Our weekly Issues List has grown to over fifty items, and because we only solve three or four a week, some minor issues have been sitting on the list for months. How do we prune this list without ignoring real business problems?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A weekly Issues List with fifty items is a sign of a cluttered operation. It causes decision fatigue and dilutes your focus. The reality is that many of those items are not truly weekly issues. They are either long-term strategic opportunities, minor complaints that should be solved outside the meeting, or zombie tasks that no longer matter. To clean up your list, you must apply a strict filter. First, any issue that is not critical to solve in the next seven days must be moved off the weekly list. If it is a strategic issue that can wait for the next ninety days, move it to your V/TO® long-term issues list, which you will review at your Quarterly Planning Session. Second, identify issues that can be solved directly between two team members outside of the meeting. They do not need to take up the leadership team's collective ninety minutes. Third, delete any issue that has sat on the list for more than four weeks without being prioritized. If it were truly important, the team would have voted it to the top. By keeping your weekly list lean and focused only on the most urgent barriers to your current Rocks, you will increase your solving speed and maintain high traction.