Most leadership teams treat their Issues List like a rap sheet.
The longer it gets, the worse they feel. They see a growing list and think something’s broken. They apologize for it. They minimize it. They hide the real stuff and only surface the safe, easy-to-solve items.
Here’s the truth: a long Issues List isn’t a sign of dysfunction. It’s a sign of awareness. And awareness is where growth begins.
That’s one of the core ideas behind the latest book in The EOS Mastery Series, Issues: Remove Friction, Fast-Track Your Growth, and Ignite Your Greatness.
What an Issue Really Is
In EOS, an issue is anything that needs to be discussed and solved. But here’s what most teams miss: that also includes opportunities and ideas. Not everything on the list is a problem. Some of it is untapped potential sitting right in front of you.
Every healthy, growing business has issues. That’s not the exception. It’s the rule.
The companies that worry me aren’t the ones with long Issues Lists. They’re the ones with short ones. Because short lists usually mean one thing: people aren’t saying what needs to be said.
Unresolved Issues Are Anchors
When issues don’t get solved, they don’t just sit quietly on a list. They become anchors dragging on your business.
You’ve seen it. The same conversation comes up meeting after meeting. People create workarounds instead of real solutions. Someone says, “That’s just how it is here,” and everyone nods. The team stops expecting resolution and starts managing around the dysfunction.
That’s expensive, not just in time and energy, but also in trust.
When your team sees the same issues recycled without resolution, they stop raising new ones. They stop believing the process works. And the real issues, the ones that actually matter, go underground.
Here’s where it gets dangerous: the weight becomes normal. Teams get so accustomed to dragging these anchors that they forget what it feels like to move freely. They lose sight of what’s possible because they’re too busy compensating for what’s broken.
Release the Anchors
When you solve an issue for good, you’re not just checking something off a list. You’re releasing stuck energy back into the business.
Think about that. Every unresolved issue is consuming bandwidth. It’s eating up mental space in your leaders’ heads. It’s creating friction between team members who’ve silently agreed to tolerate it. When you resolve it, all that energy gets freed up for innovation, growth, and work that actually moves the needle.
How to Solve Issues So They Stay Solved
Most issues return because they were never really solved in the first place. The team addressed a symptom and called it done. To solve issues for good, you must use the IDS (Identify, Discuss, Solve) process to get to the root and eliminate it.
Solve at the Root
Surface-level fixes feel efficient in the moment, but they guarantee the issue will come back. In EOS, the stated problem is rarely the real issue. You have to dig until you get to the root cause—the real issue. Once you identify the true root, the right solution becomes clear and the issue can be solved for good.
Prioritize the Big Ones
You can’t solve everything at once. Identify the top three issues and solve the most important one first. When you solve the right issue at the root, you’ll often find that other issues disappear because they were just symptoms.
Make It Safe to Name the Real Ones
If your team only surfaces safe, sanitized issues, you’re not solving anything meaningful. Create an environment where your team is open and honest and willing to put real issues on the table. Where naming a hard truth is valued, not feared. That’s when IDS actually works.
Your Move
Take a Clarity Break this week. Pull up your Issues List, the real one, not the polished version, and ask yourself two questions:
What’s been on here too long?
What have we learned to live with that we should be solving?
Growing your business isn’t about adding more. It’s about removing the anchors that are in the way. Every issue you solve is momentum reclaimed.
Stop treating your Issues List like a problem. Start treating it like the growth engine it is.
Ready to stop managing around friction and start solving issues at the root?
Get your copy of Issues: Remove Friction, Fast-Track Your Growth, and Ignite Your Greatness, and start turning unresolved issues into momentum.
