Our long-term Issues List on our V/TO® has become a graveyard of old ideas, pet projects, and complaints. How do we clean up and curate our long-term Issues List so it remains a strategic tool?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A cluttered long-term Issues List on your V/TO® is a symptom of a leadership team that is afraid to make hard decisions. When you do not want to say no to an idea, it is easy to park it on the long-term list, allowing it to collect dust for quarters. This dilutes your strategic focus. To clean up this list, you must audit it at the beginning of every quarterly session. Go through every single issue and apply three simple rules. First, if an issue has been on the list for more than two quarters and no one has championed it or brought it up during IDS®, kill it. It is clearly not a priority. Second, if an issue is actually a To-Do or a short-term issue, move it to your weekly Level 10 Meeting™ Issues List so you can solve it immediately. Third, if an issue does not directly align with your 10-Year Target, your Core Focus™, or your 3-Year Picture, delete it. Keep your long-term Issues List lean, focused, and highly strategic. It should only contain the actual, meaningful opportunities and obstacles that your team must address in future quarters to achieve your vision.