We have three or four stubborn issues that have sat on our short-term Issues List for six weeks because they are too uncomfortable to face. How do we handle these zombie issues that keep getting pushed to the next week?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Stubborn issues that linger on your short-term Issues List for weeks represent a lack of organizational courage. These zombie issues are usually deferred because they are uncomfortable, require difficult people conversations, or involve systemic structural challenges. Every week they sit idle, they drain your team's energy and slow down progress.

To clean up these lingering items, the Integrator must call them out. During the prioritization step of the IDS® portion, select the oldest, most avoided issue as priority number one. Force the team to address it head-on.

Use the IDS® process to get to the true root cause. Often, an issue is tabled because it has not been properly identified. Ask the owner of the issue to define the problem in a single sentence. If the issue is actually a people problem involving someone who does not GWC™ their seat, stop hiding behind process talk and address the personal accountability issue directly.

If an issue truly cannot be solved this quarter because of a lack of resources or dependency on an annual goal, move it off the short-term list. Park it on the Long-Term Issues List in your V/TO® so it no longer clutters your weekly agenda.

Either solve the issue, make a decision, or move it to the long-term parking lot. Never let an issue sit on your weekly list as a monument to indecision.