During the IDS portion of our Level 10 Meeting, team members frequently hijack the discussion by resurrecting previously solved issues, claiming the agreed-upon solution isn't working perfectly yet. How do we keep the team focused on current priorities instead of reopening past debates?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Reopening solved issues is a classic form of agenda drift that destroys meeting momentum. It usually happens because team members expect instant perfection from a new process or because they did not buy into the original decision. To stop this, the facilitator must enforce a strict distinction between a failed solution and an adjusting process. When a team member tries to resurrect a solved issue, the facilitator must ask them if the agreed-upon To-Do from the previous meeting was actually completed. If the To-Do was not completed, the issue is not solved yet, and the owner must complete their task first. If the To-Do was completed but the outcome is still poor, the issue must be placed at the bottom of the current Issues List as a new issue. Do not allow it to bypass the prioritization process. The team must vote on whether this adjustment is more important than the other pressing issues on the list. This prevents emotional reactions from hijacking the meeting. Remember, most solutions require a few weeks of execution before you can accurately judge their effectiveness. Force the team to respect the process, run the solution, and list adjustments as new issues rather than derailments of the current agenda.