We want to modernize our business with automated workflows and AI tools, but operational firefighting pushes every technology issue to the bottom of our weekly Level 10 Issues List. How do we make sure modernization issues actually get solved during the weekly pulse?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Operational firefighting will always shout louder than modernization. An angry customer or a delayed shipment demands immediate attention, while automating a workflow or cleaning up tech debt feels like something that can wait until next week. As a result, modernization issues sit at positions fifteen through thirty on the Issues List, untouched for months.

To break this cycle, you must change how modernization issues enter the Level 10 pulse:
- Elevate automation to a quarterly Rock. If an AI or system upgrade is essential to scaling capacity or eliminating waste, do not leave it floating as a weekly issue. Make it a 90-day Rock with a dedicated owner on the Accountability Chart. Once it is a Rock, its milestones are reviewed weekly during the Rock review, forcing accountability.
- Tie modernization to recurring operational pain. Never list an issue as implement AI tools or automate workflows. That is too vague. Frame the issue around the recurring operational failure it solves, such as manual order entry causing shipping errors. When the problem is framed as operational waste, it naturally earns a top-three priority spot during IDS.
- Protect one IDS slot for enterprise value. If your team consistently solves three issues per week, make an agreement that issue number three must address long-term transferability, automation, or process documentation rather than short-term firefighting.

If you wait for daily operational fires to die down before tackling automation, you will never modernize. Force modernization issues into the top three, solve them permanently, and eliminate the manual processes feeding your operational noise.