Template · Operations
A weekly operating review template that keeps a leadership team on the numbers that matter
A one-hour agenda, a scorecard and an action log for a leadership team’s weekly review. It replaces status updates with a short look at the measures that matter, a discussion of the two biggest issues, and clear decisions with owners, so problems surface in days rather than at the end of the quarter.
The template
Worked example: A 180-person payments company in Lagos
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Meeting details
Day and time · Chair · Note-taker · Attendees
Monday 8:30 to 9:30 · Chair: COO · Notes: Chief of Staff · CEO, CFO, CTO, Heads of Sales, Customer Service and Compliance
Note A: Fix the slot for the year. Moving it signals that the review is optional.
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1. Last week’s actions · 5 minutes
Action · Owner · Due · Done or not done
Close 14 overdue merchant settlement disputes · Head of Customer Service · Friday · Done (12 of 14, 2 with legal)
Note B: Read the list, do not discuss it. Anything not done becomes an issue for section 3 or is re-dated once.
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2. The scorecard · 15 minutes
Measure · Target · This week · Last week · Trend · Owner
Transaction success rate · 98.5% · 97.1% · 98.6% · Down · CTO
Note C: Eight to twelve measures at most. Only measures off target are discussed; owners say what happened and what they will do.
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3. Two issues · 25 minutes
Issue · Why it matters this month · Options · Decision needed
Success rate drop on one card network · Merchants threaten to move volume · Switch routing, or wait for network fix · Decide routing by Wednesday
Note D: Choose the two issues before the meeting. Two done properly beat six skimmed.
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4. Decisions and actions · 10 minutes
Decision or action · Owner · Due date
Route 40% of affected volume to the second network from Tuesday · CTO · Tuesday
Note E: Every action has one owner and a date. “The team” is not an owner.
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5. What we tell our teams · 5 minutes
Three points every leader shares with their team today
Routing change on Tuesday; settlement disputes nearly cleared; hiring freeze in support lifted
Note F: The review only changes the company if its decisions reach the teams the same day.
How to use it
About 75 minutes in total.
- 1
Agree the eight to twelve measures and an owner for each with the leadership team
30 min - 2
Set up the scorecard so each owner updates their numbers by Friday evening
20 min - 3
Fix the weekly slot and chair, and send the template before the first meeting
10 min - 4
After four weeks, drop any measure nobody acts on and replace it
15 min
Adapt it
For a team of five or fewer
Run it in forty-five minutes and pick one issue rather than two.
For multi-country companies
Add a country column to the scorecard and rotate one country into the issues section each week.
For regulated businesses
Add a standing line for regulatory and compliance items, kept to five minutes unless something is due.
Free companion
Operating rhythm calendar
The full set of weekly, monthly and quarterly meetings a growing company runs, with who attends, how long they take and the inputs each needs.
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From the practitioner
The review works when it is boring in the best way: same day, same time, same measures, and nobody presents slides. If a measure is on target, nobody talks about it. All the time goes to the two things most likely to hurt you this month.
Questions
What should a weekly operating review cover?
Last week’s actions, a scorecard of eight to twelve measures, the two biggest issues, the decisions and actions that follow, and what leaders will tell their teams. Status updates belong in writing beforehand, not in the meeting.
How long should a weekly leadership meeting be?
One hour is enough for most leadership teams if measures are updated before the meeting and only measures off target are discussed.
Which measures belong on the scorecard?
The few that tell you early whether the month is going well: usually revenue or volume, a quality measure, a customer measure, cash, and one or two measures for your current priorities. A metric dictionary keeps their definitions consistent.
More from the Library
Metric dictionary
One definition per measure, with its owner, source and calculation, so every team counts the same way.
Country launch playbook
The sequence of decisions and checks for opening a second market in West Africa.
Complaint triage matrix
A way to sort incoming complaints by severity and owner, with response-time targets.
Put this to work inside your organization
A practitioner can adapt it to how you operate and embed it with your team, starting with a diagnostic.
