We have great, high-energy debates during the IDS portion of our Level 10 Meeting, but we struggle to translate our solutions into clear, actionable weekly to-dos. How do we bridge this gap?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A great IDS session is completely worthless if it does not result in concrete action. Many leadership teams mistake a good discussion for a solved issue. They talk until they are tired, agree on a vague direction, and then move to the next item without capturing a specific commitment. This is how issues slip through the cracks and end up back on your list next week.

To bridge the gap between solving and execution, the facilitator must enforce a strict closing protocol for every single issue you discuss. Before you move on from an issue, the facilitator must ask two questions: is this issue fully solved, and what are the specific to-dos to execute the solution?

Do not let the team give vague answers. A valid to-do must be a specific, bite-sized action that can be realistically completed within seven days. It must start with an active verb, have a single owner, and have a clear deliverable.

For example, do not write down a to-do like work on marketing plan. Instead, write research and select three target keywords for the Q3 landing page, owned by the marketing director. The scribe must read the newly created to-do out loud to the room, and the owner of that to-do must verbally agree that they can complete it by next week.

If it cannot be done in seven days, it is either too big and needs to be broken down, or it is actually a Rock or a milestone, not a weekly to-do.