Great internal communication is a very important driver of business growth but it is one that we find is often lacking.This is especially true of gazelles or, companies that start small but suddenly begin to expand exponentially. The founder will have a clear vision of where the company is going but may to feel staff are not really in touch with that.
Inspirational business thinker Verne Harnish wrote in his book Mastering the Rockefeller Habits that regular meetings, or huddles, of team members are the key to a business’s long-term success.
In saying this, he is not talking about those overextended meetings which can gobble up so much productive time but instead, he talks of very quick and highly focused meetings held least every week, if not every day.
Harnish bases his ideas on the business practices of John D. Rockefeller who is believed to have been the richest man ever and, consequently, can be presumed to have known what he was talking about.
It may seem unlikely that something as simple as quick team huddles can have any major benefit but the Internet is full of testimonials that they can greatly improve business outcomes, internal communication and staff morale.
There are differences in the suggested agendas for daily and weekly huddles but many principles remain the same. A daily huddle should last no longer than 15 minutes at a set time every day in a location where there is room for the team to remain standing.
The appointed facilitator opens the meeting and ensures that it proceeds according to the agenda and time allotted. The points to cover generally include:
- Priorities – each team member quickly outlines their priority for the coming day and can mention a business or personal victory they have had.
- Numbers – each team member quotes some metric to do with their performance over the past day.
- Log jams – anyone who has a problem they are stuck with can mention it and quickly arrange to meet afterwards with anyone who can help.
All staff right up to the CEO should participate in at least one huddle every day. Some might attend more than one if, for example, they are involved in a number of functional areas or are team leaders who might huddle with their teams and then with fellow leaders.
