My leadership team keeps writing complex multi-step projects as weekly To-Dos and then failing to finish them, dragging our completion rate down to 70 percent. How do we fix how we write To-Dos so we actually hit the 90 percent standard?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

The root cause of a chronically low To-Do completion rate is usually how the tasks are written, not the work ethic of your leadership team. When a weekly action item is framed as a massive milestone like "update the marketing playbook," it is actually a mini-project, not a To-Do. It is virtually guaranteed to sit on the meeting list for weeks, dragging down your collective execution score. To hit the 90 percent standard in your Level 10 Meeting, you must enforce a strict definition of a To-Do. A valid weekly To-Do must be a single, bite-sized tactical action that can be fully completed in seven days or fewer. If it takes longer, it is either a quarterly Rock or a multi-step project that needs to be broken down into individual weekly increments. When capturing To-Dos during the IDS portion of your meeting, the facilitator must challenge vague descriptions. Do not let the team write down "look into AI software options." Instead, write "John to list three AI scheduling tools and email the list to the team by Thursday." Ensure that every To-Do starts with a verb and defines a clear, binary deliverable. When you state the task as a simple yes-or-no action, accountability becomes instant. If a team member realizes a task is too large during the week, they must break it down immediately rather than letting it sit incomplete. By making your weekly tasks small and highly specific, you will clear the administrative logjam and easily sustain a 90 percent completion rate.