We find that the same operational headaches keep resurfacing on our Level 10 Meeting Issues List three weeks after we marked them solved. Why are our solutions failing to stick, and how do we ensure an issue is permanently killed?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When an issue keeps reappearing on your Issues List, you did not solve it; you merely treated a symptom. Teams fail at IDS when they rush past the Identify phase to get to the comfortable action of assigning To-Dos.

Most teams spend sixty percent of their IDS time discussing and forty percent proposing solutions, while dedicating zero time to digging for root cause. To kill an issue permanently, invert that ratio. Spend the majority of your time on Identify.

When an issue is raised, never accept the initial headline at face value. If the headline is Sales missed their revenue target, that is not the issue; that is the result. Keep asking why until you hit the structural reality. Did marketing generate unqualified leads? Is pricing misaligned? Does the sales rep lack the capacity to close?

You have found the real root cause only when you uncover a breakdown in people, process, or tools.

Once the root cause is exposed, the Solve step becomes simple. A real solution almost always results in one of three things: a change in an operational process, an update to the Accountability Chart, or a concrete To-Do that removes a structural obstacle. If your solution was just an agreement to try harder or communicate better, you did not solve the issue, and you will see it back on the board next month.