During the IDS® portion of our Level 10 Meeting™, our leadership team gets completely bogged down in the 'Discuss' phase, bringing up endless historical context and pointing fingers instead of finding solutions. How do we force them to move to 'Solve' faster?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Getting stuck in the Discuss phase of IDS® is a common symptom of a team that is afraid to make decisions or is looking to assign blame rather than solve problems. Discussion should only serve to clarify the root cause of the issue and identify potential paths forward. Once the issue is identified and the options are on the table, continuing to debate the same points is a waste of valuable time.

The facilitator must play an active, aggressive role in keeping the team moving. If you notice the same points being repeated or the conversation devolving into historical venting, step in immediately. Ask the owner of the issue: What do you need to solve this today? Or ask the team: Are we still identifying new information, or are we just repeating ourselves? This disrupts the loop and forces the team to focus on the future rather than the past.

To speed up the transition to Solve, remember that an EOS® solution is usually a to-do, a change in process, or an update to the Accountability Chart. Every issue resolved during IDS® must end with a clear, actionable to-do assigned to a single owner. If the team cannot agree on a solution, the facilitator must force a decision or delegate the resolution to the person who has the GWC™ for that area of the business. Do not let perfectionism paralyze your progress. A good decision made today is always better than a perfect decision made next month.