Short-term issues are solved in the weekly Level 10 Meetings (L10). Long-term issues are put on the V/TO until the next Quarterly meeting. Once you begin the Identify, Discuss, and Solve (IDS) portion of the L10 meeting, the person running the meeting, usually the Integrator (but it can be anyone if the Integrator is not present), uses the whiteboard and asks the team for the top priority issue listed on the issues list.
Anyone can nominate a #1 priority issue. If three or more people agree it is the top priority issue, it is marked as #1. Repeat the process for issues #2 and #3. If at least three people do not agree an issue belongs in the top three, continue selecting issues off the issues list until three or more people agree.
Once you have #1, 2 and 3 selected, stop and start IDS #1. If you solve all three issues, start over with prioritizing to determine the next three issues. Do not waste time prioritizing more than three issues. Sometimes, you will solve only one issue; sometimes, you will solve many issues. The important thing is you are solving the most significant, most important issues first.
Identify
- The person who nominated the issue will state what they think the issue is. Consider answering these questions.
- What’s your issue? Explain in one sentence.
- What’s the impact on the company?
- What do you want? What is your ideal outcome?
- What do you need from the rest of the team?
- Input
- Decision
- Actions
- Info
- Feedback
- Often, the stated issue is not the real issue or root cause.
- Now answer the question
- Is the issue stated the root cause?
- Everyone can voice an opinion on the issue and its root cause.
- This can be a once-around-the-table to hear from people with opinions on this issue.
- The questions continue until the team feels the real issue has been identified.
Discuss
- Once the issue is identified, everyone has one time around the table to give their open and honest opinion of their thoughts, ideas, concerns and solutions.
- Discuss and debate the issue.
- If the person starts going on a tangent, the meeting leader or anyone else can say “tangent” and bring the person back to the actual issue.
- There is no time limit, but if people start repeating themselves, it’s politicking, and the meeting leader needs to keep the meeting focused and moving forward. It is probably time for a solution.
- Always remember that the decision must be for the greater good of the business, and the solution is usually easy, but the work to the solution may not be easy.
Solve
- It is more important that you decide something than what you decide … so decide!
- Sometimes, you must return to the discussion step after stating the solution because you have not solved it.
- The solution must be stated clearly until everyone agrees (although sometimes 1-2 people may not agree but will have to live with the decision)
- Someone must own the action steps. The action steps must be placed on the owner’s To-Do list. Confirmation of completion will take place during the following L10 To Dos.
A healthy team will agree with the solution eight out of 10 times; however, when the team does not agree, the Integrator must make the final decision. Not everyone will be pleased in these situations, but as long as they have been heard and the team is healthy, they can usually support the decision. There must be a united front moving forward.
