Our leadership team gets bogged down in long debates during the IDS® phase of our Level 10 Meeting™ and we rarely solve more than one major issue per week. How do we speed up our problem-solving cycle without sacrificing the depth of our decisions?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When your Level 10 Meeting™ becomes bogged down in endless debate during the IDS® portion, it is usually because the team is jumping to solutions before clearly defining the real issue, or they are letting too many voices over-complicate the discussion. Speeding up your problem-solving cycle requires strict meeting discipline.

First, spend more time in the Identify phase. Teams often read an issue and immediately start discussing how to fix it, only to realize thirty minutes later they were solving the wrong problem. Dig deep to find the root cause. Once the actual issue is identified, the solution is often obvious and takes minutes to agree upon.

Second, limit the discussion. Everyone does not need to voice the same opinion three different ways. The facilitator or Integrator must cut off repetitive talk and push the team to start proposing solutions.

Third, make a decision and assign a To Do. A good decision made quickly is almost always better than a perfect decision made too late. If the issue is too complex to solve in ten minutes, spin it off as a separate working session or assign a Rock to research it. Keep your weekly meeting moving so you can clear the board and drive consistent progress.