Our leadership team offsites are highly productive for setting Rocks, but we consistently run out of time to tackle the root issues on our long-term Issues List. How do we structure the offsite agenda to guarantee we spend sufficient time doing IDS?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Running out of time for IDS® during quarterly offsites is a common symptom of a bloated agenda or a leadership team that gets bogged down in long-winded updates. To fix this, you must aggressively protect your offsite schedule.

Start by eliminating all narrative updates. Your V/TO® and Scorecard should tell the team ninety percent of what they need to know before the offsite starts. Pre-work is essential; require all leadership team members to review the quarterly numbers and submit their top issues forty-eight hours in advance.

Structure your offsite day to dedicate at least three to four uninterrupted hours specifically to the Issues List. When you begin the IDS® portion, prioritize the list ruthlessly. Do not start at the top; instead, have the team vote on the three most critical issues facing the business. Focus all energy on identifying the root cause of issue number one before moving to discussion or solution. If an issue is too large to solve in thirty minutes, spin it off as a strategic Rock for the upcoming quarter rather than letting it hijack the entire day.