During the IDS portion of our Level 10 Meeting, once we solve our top three prioritized issues, our team wastes ten minutes debating which of the remaining twenty issues we should tackle next. How do we keep our momentum going without getting stuck in a mid-meeting reprioritizing loop?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Debating the priority of your issues list mid-meeting is a classic momentum killer. You solve your top three issues, and instead of diving into the next one, the team starts over-analyzing the entire list of twenty items again.

To prevent this waste of time, the facilitator must keep the momentum moving forward. When you finish your first three issues, do not open the floor for a debate on what to do next. Instead, the facilitator should quickly scan the remaining list, identify the single most critical issue, and propose it.

Simply say, we have solved our top three. The next most critical issue on this list is item number six. Does everyone agree? Give the team five seconds to object. If there is no immediate, strong objection, dive straight into identifying that issue.

Do not allow a lengthy debate about whether item six is slightly more important than item eight. The goal is to solve problems, not to perfectly rank them. It is far better to solve three or four moderately important issues than to spend fifteen minutes arguing about which one to talk about next. Keep the pace fast, trust the facilitator's direction, and keep moving down the list.