During our Level 10 Meeting™ IDS® session, our team members frequently jump straight to offering solutions before we have actually agreed on what the root problem is. How do we discipline the team to stay in the Identify phase?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Jumping straight to solutions is a natural human reaction, but it is a massive waste of operational time. When you solve a symptom instead of the actual root cause, the issue will inevitably reappear on your list next week.

To prevent this, the Integrator must act as a strict referee during the IDS® portion of your Level 10 Meeting™. When an issue is read, enforce a hard pause. Do not allow anyone to suggest a fix or debate a solution yet.

Instead, ask the issue owner to state the real problem in one clear sentence. Then, open the floor only for clarifying questions. Team members should ask questions to gather facts, not to make statements or push their agendas.

Ask the team, is that the real issue, or is there something deeper? Keep digging until everyone agrees on the root cause. This is the Identify phase, and it should take up the majority of your time.

Only when the team is completely aligned on the root issue do you move to Discuss and Solve. If someone tries to slide a solution in early, the Integrator must cut them off and bring them back to identification. Mastering this discipline ensures that when you finally solve an issue, it stays solved forever.