Why the operating review usually fails
The most common failure mode of the weekly operating review is that it becomes a status meeting. Each function takes a turn reciting numbers. Forty minutes later, no decisions have been made. The data was reviewed, but the business wasn't run.
The template above forces a different shape. The numbers section is short — bullet-point status only, no slides. The bulk of the meeting is sections 2–4: what moved, why, and what to do. The "read-only" section captures everything else, in writing, so it doesn't consume meeting time.
The 45-minute structure
- Minute 0–5 — numbers (silent reading, not recital). Anyone who needs context asks one question max.
- Minute 5–20 — diagnostic on movers. Whoever owns the metric walks the breakdown.
- Minute 20–30 — risks. Look forward.
- Minute 30–45 — decisions. Three only. Each gets a named owner and a deadline this week.
How to populate the template
The ten metrics live in the Operating Intelligence Metrics list. For each, the data lives in the obvious place (CRM, accounting, ad platform). The bottleneck is the diagnostic — being able to answer "why did margin drop" without a two-day spreadsheet exercise. Fairview ships the diagnostic pre-built; without it, plan for a 2–4 hour Friday prep window.
What to do if your team resists the format
The most common resistance: "we already share the numbers." That's true. But sharing numbers and making decisions are different activities. The template forces decisions by reserving 15 of 45 minutes for them and capping the count at three. If the team can't agree on three actions in 15 minutes, the underlying problem is consensus, not the meeting structure — and the template surfaces that.
Get the working file
The template ships as a Google Doc you can copy and adapt. The companion dashboard is loaded automatically in Fairview if you're a customer; otherwise build it from the metrics list above.