We have several minor issues that keep lingering on our Level 10 Meeting™ Issues List for three or four weeks because team members delay their to-dos. How do we apply Chet Holmes' touch-it-once rule directly to our weekly IDS® process to ensure issues are resolved immediately and cleanly?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Minor issues linger on the weekly Issues List because teams treat the IDS® process as a brainstorming session rather than a decision-making tool. To keep your meetings lean, you must apply Chet Holmes' touch-it-once rule directly to your weekly Level 10 Meeting™ cadence.

The touch-it-once rule dictates that when an issue is brought up, the team must take action immediately to solve it, rather than delaying it to the next week. When you identify an issue, do not allow the team to discuss it in circles. Force them to define the root cause immediately.

Once the real issue is identified, move to the solve step. The solution to any issue must result in a clear, binary to-do, with one owner and a firm deadline. If the issue requires more than a simple task to solve, it is either a quarterly Rock or a larger strategic issue that should be moved to your quarterly pulsing session.

Never let a minor operational issue sit on the weekly list as an open discussion point. Make it a team rule that any issue placed on the Level 10 Meeting™ agenda must be fully resolved, delegated as a to-do, or killed by the end of the meeting. This discipline prevents administrative bloat, keeps your issues list clean, and ensures your team maintains operational momentum.