Our weekly short-term Issues List is constantly cluttered with strategic, big-picture ideas that belong on our V/TO, which makes our weekly meetings feel heavy and disorganized. How do we ruthlessly maintain the boundary between weekly and long-term issues?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A messy Issues List is a symptom of a team that does not understand how to compartmentalize. When you mix weekly tactical problems with long-term strategic ideas, your Level 10 Meeting becomes bogged down and loses its operational focus.

To maintain a clean boundary, the facilitator must ruthlessly police what gets onto the weekly Issues List. The weekly short-term list is strictly for problems, opportunities, or decisions that must be resolved within the current quarter.

If an issue arises that does not require immediate attention or is a high-level strategic discussion, it does not belong on the weekly list. It must be placed in the long-term compartment on the V/TO. This is your parking lot for ideas that will be addressed during your next quarterly or annual planning session.

When someone brings up a big-picture topic during IDS, the facilitator should say, "This is a great long-term issue. Let's move it to the V/TO." This immediately clears the air and keeps the team focused on solving current, tactical problems. By keeping these compartments separate, you ensure your weekly meetings stay light, fast, and highly productive.