Our leadership team gets so consumed by resolving daily customer issues that we never make progress on our long-term strategic V/TO® goals. How do we carve out dedicated, uninterrupted time to work on the business?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To break free from the trap of daily firefighting, you must install pigheaded discipline and determination into your weekly routine. You cannot wait for free time to spontaneously appear. You must schedule it and protect it ruthlessly. Implement a strict company policy that dedicates one hour per week for each leader to work solely on strategic improvement, completely separate from daily tasks. During this hour, turn off notifications, close email, and focus entirely on your Rocks or V/TO® objectives. Align this individual discipline with your weekly Level 10 Meeting™. This ninety-minute meeting is designed to pull your leadership team out of the weeds and force them to look at the business objectively. Use the IDS® portion of the meeting to resolve systemic bottlenecks rather than minor, transactional issues. If a strategic project is falling behind, assign specific to-dos and deadlines during your meeting. Make these action items bite-sized so they can be completed in the upcoming week. By combining weekly strategic hours with the rigorous accountability of the Level 10 Meeting™, you create a continuous loop of operational improvement.