The Daily Huddle is an all-company meeting of about seven minutes. It raises the energy of the group and keeps everyone on the same page.
Everyone stands, because standing makes people move and think a little faster. I run it around 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., when energy starts to ebb. For example, you could meet from 10:55 to 11:02 a.m. and again from 1:55 to 2:02 p.m.
The Agenda in Order
Each huddle follows the same flow, so people always know what comes next:
- Good news (two minutes): a goal hit, a finished project, a new hire, or nice customer feedback.
- Numbers: report the metrics against goal, then compare them with the quarterly and annual goals.
- Business area update: one area presents each day, and the huddle rotates through every area over one to two weeks.
- Frustrations: people name missing systems or broken processes, and someone raises a hand and says, “I will take it.”
- Cheer: close with a cheer built from the good news.
Four Questions for Each Area
Every business area answers the same questions: What are you working on? What were you working on last week? What are you stuck on? Are you hiring anybody? Because the format never changes, everyone learns how other areas work.
Expect It to Feel Dorky
At 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, the huddle felt dorky and awkward at first. However, people grew to love it, and the company still uses it today. As a company grows, the huddle stops working, because you can’t ask two hundred people to stop what they are doing twice a day. That’s why I created the Adrenaline Meeting, a three-minute huddle for each business area.
Bottom Line
A seven-minute meeting can set the rhythm for a whole company. For more systems and rhythms that carry a company from $10M to $50M, download the free Scaling System guide.