Mastering the EOS issues track: building and clearing issues lists

Executive overview

Most leadership teams waste their weekly meeting time because they don't build a strong issues list before they try to solve anything. Red scorecard items and off-track rocks must drive the issues list before anyone adds their own agenda.

IDS — Identify, Discuss, Solve — only works if you nail the Identify step: force the problem into a single sentence before moving on.

Building a strong issues list

• Start with the scorecard: any red metric drops directly onto the issues list.
• Off-track rocks go on the issues list — not left to individual owners to handle quietly.
• Incomplete to-dos also belong on the list; the team is depending on those commitments.
• Only after reviewing scorecard, rocks, and to-dos should you ask the room for additional issues.
• Do not get used to red — sustained red items mean the team has stopped treating them as urgent.

Scorecard vs rocks: understanding both inputs

• The scorecard tracks weekly operational performance; it shows whether the business is running well now.
• Rocks are quarterly goals that build toward the long-term vision — parallel to, not instead of, day-to-day work.
• When capacity is too tight for both, bring the trade-off to the L10 — the implications affect the whole organisation.

Identify: the most important IDS stage

• Spend the most time here; Einstein's rule applies — 55 minutes on the problem, 5 on the solution.
• Demand one sentence: "What is the problem we are trying to solve?"
• Do not move on until the sentence exists. Be like a dog with a bone.
• If multiple issues surface during identification, add them to the list and return to the one sentence.
• Write the sentence on a whiteboard or screen so everyone is anchored to the same problem.

Discuss: prevent excessive debate

• Allow different perspectives, but cap discussion at ten minutes per issue.
• Cut off repetition — restating the same point is politicking, not progress.
• Maintain a spirit of impatience; the goal is to see all sides once, not hear them repeatedly.

Solve: make the switch explicit

• Signal the transition clearly — "We need to solve. What is our solution?"
• The mindset shift is visible: discussion mode debates; solve mode proposes actions.
• Almost every solution produces a to-do. Record it, assign it, close the issue.
• If the to-dos don't fix the problem, raise the issue again next week. Don't keep it open speculatively.

When IDS gets stuck

• Issue is too large: break it down by forcing a single-sentence definition — the act of doing so reveals the real sub-issues.
• No consensus: the leader must call the decision after five to ten minutes. Ask "does everyone understand?" not "does everyone agree?"

Signs you are doing it right

• Scorecard metrics trending green.
• Rocks mostly on track week to week.
• L10 meetings consistently rated nine or ten.
• Eight or more issues cleared per week (roughly seven to eight minutes per issue in a 60-minute IDS block).
• Participants do not want to miss the L10.