Our weekly Issues List is dominated by minor, immediate tactical fires, leaving no room to discuss deep systemic issues that are holding back our three-year picture. How do we balance urgent weekly problems with long-term structural issues?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

An Issues List dominated by daily tactical fires prevents your leadership team from focusing on long-term strategic growth. If you only solve today's problems, you will never achieve your three-year picture or your ten-year target.

To solve this, you must separate your Issues Lists. Keep a short-term Issues List for your weekly Level 10 Meeting™ and a long-term Issues List on your V/TO®. The weekly list should only contain items that must be resolved within the next seven to ninety days.

If an issue is strategic, complex, or does not require immediate action, move it to the long-term Issues List. These long-term issues are saved for your quarterly and annual planning sessions, where you have the time and space to tackle them deeply.

During your weekly meeting, prioritize the issues that are directly holding back your current company Rocks or your weekly Scorecard metrics. This keeps the team focused on execution and prevents the weekly pulse from becoming a strategic brainstorming session. Keep your daily operations tight, leaving the big picture planning for your quarterly sessions.