We frequently assign Level 10 Meeting™ To-Dos that rely on deliverables from external contractors or clients, and the tasks get rolled over for weeks because the external party did not deliver. How do we maintain absolute internal accountability when a weekly task depends heavily on outside actors?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

It is incredibly frustrating when weekly To-Dos roll over because an external vendor, contractor, or client failed to deliver. However, you cannot let your leadership team use external delays as an excuse to avoid accountability. The seat owner on your Accountability Chart must own the result, regardless of who does the actual work.

When you assign a To-Do that involves an external party, the task must be written in a way that the internal team member can control. Instead of writing "Get the logo from the agency," write "Follow up with the agency and escalate to the owner if the logo is not delivered by Thursday." This shifts the focus from the external deliverable to the internal action.

If an external partner consistently fails to deliver, that is not a weekly To-Do problem; it is a business issue that must be added to the Issues List and solved through IDS®. You may need to replace the vendor, rewrite the service level agreement, or adjust your internal timelines.

Never allow a To-Do to sit on the list with a status of "waiting on the client" week after week. If the internal team member did everything in their power to move the task forward, the To-Do is complete, and a new, specific action item must be created for the following week to keep the pressure on.