When we run our weekly IDS process, we waste hours solving symptoms like low lead volume or delayed product shipping, only to have the same issues reappear next month. How do we get our leadership team to identify and solve the root operational issue behind the issue?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Most leadership teams fail at IDS® because they solve symptoms rather than the root cause. When you look at an issue like delayed product shipping, that is not the actual problem. It is merely the biological reaction of a deeper operational disease. To get to the issue behind the issue, you must run a rigorous Identify phase before you even begin discussing solutions.

Start by forcing the person who raised the issue to state it in a single, clear sentence. It must focus on a person, a process, or a system failure. If they say shipping is slow, ask them why multiple times until you hit the structural bottleneck. The root cause is usually a lack of clear ownership on the Accountability Chart™, a broken process that has not been documented, or a team member who does not GWC™ their seat.

Do not allow the team to jump into the Discuss phase until the entire table agrees on the true root cause. Discussing too early leads to circular debates and temporary band-aids. Once the real issue is identified, the Solve phase becomes simple. The solution must always result in a concrete to-do, a process update, or an Accountability Chart™ adjustment that prevents the issue from ever returning. If you find yourself discussing the same issue three weeks in a row, you did not identify the real problem.