Our Level 10 Meeting Issues List is constantly empty because our leadership team insists on turning every single problem immediately into a ninety-day Rock or a weekly To-Do, bypassing the IDS process entirely. How do we break this habit of instant execution without critical problem-solving?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This habit is common among highly reactive, action-biased leadership teams. While execution is vital, skipping the Identify, Discuss, and Solve, or IDS®, process to assign instant tasks is a dangerous shortcut. It results in your team working on symptoms rather than root causes, leading to bloated To-Do lists and quarterly Rocks that do not actually move the needle.

To break this habit, the facilitator must enforce a rule: no To-Do or Rock can be created without first undergoing the IDS process. When a team member raises a problem during the transition to the Issues List, do not let them immediately say, 'I will take a To-Do to look into that.'

Instead, drop the item to the Issues List. When you reach the IDS portion of your meeting, force the team to follow the three steps.

First, Identify. Ask the owner of the issue to define the true root cause in a single, clear sentence. Often, the initial problem presented is just a symptom.

Second, Discuss. Allow the team to openly discuss the root cause, bringing in different perspectives to find the absolute best solution.

Third, Solve. Only after the team agrees on the structural solution should you create a To-Do or a Rock.

By slowing down to speed up, you ensure that the tasks you assign are actually solving the right problems. This discipline keeps your weekly To-Dos lean, your Rocks highly strategic, and your team focused on permanent resolution rather than temporary band-aids.