Deep beneath your company’s biggest challenges, there’s a tangled mess of stubborn root causes. No matter how much you dig down to reveal them, they’re still difficult to dislodge!

But don’t worry - the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS) is all about problem-solving. Every company has at least a few extremely challenging core issues that serve as impediments to success, so EOS addresses them head-on with IDS.

IDS stands for identify, discuss, and solve. Identify what the issue is, then discuss why it’s happening and do whatever it takes to resolve it. Here’s how this crucial EOS process works in practice for your company.

How IDS Fits Into Your Marketing L10s

Under The EOS Model®, the IDS process is part of building the perfect meeting. Level 10 meetings, often called Level 10s or simply L10s, always have five essential qualities:

• Same day
• Same time
• Same agenda
• Starts on time
• Ends on time

This means the perfect L10 is always held on the same day at the same time, and all invited team members show up and stay on task. During a 90-minute meeting, for example, 25 minutes involve reporting, 60 minutes are invested in problem-solving something specific, and 5 minutes are spent looking forward to the next action steps.

In terms of a company’s small business marketing plan, IDS steps into your meetings like a referee who pauses the action at key moments to say, “Stop! Here’s what needs to happen next!” In this way, IDS reminds your marketing team how to use its L10s productively. 

Picture this common scenario: You start a marketing meeting with a clear problem to solve. During the meeting, the conversation veers off into other issues and complaints, many of which aren’t even marketing-related. Suddenly people are having side discussions and the meeting’s problem-solving focus is lost. 

At this point, IDS can help everyone get back on track. IDS reminds the group to continue focusing on identifying, discussing, and solving the original marketing issue that’s the top priority.

Here’s Why You MUST “IDS it” to Solve Problems

IDS might sound simple - and it is! That’s by design. One of the underlying principles of EOS Traction® within the EOS business model is: Complexity reduces effectiveness.

The simplicity is what makes it effective. A team leader saying “IDS” reminds everyone about the shared goal of problem-solving to get things done.

Many companies that implement IDS in their marketing meetings use the expression “IDS it” to summarize how they’re going to take action on a specific challenge. For example, you might set a meeting agenda to “Review our rising bounce rate and IDS it!”

In your marketing plan, IDS offers benefits like:

• Making decisions based on metrics, not assumptions
• Providing clarity of focus for working teams
• Embracing accountability to get things done
• Contributing to a robust and effective year-round marketing plan
• Getting the most out of the EOS business strategy

When your marketing team consistently follows this format, it can tackle one stubborn issue every week, year-round. That’s more than 50 tough problems solved every year!

Imagine partnering with 11outof11 to optimize your meetings and address your company’s biggest marketing challenges. Maybe this year you could:

• Attract more web traffic
• Improve your web content
• Generate more buzz on social media
• Become a thought leader in the industry
• Secure more qualified leads
• Close more deals
• Increase profitability

The IDS process allows you to finally make progress on your huge marketing to-do list and problem-solve your way to success. Let’s use the EOS business strategy to “IDS it”!

11outof11 Helps you IDS your Marketing Issues

If you’d like your marketing meetings to be more productive and solve more problems, reach out to 11outof11. We’ll offer you a complimentary call with a small business marketing expert who can help you.

We’re an EOS® Agency! Contact us to learn more.