Stop talking around the issue

I’d like to believe most teams aren’t avoiding issues because they’re dishonest. It’s just uncomfortable to call out hard truths, so the team starts working from an edited version of the issue. But when that happens the same problems keep resurfacing.

After hundreds of sessions, Jim Wardlaw has seen how softening issues to protect the team from hard conversations keeps meetings calm while the actual issues stay unresolved.

That’s where teams get stuck. They spend 20 minutes solving the version that feels safe enough to say out loud, while the actual problem sits underneath it untouched.

A better move is to stop asking for the full story first. Ask for the smallest true piece. What part of this is real? What part are we all dancing around? What sentence would actually move the conversation forward?

Jim Wardlaw shared his experience with this recently on the Impact Moments podcast. One question he uses with teams is, “What’s the 20% that’s real?” That question helps teams name what they need to move forward.

The next time your team starts solving the safer version of the issues in a Level 10 Meeting®, don’t let them keep going. Pause and ask for the smallest true piece.

Focus Points
“Give me the 20% that’s real.”
— Jim Wardlaw, EOS Implementer®

Impact Moments
Give Me the 20% That’s Real

In this episode of Impact Moments, Jim Wardlaw joins us to talk about what changes when a team stops managing the conversation and starts naming what’s actually true.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• Why teams sound aligned while still holding back
• How vulnerability changes the room quickly
• What the “20% that’s real” question actually unlocks
• Why courage matters when teams are solving issues

Be sure to subscribe on YouTube, or follow the show wherever you get your podcasts.

Meetings Kinda Suck

Last week, we unveiled my new book Meetings Kinda Suck, and the response has been fun to see.

I wrote it for every leader who’s sat through a meeting thinking, “We cannot keep doing this.” Most meetings look productive on the surface, but they’re not built to solve real issues, so the same problems keep coming back.

When meetings are run the right way, they become one of the most valuable tools you have for creating clarity, accountability, and real progress using EOS®.

On the Calendar
Webinar: Make Delegate and Elevate® a Daily Habit

You already know some of the work on your plate shouldn’t be there. The issue is it keeps showing back up because nothing is forcing a decision.

That is what we’re going to work through live. I’ll break down how to make Delegate and Elevate® a regular habit instead of something you revisit once a quarter and forget.

Jenifer Warburton, Product Manager at Ninety, will join me live for this webinar. She’ll walk through how this actually works inside the tool.

May 29, 2026 | 12:00 p.m. ET

How to Run an EOS® Level 10 Meeting® in Ninety

I’m not convinced most teams need another meeting. They need the meeting they already have to actually work.

That starts with setup. If the agenda, Scorecard, Rocks, To-Dos, and Issues List are scattered across four different places, the team is already fighting the meeting before it starts.

This blog walks through how to run a cleaner Level 10 Meeting® in Ninety so you can keep the work connected and protect more time for IDS®.