During our weekly IDS® sessions, we frequently find ourselves solving the same issue multiple weeks in a row because we fail to assign clear accountability for the solution. How do we use our Accountability Chart to ensure issues are resolved permanently?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Solving the same issue repeatedly is a sign that your IDS® process lacks a clear finish line. This waste occurs because you are identifying a problem and discussing a solution, but failing to tie the resulting action to a specific seat on your Accountability Chart.

To solve an issue permanently, you must end every discussion with a concrete To-Do that is assigned to a single person. There is no such thing as shared accountability. If two people are responsible for a task, nobody is responsible.

Before you move to the next issue on the list, the facilitator must ask two questions:
- What is the exact action item we are committing to?
- Who owns this task?

The owner of the To-Do must be a specific individual whose seat on the Accountability Chart matches the scope of the task. They must verbally agree that they GWC™ the assignment and can complete it within seven days.

Write the To-Do down in your Level 10 Meeting™ software or ledger with their name next to it. If the task is too large to complete in a week, break it down into a smaller seven-day milestone, or turn it into a Rock during your next Quarterly Pulsing session. If you do not assign clear, single-seat ownership, you are just having a nice conversation, not running a business.