote. It's a 90-minute, structured weekly meeting designed to keep your leadership team aligned, accountable, and solving real problems instead of talking in circles.
But here's the thing: the L10 only works if you run it right. Get sloppy on the structure, and you're back to the same expensive, soul-crushing meetings you were trying to fix.
This guide gives you a step-by-step breakdown of the complete EOS L10 agenda — segment by segment — plus facilitator tips, common mistakes to avoid, and how to make your weekly meeting a genuine competitive advantage.
What Is an EOS L10 Meeting?
The Level 10 Meeting is the weekly pulse of your business operating system. It's a fixed-format, 90-minute meeting held every week at the same time with your leadership team.
The name comes from the goal: at the end of every meeting, participants rate it on a scale of 1–10. The target is consistently hitting a 10 — meaning the meeting was focused, productive, and moved the business forward. Most teams start around a 6 or 7 and improve steadily as the format becomes second nature.
The EOS meeting pulse is made up of seven structured segments:
- Segue — Start with humanity and wins
- Scorecard — Review your key weekly metrics
- Rock Review — Check quarterly priority progress
- Customer/Employee Headlines — Surface key people issues
- To-Do List — Accountability for last week's actions
- IDS — Identify, Discuss, Solve your top issues
- Conclude — Close with clarity and a meeting rating
Every segment has a time box. Every role has an owner. Nothing is left to chance — which is exactly why it works.
The Complete L10 Agenda: Step-by-Step
Step 1: Segue (5 minutes)
What it is: A quick round-the-table to transition everyone's attention from their day to the meeting. Each person shares one personal or professional best from the past week, plus any company news worth celebrating.
Why it matters: People walk into meetings carrying baggage — a difficult call, a stressful morning, an overflowing inbox. The Segue flips the switch. It forces everyone to find something positive, activates team connection, and focuses attention before the work begins.
How to run it:
- Go around the room (or virtual call). One best each — personal or professional.
- Keep it to 30–45 seconds per person.
- No debates, no deep dives. This is warming up, not discussing.
- The facilitator goes first to model the expected brevity.
Facilitator tip: If someone says "I can't think of anything good," prompt them: "What's one thing that went better than expected this week?" There's always something. Don't skip this segment — it changes the energy of the entire meeting.
Step 2: Scorecard Review (5 minutes)
What it is: A rapid review of your company's weekly Scorecard — a dashboard of 5–15 key metrics that give you a real-time pulse of your business. Each metric shows this week's number, the weekly goal, and a red/yellow/green status.
Why it matters: The Scorecard replaces gut-feel with data. Instead of asking "how are things going?" you look at the numbers and know immediately. Off-track metrics become issues — they go on the Issues List for IDS, not derailing the Scorecard review itself.
How to run it:
- Each metric owner states their number. Green = on track. Red = off track and goes to the Issues List.
- Do NOT discuss red metrics now. Just note them.
- Five minutes total. You're not solving problems here — you're identifying them.
- Metrics should be updated before the meeting, not during it.
Facilitator tip: The biggest mistake teams make here is getting sucked into discussion. The moment someone starts explaining why a metric is red, redirect: "That sounds like an issue — let's put it on the list and address it in IDS."
Step 3: Rock Review (5 minutes)
What it is: A quick status check on each person's quarterly Rocks — their 3–5 most important 90-day priorities. Each Rock is marked "on track" or "off track." That's it.
Why it matters: Rocks represent your biggest quarterly bets. Reviewing them weekly ensures nothing slips through. It creates healthy pressure — people don't want to show up week after week with an off-track Rock.
How to run it:
- Each person states each Rock: "On track" or "Off track."
- Off-track Rocks go to the Issues List — they don't get discussed here.
- Keep it binary. "Mostly on track" isn't good enough — it's on track or it's not.
- Five minutes maximum. Usually takes less.
Facilitator tip: Watch for Rocks that have been "off track" for 2+ weeks in a row. That's a pattern worth addressing in IDS. And if someone consistently doesn't know whether their Rock is on track, the Rock may not be specific enough.
Step 4: Customer/Employee Headlines (5 minutes)
What it is: A rapid-fire sharing of key headlines involving customers or employees that the team needs to be aware of. Think: big wins, concerning signals, important updates — not detailed discussion.
Why it matters: Your customers and your people are your two most important assets. This segment ensures leadership stays aware of what's happening on the ground — customer feedback, employee issues, key wins — before small problems become big ones.
How to run it:
- Anyone can share a headline. Keep each one to a sentence or two.
- Celebrate good news quickly. Surface concerning headlines without deep-diving.
- If a headline needs action or resolution, it becomes an issue.
- If there's nothing significant, say so and move on. Don't manufacture headlines.
Facilitator tip: This segment gets derailed when people start storytelling instead of headlining. Redirect with: "That's important — let's add it to Issues so we can give it proper time."
Step 5: To-Do List Review (5 minutes)
What it is: A review of every To-Do from last week's meeting. Each item is marked "done" or "not done" — nothing in between.
Why it matters: This is where accountability lives. When people know their To-Dos will be reviewed publicly next week, they get done. When there are no consequences for missing them, they don't. The To-Do list is the mechanism that turns meeting decisions into real-world action.
How to run it:
- Read each To-Do with the owner's name. Owner says: "Done" or "Not done."
- Not done = it goes back on the list or becomes an issue (if it's blocking something).
- No explanations needed for completed items. No excuses needed for incomplete ones.
- To-Dos are 7-day tasks. If it needs more than a week, it should be a Rock, not a To-Do.
Facilitator tip: Track your To-Do completion rate over time. A healthy team consistently completes 80–90% of weekly To-Dos. If you're consistently below 50%, you either have too many To-Dos or an accountability culture problem — both of which need addressing.
Step 6: IDS — Identify, Discuss, Solve (60 minutes)
What it is: The heart of the L10 Meeting. IDS is where your Issues List gets worked through — systematically identifying root causes, discussing solutions, and making decisions. This is where real problems get solved.
Why it matters: Most meetings fail because they discuss problems endlessly without solving them. IDS forces a different pattern: define the real issue, discuss briefly, make a decision, assign accountability. One issue might take 10 minutes. Another 25. But at the end, it's resolved — not "tabled for next week."
How to prioritize issues:
- Before IDS starts, quickly vote on the top 3 issues to tackle first. Don't work through them in the order they appeared — work through the most important ones first.
- Keep the Issues List visible to everyone throughout the meeting. Items get added as they surface from the Scorecard, Rock Review, and Headlines sections.
The IDS process for each issue:
- Identify (2 minutes): State the real issue — not the symptom. "Lead gen is weak" is a symptom. "Our conversion rate on demo calls dropped from 32% to 18% over the last 6 weeks" is the issue. Get specific.
- Discuss (5–10 minutes): Open discussion. What's causing it? What options exist? Everyone contributes, but keep it focused on solutions, not venting.
- Solve (2–3 minutes): Make a decision. Assign a To-Do or Rock to someone. Close the issue. Move on.
Facilitator tips for IDS:
- Discussion spiraling without a decision → Interrupt: "What are we deciding here?"
- Discussing the wrong issue → Redirect: "Let's make sure we're solving the root cause, not the symptom."
- One person dominating → Open the floor: "What do others think?"
- Decision without an owner → Assign one person before closing the issue.
Remember: a 70% solution decided today beats a 100% solution never implemented. Make the call and move forward.
Step 7: Conclude (5 minutes)
What it is: A formal close to the meeting with three quick steps: review new To-Dos, share any messages to cascade to the team, and rate the meeting.
How to run it:
- To-Do recap: Read back every To-Do assigned during the meeting. Confirm the owner, the task, and the due date (next week's L10 unless otherwise stated).
- Cascading messages: Is there anything from this meeting that needs to be communicated to the broader team? Assign who will share it and how.
- Meeting rating: Everyone gives the meeting a 1–10 rating. Go around the table — no explaining, just a number. If the average is below 8, ask: "What would have made this a 10?"
Facilitator tip: The meeting rating isn't about patting yourselves on the back. It's a discipline tool. Low scores tell you something is broken — the agenda isn't being followed, IDS isn't working, people are disengaged. Track ratings over time and take them seriously.
The Full L10 Agenda at a Glance
| Segment | Time | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Segue | 5 min | Transition, team connection, wins |
| Scorecard Review | 5 min | Data-driven business pulse |
| Rock Review | 5 min | Quarterly priority accountability |
| Customer/Employee Headlines | 5 min | People and customer awareness |
| To-Do List Review | 5 min | Weekly action accountability |
| IDS | 60 min | Solve the most important issues |
| Conclude | 5 min | Recap, cascade, rate |
| Total | 90 min | Complete leadership alignment |
The Most Common L10 Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)
Mistake #1: Treating the Scorecard Like a Meeting
Teams get a red metric and immediately launch into a 20-minute discussion — right there, during the Scorecard segment. The result: you run out of time for IDS, the actual problem-solving segment. Fix this cold: every red metric goes on the Issues List. No discussion until IDS.
Mistake #2: Skipping the Meeting Rating
Most teams skip the rating when they run out of time. That's backwards. The rating is feedback — skip it and you lose the mechanism to improve. If you're running out of time, trim the Segue or Headlines earlier. Always close with the rating.
Mistake #3: Letting Issues Carry Over Week After Week
If the same issue shows up on your Issues List for three weeks in a row, something is broken — either the issue is poorly defined, the team isn't committed to solving it, or the assigned To-Do isn't being completed. Flag it. Address the meta-issue: why aren't we solving this?
Mistake #4: Not Having a Dedicated Facilitator
When the business owner both participates and facilitates, they end up either dominating discussions or holding back to seem neutral. Neither works. Assign a permanent facilitator — ideally the Integrator or a strong process thinker — who runs the meeting every week.
Mistake #5: Making L10s Optional
The L10 is not a "when it's convenient" meeting. It happens every single week, at the same time, with the same people — regardless of travel, busy seasons, or bad timing. Companies that cancel or reschedule frequently see their EOS implementation degrade within 60 days. Protect the meeting like it's sacred, because it is.
Mistake #6: Running Over 90 Minutes
The 90-minute constraint is a feature, not a limitation. It forces the team to prioritize, be concise, and make decisions instead of endlessly deliberating. If you routinely go over, your Issues List is too long, your discussions are too wide-ranging, or your IDS process needs tightening. Fix the process — don't extend the meeting.
7 Signs Your L10 Meetings Are Actually Working
How do you know when your L10 has become a genuine competitive advantage? Watch for these signals:
- You're consistently finishing in 90 minutes — or less.
- Your meeting ratings average 8 or above for multiple weeks in a row.
- To-Do completion rate is consistently above 80%.
- Issues get solved in IDS and rarely carry over to the next week.
- People actually look forward to the meeting — it's not another time drain, it's clarity time.
- Fewer "emergency" side conversations happen outside the meeting because the L10 handles things proactively.
- Your Rocks are moving. Quarterly priorities are being executed, not just discussed.
If you're hitting four or more of these consistently, your EOS meeting pulse is working. If you're hitting fewer than three, something specific needs attention — usually IDS discipline, meeting facilitation, or To-Do accountability.
How Zentrix Makes L10 Meetings Effortless
Running a tight L10 takes discipline — and the right infrastructure. When you're managing Scorecards in a spreadsheet, tracking Rocks in a shared doc, and keeping an Issues List in a separate file, the friction adds up. Updates get missed. Items fall through. The facilitator spends energy wrangling logistics instead of running the meeting.
Zentrix OS was built specifically to remove that friction. Every L10 element — Scorecard, Rocks, Issues List, To-Dos — lives in one place, updated in real time, visible to everyone in the meeting. The agenda runs itself. The facilitator just facilitates.
A few things that make a real difference in practice:
- Built-in meeting timer — every segment is automatically timed, visible to all participants.
- Live Issues List — items added during Scorecard or Rock review flow directly into IDS, no copy-pasting required.
- Smart To-Do tracking — when a To-Do isn't completed, it resurfaces automatically in the next meeting with context on how many weeks it's been open.
- Rock progress at a glance — everyone sees the quarter's priorities and their current status without digging through spreadsheets.
- Meeting history — every meeting is recorded with its rating, issues solved, and To-Dos assigned. You can track improvement over time.
Teams using Zentrix typically get their L10 meeting ratings from a 6 or 7 (where most start) to consistently 8 or above within 6–8 weeks — not because the format changes, but because the infrastructure gets out of the way and lets them focus on the work.
Start Running Better Meetings This Week
The L10 Meeting is deceptively simple. Seven segments, 90 minutes, every week. But executing it well — consistently, with discipline — is what separates companies that make EOS work from those who try it for a quarter and give up.
The good news: you don't need to be perfect from day one. Most teams take 4–6 weeks to find their rhythm. The structure does the heavy lifting — you just have to show up and follow it.
Start with this week's meeting. Print out the agenda. Set a timer. Move through each segment. Don't let discussions bleed into the wrong slots. Rate the meeting at the end.
Then do it again next week. And the week after that.
That's how good meetings get built — one well-run L10 at a time.
Want to run your L10 meetings without the spreadsheet chaos? Zentrix OS has your Scorecard, Rocks, Issues List, and meeting agenda built in — so your team shows up ready to work, not ready to wrangle logistics.
Try Zentrix OS Free for 30 Days →
What's the biggest challenge with your current L10 meetings? Drop a comment — let's troubleshoot it together.