Our weekly Level 10 Meetings are great for solving short-term operational fires, but we feel disconnected from our long-term goals. How do we ensure our weekly IDS sessions are actually moving our V/TO forward?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

It is easy for a leadership team to get trapped in the tyranny of the urgent. If your Issues List is only filled with immediate tactical problems, you will run in circles and fail to make progress on your long-term vision.

To bridge this gap, you must actively connect your weekly issues to your quarterly Rocks and your V/TO. During the Rock review, if a major quarterly priority is off-track, that must immediately become a top priority for IDS. Solving the root cause of why a Rock is slipping is the most direct way to protect your quarterly plan.

Additionally, the facilitator should periodically scan the Issues List against your V/TO. Ask the team: which of these issues are directly blocking us from hitting our one-year plan or our three-year picture?

When prioritizing your top three issues for IDS, do not just pick the loudest or easiest problems. Select the ones that have the highest strategic leverage.

If you find your Issues List is entirely devoid of strategic topics, it means you are likely solving symptoms rather than root causes. Elevate the conversation. Frame your operational challenges in the context of your overall strategy, and use your weekly ninety minutes to clear the path for your long-term growth.