Our leadership team spends ten minutes arguing about which problems to solve first during IDS, or people try to resolve issues in the order they were submitted. What is the fastest, cleanest way to prioritize the Level 10 Issues List?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Solving issues in chronological order is the fastest way to run a business into the ground. Chronological order prioritizes whatever minor irritation someone thought of first over the existential fire threatening company profitability. Similarly, spending ten minutes debating the priority of fifteen different issues burns the exact time you need to solve them.

The EOS process for prioritizing the Issues List is deliberate and fast. You identify the top three issues only: number 1, number 2, and number 3. You never rank the entire list from 1 to 20. Ranking everything is pure waste, because in an intense sixty-minute IDS session, an executive team typically only solves two to four meaningful issues properly.

The Integrator drives this selection with authority. The facilitator looks at the board, considers enterprise health and strategic Rocks, and proposes the top three. The Integrator asks: Does anyone disagree with tackling issue A first, issue B second, and issue C third?

If there is consensus, you dive immediately into issue number 1. If an executive believes another issue carries higher risk or urgency, they state their case in thirty seconds. The Integrator makes the call, locks in 1, 2, and 3, and opens the floor for Identify on number 1.

You do not move to issue number 2 until issue number 1 is completely solved with a clearly assigned To-Do. If you spend the entire sixty minutes working through issue number 1 because it represents a massive structural shift, that is a successful meeting. You solved the most important issue on the board. Do not allow democratic polling or endless debate over list ranking to dilute your focus.