This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "Traction" by Gino Wickman. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
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How do you identify workplace issues? What can you do to root them out before they escalate and compromise your key business functions? Many leadership teams talk endlessly about problems without solving them. But unresolved workplace issues or problems drain your company’s energy.
In Traction, Gino Wickman says that successful businesses also need a consistent way to identify and solve problems. He explains that many leadership teams fall into the trap of discussing the same problems repeatedly without actually solving them. When issues remain unresolved, they drain your company’s energy and resources, getting in the way of your goals. Here is how to identify and resolve your workplace issues.
Originally Published: March 9, 2021
Last Updated: January 24, 2026
Maintain Problem Lists
To solve problems systematically, Wickman recommends documenting all issues in lists where they can be addressed. He suggests creating three types of problem lists:
A quarterly issues list: Use this list for problems that aren’t urgent and can wait three months to be addressed in quarterly leadership meetings. This might include creating employee development programs or discussing major equipment purchases.
A weekly issues list: Use this list for important problems that affect your entire company (not just one department) and need to be addressed at the next weekly leadership meeting. This might include company goals that are falling behind schedule, key performance metrics that are too low, or problems with important clients.
A departmental issues list: Use this list for urgent problems within a specific department that must be handled immediately. For example, a marketing team might track issues like fixing a broken website link or meeting a deadline for an advertising campaign.
| How Problem Lists Prevent Workplace Dysfunction According to Liz Wiseman in Impact Players, many workplaces suffer from small, nagging problems that everyone complains about but no one fixes. These issues often go unresolved because they seem annoying but not urgent enough to prioritize. However, ignoring these problems lets them quietly erode your team’s productivity and effectiveness over time. When you document issues on a list, you prevent them from lingering indefinitely and ensure they eventually get resolved. Wiseman also offers specific guidance for how employees can take initiative and tackle problems that have been identified. She encourages them to step into informal leadership roles to address issues that no one else is handling. By maintaining organized problem lists, you create a system that makes it easier to identify which problems aren’t being addressed and opportunities for employees to step in to make a difference. |
Resolve Problems Efficiently
Once you’ve sorted your problems into the right lists, you need a clear process to solve them efficiently. Wickman offers five steps:
1. Prioritize: Select the three most important problems from your list and address them in order of importance.
(Shortform note: If you’re not sure how to decide the order in which to solve your problems, consider Mike Michalowicz’s system in Fix This Next. He organizes business needs into five tiers (from lowest to highest): sales, profit, structure, influence, and self-perpetuation. To find your most critical problem, identify the lowest tier where you still have unfulfilled requirements, then determine which specific issue within that tier would most improve your company if solved.)
2. Identify the root cause: Dig deeper to find what’s really causing the problem. Many teams waste time by discussing symptoms rather than root causes.
(Shortform note: Sometimes the root cause isn’t obvious because you’re facing what Richard Rumelt (The Crux) calls a “broad issue”—a complex problem with no known solutions or reliable way to test new solutions. When you encounter problems like these, you’ll need to develop entirely new approaches to uncover what’s truly causing the problem.)
3. Gather input: Let everyone on the team contribute their perspective on the problem. When you’ve correctly identified the root cause, the right solution often becomes obvious to everyone.
4. Act on a solution: Choose the best solution and assign one specific person to carry it out.
5. Track completion: Add the task to your to-do list and check in regularly to make sure it gets done. Once it’s finished, you can cross the problem off your list.
(Shortform note: In Continuous Discovery Habits, Teresa Torres argues that people generate more creative ideas when they brainstorm alone before sharing with the group. Group brainstorming can cause people to get stuck or defer to others’ thinking, which limits creativity. Torres recommends you alternate between solo and group sessions until you have at least 15 potential solutions, then vote to narrow down to the top three options.)
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- How a first-time entrepreneur can gain the traction needed to grow
- Why hard work and determination aren't enough for your business to succeed
- The 6 key principles of the Entrepreneurial Operating System
