Get More from Your Meetings with a Powerful Pause

All companies running on EOS^® follow the practice of having a weekly Level 10 Meeting™. I’ve seen many companies do these meetings, and one huge mistake keeps rearing its ugly head when clients get to the Customer and Employee Headlines, and again when they get to the Issues List. They launch right in and wind up missing the real stuff.

Two Places to Insert a Powerful Pause

Before Customer and Employee Headlines – Take a short pause before you move ahead with the Customer and Employee Headlines section of the Level 10 Meeting. Let everyone’s brains catch up with the meeting on a subconscious level. Simply start that part of the Level 10 Meeting by saying, “Okay, everyone take just 30 quiet seconds to think about any customer and employee headlines you’d like to share.” Pause and wait for them to think, and then go around the room to gather the headlines.

Before the Issues List – Start the IDS™ / Issues List section of the meeting by saying, “Are there any issues from the previous seven days you want to see on the Issues List? Think about it for 30 seconds.” Pause and wait for them to think, then go around the room to gather the issues. Sometimes the best issues – those golden nuggets – come from this powerful pause.

This powerful pause lets everyone take a moment to look back and remember the week’s activity. Imagine it: getting every single Issue and every single Customer and Employee Headline out every single week. Then imagine your leadership team being crystal clear and resolving those issues. You will, just from a powerful pause.

This simple little discipline takes your meeting rating from 8.5 to 9 – half a point’s improvement. Try the powerful pause in your next Level 10 Meeting. It works.