When a scorecard metric goes red, we immediately drop it to the Issues List, but during the IDS portion we find ourselves solving the same metric week after week. How do we break this loop and create permanent fixes for recurring red numbers?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

If the same scorecard metric keeps going red week after week, you are not actually solving the problem during your Level 10 Meeting™. Instead, you are likely treating the symptom rather than finding the root cause. This happens when teams rush through the Identify step of IDS®. To break this loop, the person who owns the metric must bring a deeper level of analysis to the meeting. When a number is red for three consecutive weeks, do not just discuss the weekly variance. Force yourselves to dig into the underlying process. Use the five whys technique to get to the root of the issue. For example, if your weekly sales meetings booked metric is consistently red, do not just tell the sales team to work harder. Ask why they are not booking meetings. Is it because the list quality is poor, because the CRM is down, or because they are buried in administrative tasks? Once you identify the real root cause, create a specific, actionable To-Do for the coming week to fix that root cause, or create a quarterly Rock to overhaul the entire process. A true solution in IDS® means the process is changed so that the issue never returns, ensuring your scorecard numbers return to green and stay there.