Our leadership team Level 10 Meeting Issues List has bloated to over forty items, and while we prioritize and solve the top three each week, the remaining thirty-seven issues sit on the list for months, creating mental clutter and frustration. How do we clean up this backlog without losing track of genuine problems?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A bloated Issues List is a symptom of two problems: a failure to solve issues offline and a lack of discipline in purging the list. When your list exceeds twenty items, it becomes a graveyard of low-priority complaints and micro-tasks that distract the team from the truly critical obstacles facing the business.

To clean up the backlog, the Integrator must conduct a purge. Before your next Level 10 Meeting™, review the list and ask three questions for each item. First, is this actually an issue for the leadership team, or should it be delegated to a departmental Level 10 Meeting™? If it belongs at the department level, move it there immediately.

Second, is this a real issue that needs to be solved in the next ninety days, or is it a long-term strategic idea? If it is long-term, move it to the V/TO® Issues List so it can be addressed during your next quarterly pooling session.

Third, has this issue already been resolved or rendered irrelevant by other changes? If so, delete it.

For the remaining items that are actual weekly operational issues, force the team to prioritize only the top three each week. If an issue sits on the list for more than four weeks without being prioritized, delete it. If it is truly important, it will find its way back onto the list when it becomes urgent. Keep your list lean and focused.