Stop Talking About Problems — Start Solving Them: A Guide to Mastering IDS

Every leadership team knows the feeling. You leave a meeting and the biggest issues — the real ones — are still sitting there, untouched. They show up on reports, come up in conversations, and quietly slow progress. Everyone knows they exist, but no one feels like they’re actually being solved.

The truth? Great businesses don’t have fewer problems — they just have a better system for solving them.

At Board North, we use a simple but powerful process called IDS — Identify, Discuss, Solve. It’s a framework that turns circular conversations into clear decisions, driving accountability, focus, and measurable action.

The Hidden Cost of Unresolved Issues

When problems aren’t properly addressed, they multiply. Over time, this leads to:

• Recurring problems: The same challenges resurface week after week.
• Stalled progress: Key projects and goals slip behind schedule.
• Frustration and fatigue: Teams lose motivation when discussions don’t lead to change.
• Siloed communication: Real conversations move outside the room — in private chats and post-meeting grumbles.

Unresolved issues drain energy and destroy trust. But with the right rhythm and system, they become opportunities to strengthen alignment and accelerate results.

How the Board North IDS Framework Works

The IDS process sits at the heart of the Board North Operating Rhythm — our structured approach to running high-performing teams. It’s about solving the right issues, fast, and in a way that sticks.

Identify — Bring the Real Issue to Light

The first step is clarity. You can’t solve what you haven’t clearly defined. In our system, issues can arise from anywhere:

• A red metric on your scorecard
• A project that’s slipping
• A customer complaint
• A people challenge or process gap

The key is to capture every issue in one shared place, not in private notes or scattered chat threads.

This creates transparency and a culture of openness — everyone sees the same challenges, and no issue gets buried.

Discuss — Get to the Root Cause

This is where leadership happens. The goal isn’t to talk endlessly about symptoms — it’s to find the root cause. An effective discussion balances data and perspective.

• Ask “why?” five times.
• Challenge assumptions.
• Encourage honest, constructive debate.

As Jim Collins said, “You can’t make good decisions without confronting the brutal facts.”

At Board North, our clients use data dashboards to ground every discussion in fact, not opinion — making problem-solving objective, not emotional. Once the real issue is clear, move quickly to resolution.

Solve — Turn Decisions into Action

This is where most meetings fall short. The talking ends, but the solving never really happens. A proper Solve phase means:

• Agreeing the decision or action.
• Assigning clear ownership.
• Setting a realistic deadline.
• No vague next steps. No “we’ll circle back.” Just decisions and accountability.

If an issue can’t be solved today, park it with intent — assign someone to gather more data or bring options to the next meeting. The power of this system lies in momentum: every week, real issues are identified, discussed, and solved — permanently.

Building a Culture of Honest Problem-Solving

Most organisations don’t fail because of lack of strategy. They fail because people avoid the hard conversations. To create a culture that solves, not avoids, problems:

• Normalise transparency. It’s okay to say when something isn’t working.
• Encourage vulnerability. Leaders who admit problems first make it safe for others to do the same.
• Reward problem-solvers, not problem-hiders.
• Use data as a neutral truth. When facts drive the conversation, egos stay out of it.

At Board North, we’ve seen how this shift transforms companies. Meetings go from reactive to productive. Teams stop avoiding tension. And suddenly, progress feels tangible again.

From Discussion to Delivery: Using Technology to Support IDS

Modern tools can make IDS faster, more visible, and more accountable. Through Board North’s AI dashboards and automation, teams can:

• Log issues directly from metrics and reports.
• Track ownership and due dates automatically.
• Spot patterns in recurring issues using analytics.
• Use automation to assign follow-up actions and send reminders.

It turns IDS into a living system — not a once-a-week exercise.

The Real Outcome: A Problem-Solving Culture

When your team learns to solve issues systematically, everything improves:

• Meetings become shorter and more decisive.
• Accountability becomes natural, not forced.
• Teams move from frustration to flow.
• Strategic goals actually get delivered.

Problem-solving isn’t a one-off event. It’s a habit — and once it’s embedded, it becomes your greatest competitive advantage.

How Board North Helps

At Board North, we help organisations design and automate their Operating System — connecting people, data, and decisions through rhythm and accountability. Our CFO-led approach combines data strategy, scorecards, automation, and leadership coaching to give businesses one version of the truth and the systems to act on it.

If you’re tired of meetings that go in circles, it’s time to build a rhythm that drives results.

Book a strategy session to learn how Board North can help you implement IDS — turning conversations into clarity, and problems into progress.