What is IDS?
IDS™ stands for Identify, Discuss, Solve. It is the EOS® method for solving issues forever. IDS is the 60-minute heart of every Level 10 Meeting™ and the Issues Solving Track™ used to work through the Issues List. IDS turns recurring problems into permanent solutions.
When a leadership team masters IDS, the quality of their decisions compounds. Problems that have been lingering for months get solved in a single 30-minute conversation.
Why IDS exists
Most leadership teams are good at identifying problems. They are terrible at solving them.
The typical pattern: a problem comes up in a meeting. Everyone talks. Nobody listens. The loudest voice wins. A vague resolution gets agreed to, usually a committee or a follow-up discussion. The problem shows up again next month.
IDS breaks the pattern with structure. Three steps, done in order, every time.
- Identify the real issue
- Discuss it openly and honestly
- Solve it forever
The three steps of IDS
Identify
The first job is to find the real issue. Not the symptom.
Most issues raised in meetings are symptoms. “Sales is down” is a symptom. “Our new rep is not closing deals” is a symptom. “We are losing deals in the demo stage” is a symptom. Underneath every symptom is a root issue that, when solved, makes the symptoms go away.
The Identify step asks: what is the real issue here?
Ask “why” repeatedly. Peel the layers. Get to the root cause.
Symptom: Sales is down.
Ask why. The answer: Our new rep is not closing deals.
Ask why. The answer: She is struggling on demos.
Ask why. The answer: We do not have a consistent demo script.
Ask why. The answer: We never documented our process.
The real issue is the process gap, not the rep.
Identify is the step most teams rush. Do not rush it. A well-identified issue is half solved.
Discuss
Once the issue is clearly identified, the team discusses it. Open, honest, passionate discussion.
Rules for Discuss:
- Everyone contributes. If someone is silent, the team draws them out.
- Open and honest. No politics. No protecting egos. No spinning.
- Fight for the greater good. Not for your department. Not for your pet project. For the company.
- Enter the danger. Say the thing that is uncomfortable. Name the elephant.
- Solutions-oriented. After enough discussion, the path forward becomes clear.
Most leadership teams discuss too much and too little at the same time. They spend 45 minutes on an issue and solve nothing. Strong IDS is efficient: the discussion ends the moment the solution is clear.
Solve
The final step produces a decision and an owner.
Every solved issue becomes one or more To-Dos on next week’s Level 10 Meeting agenda. The To-Do has a single owner and a due date.
Solve is not “we will think about it.” Solve is not “let’s get more data.” Solve is a decision. A clear commitment to action. A To-Do on the list.
If a decision cannot be made in the meeting, the Solve step becomes a To-Do to make the decision by a specific date. The issue is not closed, but the next step is clear.
When to use IDS
Use IDS every time an issue needs solving.
- Inside the Level 10 Meeting. The IDS portion is 60 minutes, working the top three issues from the Issues List.
- Inside the Quarterly Pulsing Session. IDS long-term issues from the V/TO™ Issues List.
- Inside the Annual Planning session. IDS strategic issues that affect the year ahead.
- Anywhere a decision is stuck. A one-on-one. A department meeting. A hallway conversation.
IDS is not a meeting type. It is a method.
The Issues List
IDS works on issues captured on the Issues List. Two Issues Lists exist in EOS:
- Level 10 Meeting Issues List. Short-term issues from the week. Reviewed every Level 10 Meeting.
- V/TO Issues List. Long-term issues that affect the company’s direction. Reviewed every Quarterly Pulsing Session.
During the week, as issues come up, capture them on the appropriate list. Do not try to solve them in the moment. Save them for IDS.
Priority order, not top-down
The most common mistake in IDS is working the Issues List top to bottom.
Do not.
Identify the top three issues in priority order. Work issue number one first. Then number two. Then number three. Often the most important issue is buried at the bottom of the list. Solving it makes half the other issues disappear.
Some weeks you solve one issue. Some weeks you solve ten. As long as you work in priority order, you are attacking the right problems.
Common IDS mistakes
- Skipping Identify. Teams rush to solutions without naming the real issue. Result: they solve the wrong problem.
- Endless Discuss. Teams hash and rehash. At some point, the discussion has given you the answer. Move to Solve.
- Fake Solve. “We agreed to talk more about it.” That is not a Solve. That is a Discuss with extra steps.
- No owner on the To-Do. Every Solve produces a To-Do with an owner and a due date.
- Working the list top to bottom. Always work in priority order.
- Allowing politics. IDS only works when everyone is fighting for the company. Politics kill the method.
IDS in practice: an example
Issue: Our churn rate jumped from 5% to 9% last quarter.
Identify (5 minutes)
Why? Three customers left. All three were in the same segment: mid-market manufacturing.
Why? They all said the onboarding felt rushed.
Why? Our onboarding playbook was built for small businesses and does not handle the complexity of mid-market deals.
Real issue: Our onboarding playbook has not kept up with our customer segment shift.
Discuss (15 minutes)
Head of Customer Success: “We have been complaining about this for months. Nobody has given us the resources to build a mid-market playbook.”
Head of Sales: “We did not tell CS that we were changing segments. That is on me.”
Integrator: “So we have two issues here: the playbook gap, and the communication gap between Sales and CS about ICP changes.”
Visionary: “We need to decide if mid-market is actually our target segment or a distraction.”
Solve (10 minutes)
- Decision 1: Mid-market manufacturing is a target segment. Confirmed.
- Decision 2: Build a mid-market onboarding playbook by end of the quarter. Rock owner: Head of CS.
- Decision 3: Sales and CS will meet monthly to align on ICP changes. To-Do: Integrator to set up the recurring meeting by next Friday.
Issue closed. Three To-Dos on the list. The problem will not show up again next month.
How IDS connects to the rest of EOS
- Level 10 Meeting. The 60-minute IDS portion is the core of the weekly meeting.
- Issues List. Where issues live until they get IDSed.
- To-Do List. Where IDS outputs land.
- Quarterly Pulsing Session. Long-term issues get IDSed here.
- V/TO. The Issues List on the V/TO is the long-term source for IDS.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does IDS stand for?
IDS stands for Identify, Discuss, Solve. It is the EOS method for solving issues forever.
Where is IDS used?
IDS is the 60-minute core of every Level 10 Meeting. It is also used in Quarterly Pulsing Sessions, Annual Planning, and anywhere a decision is stuck.
How long should IDS take for each issue?
Most issues are solved in 10 to 20 minutes when the team is disciplined. Complex issues may take longer. The full IDS portion of a Level 10 Meeting is 60 minutes.
What is the difference between IDS and problem-solving?
IDS is a specific three-step method: Identify the root issue, Discuss openly, Solve with a clear owner and To-Do. Most “problem-solving” skips Identify and produces vague Discuss with no real Solve.
Do you have to use IDS in order?
Yes. Identify first. Discuss second. Solve third. Skipping Identify is the most common mistake. It leads to solving the wrong problem.
Is IDS trademarked?
The Issues Solving Track, of which IDS is the shorthand, is a trademark of EOS Worldwide.
Related EOS Tools
Start Solving Issues Forever
Ready to stop rehashing the same problems every month? Start with a Free 90-Minute Meeting with a Professional EOS Implementer.
Written by EOS Worldwide
Reviewed by Mark O'Donnell, Visionary & CEO, EOS Worldwide
EOS Worldwide is the organization behind the Entrepreneurial Operating System®. Content reflects official EOS® doctrine.