We have several Level 10 Meeting™ To-Dos that are technically completed, but the underlying operational problem remains unresolved because the To-Do only addressed a symptom. How do we ensure our To-Dos are directly tied to the root-cause solutions identified during IDS®?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is a failure of the Identify phase of IDS®. When your team jumps too quickly from hearing a problem to writing a To-Do, you end up solving symptoms instead of the root cause. For example, if a client is angry about a late delivery, and your weekly To-Do is to send the client an apology email, you have completed the task but done absolutely nothing to fix the broken logistics process that caused the delay in the first place. Next week, another client is angry, and you write another To-Do to apologize. You are spinning your wheels.

To break this loop, the facilitator must slow the team down during the Identify step. Never let the team discuss solutions until you have dug deep to find the real root issue. Ask: why did this happen? five times if necessary. Once you truly identify the systemic bottleneck, the resulting To-Do must be designed to change a process, update a system, or clarify accountability, not just patch the immediate damage.

If a completed To-Do does not prevent the issue from recurring, your solution was inadequate. Put the issue back on the list, admit that the previous solution failed, and run a deeper IDS® session to solve it permanently.