Here Shweiki Media Printing Company teams up with Steve Baker, Vice President of Marketing at The Great Game of Business, to present another installment in a series of webinars. This particular video focuses on following the action and keeping score.
In general, the most important thing any sport or game does is keep people engaged. People want to know what is going on. Also, it is very important to remember that if no one is keeping score, then it is just practice. This, of course, applies to business as well: scores matter.
Why Huddle?
What is incredible about this awareness test video is that it ties so well with what businesses do every single day. There are two questions this video raises:
“What if we are not seeing the big picture?”
“What if we are not seeing everything that needs to be seen?”
Huddles are used to answer these questions.
The important thing to remember about huddles is that they need to be done at the same time every week. This way people know that their business is committed to covering the numbers and doing it in a timely fashion. Questions that need to be answered in huddles include:
- “How does money flow through the business?”
- “Where is the company currently?”
- “What does the company need to do to change the score?”
If someone is a new employee on his or her first day and participated in a huddle, then he or she would already know more about the business than they probably have at any other job before. The first and most important question a huddle answers is, “Is the company winning or losing?” A company also wants all forward-looking numbers in its huddles.
Great Game huddles represent a rhythm of communication in which everyone is kept informed, involved and engaged in the progress of the game. The first thing people do in any type of huddle, whether for business or football, is catch their breath and think. The second thing a business does is evaluate game conditions, learn what is happening on the field, and check the score. Huddles are a great place to refocus, recommit and re-engage.
The Huddle Cycle
- Pre-Huddle: In a pre-huddle, people will have to work together as a group. They can happen in a stand-up session or for a few minutes a day. All week long, employers and employees are preparing for the next huddle.
- Main Huddle: This is when people are pulling numbers, forecasting for the week, and talking about changing the score. This is a great way to have accountability in an organization. People are much more likely to keep their promises when they are giving their numbers weekly and committing to them in writing.
- Post-Huddle: The final stage in the huddle cycle occurs when the company shares and discusses its financial outlooks.
What is a Huddle?
There are four main components of a huddle:
- Evaluating the game conditions
- Checking the score
- Planning the next play
- Getting fired up
Huddle Essentials:
- Begin with the right scoreboard.
- Make sure employees arrive on time and huddles are fast and weekly.
- Look forward. One should not start looking in the rearview mirror.
- Make sure all activities are focused on the 20% that create 80% of the company’s results.
- Always encourage learning and teaching. It is important to build a culture of ownership.
- Call for personal commitments to improve performances.
- Begin with the right leadership. Nobody likes a boss, but everyone loves a good leader.
Your “One Thing”
This is an important question that everyone should ask themselves: What is the single most important thing I can do this week to impact the team’s performance on the scoreboard?
