Our company is going through a massive operational crisis right now, and my team feels we cannot afford to lose a full day for a quarterly session. Why should we not just postpone our session until things quiet down?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When you are in the middle of an operational crisis, taking a full day for a quarterly session can feel like an unaffordable risk. However, continuing to operate without a strategic pause is the true risk. This is precisely when a dedicated session becomes non-negotiable.

Why a Strategic Pause is Critical During a Crisis

When your business is in crisis, your team is often operating in a state of high stress and cognitive overload. You are likely reacting to immediate problems rather than addressing the systemic issues that are causing them. Postponing your session simply extends this state of chaos and makes it harder to get to the root of the problem.

A quarterly session day provides a vital strategic pause for several reasons:

• White Space for Objectivity: It gives your leadership team the dedicated time and space needed to step back, gain objectivity, and assess the situation without daily distractions. This is crucial for making clear-headed decisions.
• Reboot Exhausted Brains: It offers an opportunity to reboot your team's exhausted brains, allowing them to engage with the brutal facts of your operation from a refreshed perspective.
• Address Root Causes: Instead of merely tackling symptoms, the session allows you to identify and address the underlying causes of the crisis. This prevents a cycle of reactive problem-solving. This approach is similar to how a well-structured [Level 10 Meeting facilitates problem-solving](/qa/when-an-issue-is-dropped-to-ids-my-leadership-team-immediately-starts-pointing-fingers-at-other-departments-rather-than-taking-ownership-how-do-we-use-the-accountability-chart-to-stop-the-blame-game-during-meetings).

How We Address Your Crisis During the Session

During this day, we do not ignore your crisis. On the contrary, it moves to the very top of our Issues List. We use our proven IDS® process (Identify, Discuss, Solve) to:

• Dissect the Crisis: Break down the complex problems into manageable components.
• Identify Root Causes: Get to the core reasons why the crisis occurred. This also helps in creating a clear [Accountability Chart to prevent future blame games](/qa/using-accountability-chart-to-stop-blame-in-ids).
• Build a Concrete Plan: Develop a clear, actionable plan to resolve the crisis.

You will leave the session with a clear, aligned path forward, transforming a chaotic situation into an organized recovery. This structured approach helps prevent sessions from becoming [boring progress updates](/qa/fixing-boring-eos-quarterly-sessions) and ensures real strategic problems are solved. It also helps to ensure that your leadership team maintains an [enterprise-first mindset](/qa/shifting-leadership-mindset-to-enterprise-first) rather than focusing solely on departmental protection.

Related questions

• [When an issue is dropped to IDS, my leadership team immediately starts pointing fingers at other departments rather than taking ownership. How do we use the Accountability Chart to stop the blame game during meetings?](/qa/using-accountability-chart-to-stop-blame-in-ids)
• [Our quarterly planning sessions have turned into boring progress updates where we just read reports instead of solving big strategic problems. How do we get the value back?](/qa/fixing-boring-eos-quarterly-sessions)
• [My leadership team seems more concerned with protecting their departments and checking off boxes than looking at the big picture of the business. How do we shift their mindset to enterprise-first?](/qa/shifting-leadership-mindset-to-enterprise-first)
• [How do we transition from having you facilitate our annual and quarterly sessions to running them ourselves without experiencing a sudden drop-off in our team health and alignment?](/qa/transitioning-to-self-facilitated-sessions)