During our Level 10 Meetings, we spend so much time identifying and discussing our issues that we rarely reach actual, permanent resolutions. How do we force our leadership team to move faster from discussion to the Solve step in IDS?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Many leadership teams get stuck in a loop of endless discussion during the IDS® process, turning their weekly meetings into agonizing debate sessions. This happens because team members focus on treating symptoms rather than identifying the actual root cause of the issue.

To break this cycle, the person running the meeting must be relentless in moving the group through the three steps of Identify, Discuss, and Solve. Spend eighty percent of your time on the Identify step. Ask digging questions to get to the core issue. Once the root cause is clear, limit the Discuss step to only new information. If team members start repeating themselves or sharing redundant anecdotes, cut them off.

Transition immediately to the Solve step. A true solution always results in an action item on the To-Do List. The action item must have a single owner and a realistic deadline, typically within one to two weeks.

If an issue cannot be resolved because you lack critical data, do not keep debating it. Assign a To-Do for someone to gather the required information and table the issue until the next weekly Level 10 Meeting™. Moving fast keeps the energy high and ensures your team actually resolves problems instead of talking about them.