Our weekly short-term Issues List contains items that we all know cannot be solved this quarter, yet the team resists moving them to the V/TO® long-term Issues List because they fear these items will be forgotten forever. How do we build trust in our long-term parking lot?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When your weekly short-term Issues List is bloated with strategic opportunities or complex problems that cannot be solved this quarter, your Level 10 Meeting™ becomes overwhelming. The team often resists moving these items to the V/TO® long-term Issues List because they fear they are sending them to a black hole where they will be forgotten.

To build trust in your long-term parking lot, you must demonstrate that it is an active, respected tool. The transition from short-term to long-term must be a disciplined, regular process managed by the Integrator.

During your quarterly same-page meeting, the leadership team must review every single item on the long-term Issues List. This is where you decide which items become Rocks for the next quarter, which ones are solved, and which ones stay parked. When your team sees that these issues are actively resurrected and addressed every ninety days, their anxiety will disappear.

The facilitator must be ruthless about moving non-immediate items off the weekly list. If an issue does not require a resolution this week to keep the company on track for the quarter, it does not belong in your Level 10 Meeting™. Move it to the V/TO® and keep your weekly focus razor-sharp.