Every successful (and not-so-successful) sports team on the field starts the game with a huddle. Heck, sometimes even during the game, they need to go for a quick huddle or two. The purpose? To re-group, make sure everyone knows what the mission is, and say what needs to be done to be successful. In business, we aim to do the same thing, only we often fail at it. Case in point – the painfully long and drawn-out meeting.
Most businesses hold meetings, especially for those who are in management positions. Held weekly or even daily, these meetings become bull sessions where people talk about what they did over the weekend and what they should have for lunch. Truth be told, maybe 15 minutes of important dialogue goes on for every hour of meeting that someone sits through.
So enough with the distractions already! It’s time to get serious here and head for the huddle!
Why Huddles Work
Holding morning huddles, rather than meetings, is a concept that has been catching on, in recent years. That’s because a lot more can be accomplished throughout the day when you skip the coffee-drinking, slouched-seated, full-blown meeting. Rather than holding meetings where everyone gets comfortable, kicks back, and gets off topic, change the concept.
If you want to improve productivity in your office, hold a morning or mid-day huddle. Hold it at the same time each day, and have each employee come into the boardroom ready to share one minute’s worth of news. They can provide an update on what they are working on, what their plans are, what they need, etc.
By the time everyone has taken one minute to go around the huddle and bring everyone up to speed, the team knows what is going on and the direction they are taking. If someone needs to speak further to someone else about an issue, they can do so after the huddle is over. No need to hold up the whole team for such a thing (especially once you figure out the dollars being lost by doing so).
Laying the Ground Rules
You are the coach. Don’t feel bad about implementing a daily huddle and laying down some ground rules to go with it. After all, if everyone is on the same page and aware of what is going on, the company will have a better chance of scoring.
So take some time to determine what you want your huddle to look like, and what you want out of it. Many people opt for the “standing only” huddle, which is the ideal way to run it, since it keeps people from getting too comfy. If you are standing, you are more likely to wrap up the huddle quickly and get back to your office. (And before some of you finger-wagging sticklers write to me, I know that not everyone can stand through a huddle! I’m suggesting that those who are able to, should.)
Gauging Results
If you do nix the lengthy meetings and go the route of the quick, yet effective, huddle, pay attention to the results. Not only will you be chewing up less of your employees’ time, but they will also be forced to really think about their work goals each day, in order to share them with the group. You may just find that the huddle helps to increase productivity, create a team atmosphere, and keep people from gaining extra weight from eating all those morning-meeting donuts and bagels.
By Mike Michalowicz, Author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur
