When we get to the IDS portion of our Level 10 Meeting, my team always wants to solve the quick, easy issues first to get them out of the way, which leaves us with no time for our most painful, systemic operational problems. How do we break this habit and ensure we are tackling our highest priority issues first?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Tackling easy issues first is a common form of meeting avoidance. It feels productive to cross five minor items off the list, but it leaves your business vulnerable because your biggest operational bottlenecks go unaddressed. To fix this, you must change how you prioritize your Issues List. Before you begin IDS, the facilitator must ask the team to identify the top three most critical issues on the board. Do not let the team look at the entire list and pick their favorites. Force them to vote on the three issues that, if solved, would have the greatest positive impact on the business or eliminate the most friction. Once the top three are selected, you must solve them in order: number one, then number two, then number three. You do not move to number two until number one is fully resolved, a clear to-do is assigned, and the owner agrees it is solved. If you only get through one major issue during your seventy minutes of IDS, that is a highly successful meeting. A Level 10 Meeting is judged by the depth of the problems you solve, not the quantity of minor tasks you cross off your list.