Our leadership team gets so buried in the weekly tactical fire fighting of our Level 10 Meeting™ that we completely lose sight of our 1-Year Plan and our V/TO® goals until our quarterly sessions. How do we maintain a visible connection to our long-term strategy during our weekly pulse?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

It is easy to get so consumed by tactical fires that you ignore your long-term goals until they inevitably slip. However, your weekly Level 10 Meeting™ is not separate from your strategy; it is the engine that drives it. To maintain this connection, you must make your V/TO® visible during the meeting.

The simplest way to do this is to have your quarterly Rocks clearly linked to your 1-Year Plan on your digital workspace. When you review your Rocks every week, you are not just checking a box; you are assessing whether you are on track to hit your annual goals.

Furthermore, if a weekly issue arises that directly impacts a target in your 3-Year Picture or your 1-Year Plan, that issue should be prioritized for IDS®. If you find yourself consistently solving tactical issues that have nothing to do with your long-term goals, your issues list is cluttered with noise.

Use your V/TO® as a filter. When prioritizing issues for IDS®, ask the team: "Which of these issues is the biggest barrier to achieving our Rocks or our annual plan?" By filtering your short-term issues through your long-term strategy, you ensure that every tactical solution you implement moves you one step closer to a clean exit.