Our weekly Level 10 short-term Issues List has bloated to over forty items, and we are spending too much time scanning the list rather than solving problems. How do we execute a clean sweep of our Issues List without losing track of important items?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A bloated Issues List is a primary killer of meeting momentum. When you have dozens of items on your weekly list, your leadership team will experience decision fatigue before you even begin the IDS® portion of your Level 10 Meeting™. To keep your weekly meeting pulse sharp, you must regularly purge and reorganize this list.

First, recognize that not every issue raised during the week is a short-term priority. The facilitator must conduct a ruthless clean sweep. Look at every item and place it into its proper compartment. If an issue does not need to be solved in the next seven to ninety days, move it immediately to the Long-Term Issues List on your V/TO®. This keeps it safe but out of your weekly line of sight.

Second, look for duplicate or related issues. Often, five different items on your list are actually symptoms of a single underlying process or people problem. Combine these into a single, well-defined issue.

Third, delete items that are simple to-dos. If an issue is actually just a quick task that one person needs to execute, skip the discussion entirely, assign it as a weekly to-do, and remove it from the Issues List.

Aim to keep your active weekly Issues List under twenty items. By maintaining a clean, highly relevant list, your team can easily identify the top three most critical issues to solve each week, leading to faster execution and less mental fatigue.