We have massive, multi-faceted operational issues that cannot possibly be solved in a single weekly IDS® session. How do we break down these giant problems so they do not hijack our weekly Level 10 Meeting™?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Some operational problems are too large, complex, or systemic to be fully solved in a single weekly IDS® session. When your team tries to tackle these massive issues during a Level 10 Meeting™, you end up wasting your entire ninety minutes on a single topic without reaching a clear resolution.

To prevent this, you must learn to chunk big issues down into manageable, actionable pieces. During the Identify phase, if the team realizes the problem is structural, cross-functional, or requires extensive research, do not try to solve it on the spot.

Instead, create a weekly To-Do to gather information or draft a proposal. Assign this task to a single owner. For example, a To-Do might be: John to draft a new pricing proposal by next week.

If the problem is even larger and requires multiple weeks of focused work, the solution is to make it a Rock for the next quarter. If it cannot wait until the next quarter, agree to schedule a separate, offline working session outside of the Level 10 Meeting™ with only the relevant people. Keep the weekly meeting focused on solving the immediate, bite-sized components of your issues, rather than letting a single giant problem paralyze your weekly momentum.