Our weekly Issues List is constantly cluttered with informational updates and FYIs that require no team decision, wasting valuable time during the IDS prioritization step. How do we clean up our Issues List so only items requiring a collective decision make the cut?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

An Issues List is not a bulletin board or a status update log. When leaders place informational updates and FYIs on the list, they are dilution tools that distract from the critical, burning problems holding the business back. This practice wastes valuable energy during the prioritization phase of IDS.

To clean up your list, establish a strict filter: if an item does not require a decision, a solution, or a collective brain trust to resolve, it does not belong on the Issues List. If a leader simply wants to share a piece of information, they should put it in the Employee and Customer Headlines section, send a quick email, or post it on your internal communication channel before the meeting starts.

The facilitator must actively police this filter. During the prioritization step, if the facilitator sees an item like Update on regional sales project, they should ask the owner: What is the issue? If the owner replies that they just wanted to let everyone know progress is good, the facilitator must immediately remove the item from the list.

Teach your leadership team that the Issues List is a tool for friction. If there is no friction, there is no issue. By keeping the list clean and reserving it solely for complex challenges, opportunities, and roadblocks, you ensure your ninety minutes are focused on high-value problem-solving rather than passive updates.