During our Level 10 Meeting™, we frequently spend the entire sixty-minute IDS® section arguing about the first issue on our priority list, leaving the other high-priority issues completely untouched week after week. How do we manage our time during IDS® to ensure we are actually solving multiple critical issues instead of getting bogged down in just one?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Getting stuck on a single issue during IDS® is a classic sign of poor facilitation. While some complex issues do require significant time, spending sixty minutes on one item usually means the team is repeating themselves, telling stories, or trying to design a complex solution on the fly. To solve this, the facilitator must actively manage the discussion. First, ensure you have truly identified the root cause before moving to discuss. Often, teams spend forty minutes arguing because they are talking about different symptoms rather than the actual core problem. Second, use the twenty-minute rule. If an issue is not solved after twenty minutes of discussion, the facilitator must intervene. Ask the team if they have enough information to make a decision right now. If they do not, assign a To-Do to gather the missing data and push the issue to next week. Third, remember that a solve is often just a clear next step. It does not mean you have completely implemented the fix. It simply means you have agreed on a To-Do that moves the business forward. By enforcing these boundaries, you keep the meeting moving and ensure your leadership team addresses multiple critical issues every single week.