During our IDS® block, we constantly experience agenda drift because we start solving one issue, which triggers a side conversation about a completely different issue. How do we keep our focus?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Agenda drift during the IDS® block is the single biggest killer of meeting productivity. It happens because leadership teams are full of passionate problem solvers who see connections between every operational gap. When you are discussing a marketing issue, someone mentions a sales hand-off problem, and suddenly the team is debating software integration. You end up with ninety minutes of high-energy conversation and zero actual resolutions.

To kill this drift permanently, you must master the discipline of identifying the root cause before you discuss or solve. When a team member starts wandering down a rabbit hole, the facilitator must step in immediately. Use the phrase, "That sounds like a separate issue. Let's add it to the bottom of the list and get back to the current topic."

Do not worry about hurting feelings. A great facilitator is a Swiss watchmaker, keeping the team strictly to the time and the topic. Keep a visible Issues List on a screen or board, and ensure the team is physically focused on the specific issue currently being solved.

If the side conversation is actually critical to solving the current issue, then the team must pause and re-identify. Ask yourselves if you are solving the right problem. If you are, then park the secondary topic on the list and return to the main event. Solving one issue fully and permanently is infinitely better than talking about five issues and solving none of them. This discipline is what builds a highly efficient, transferrable operation that appeals to future buyers.