THERE is one indispensable routine, one absolute essential habit more important than any other I can teach an executive team; one discipline that is non-negotiable – and that is an effective daily meeting rhythm. Before dismissing the idea (I’ve heard every excuse over the years), consider that, from the top teams at Goldman Sachs to the assembly floors of Dell Computer to the Oval Office of the White House, an effective daily meeting rhythm is at the heart of management practices. And I’ve not encountered a single start-up to mid-size firm that didn’t benefit greatly from initiating a short daily huddle organised around a specific agenda, which I’ll detail below. “I lead a daily ‘adrenaline’ meeting,” explains Tony Petrucciani, CEO of Single Source Systems, Inc, a computer services firm based in Indianapolis. Mr Petrucciani gathers his management team (five including himself) and meets each day at 10:07am to discuss roadblocks. Their goal is to be out in 15 minutes. The name came from the substance that makes the heart beat faster. “In our case, we wanted the business to pulse faster,” Mr Petrucciani says. “Our key customers really like that we do these meetings and it has become a sales tool, differentiating us from the speed that our competition pulses.’’ The meetings were launched when the company faced a large project in overrun status and the customer was getting angry. “We implemented a specific ‘project adrenaline’ daily meeting,” Mr Petrucciani says. “Within a week, we were making much better progress, and had gained back credibility from the customer (we told them about adrenaline). This kept a six-figure project from imploding.” Since then, his team has implemented other types of daily adrenaline meetings (channel adrenaline, sales adrenaline) that pulse just before his management meeting. If a major issue comes up in those earlier meetings, they pulse through to the management adrenaline meeting, keeping the company operating at an effective pace. “The daily huddles are particularly key when you’re the busiest and spread the thinnest,” says Chuck Hall, founder and CEO of Charles Hall Construction in Clarendon Hills, Illinois. “We have approximately $24 million in contracts signed or under negotiations for work this year waiting to start,” he says. “With the daily huddle, we’re much better equipped at keeping our daily tasks aligned with our plan. And it has helped us keep morale high during the difficult slow months, and step by step prepare us for the really busy times. “The immediate pushback I get when recommending a daily huddle is ‘We’re too busy’.” Executives can’t imagine finding the time to get everybody in the same place or on a conference call every day for one minute, let alone five or 15. And if the company is quite small and travel isn’t that big an issue, they’ll tell me” “We don’t need a meeting when we’re seeing each other all day long”. Yet routine actually sets you free. Teams that huddle daily find they interrupt each other considerably less the rest of the day. There’s a fixed time when everyone knows they’ll have everyone else’s attention. Meeting daily also clears up issues that otherwise linger to clog up the weekly meeting. This frees up time to focus on more strategic issues during the weekly gathering (focus of a future column). I recommend that companies set the time at an odd time, like Mr Petrucciani’s 10:07am. People do a better job of being on time when the time’s not on the half or quarter hour. Make attendance mandatory and on time, with no excuses. I’ve been in intense meetings with clients. I’ve been in the midst of seeking funds from venture capitalists. It doesn’t matter; I tell them I need to take a break for my daily meeting. And it only gains one respect – a disciplined firm exudes success. Overall, start and end on time and don’t problem solve. This meeting is simply for problem identification. If the meeting is face to face, stand up to avoid going too long. And back the meeting up against other regular meetings or appointments to force an ending. If it starts to go longer than 15 minutes, people will drop the habit. The agenda It should be the same structure every day, and it’s an agenda just three items long: what’s up, daily measures, and where are you stuck? In the first few minutes, each attendee shares ‘what’s up’ the next 24 hours. This lets people immediately sense conflicts, crossed agendas, and missed opportunities. The key is to highlight specifics without simply reading one’s to-do list. Next, review whatever daily measurements your company uses to track its progress, highlighting any unusual trends. The third and most important agenda item is where people are stuck. You’re looking for bottlenecks. There’s something powerful in simply verbalising, for the whole group to hear, your fear, your struggle, your concern. It’s the first step to solving the problem, because until the mouth runs, the brain won’t engage. And the only people who don’t get stuck are those who aren’t doing anything. So, scrutinise the person who reports “everything is fine”. Important as it is, the bottleneck conversation shouldn’t be allowed to drift on into problem solving. It’s okay if somebody wants to reply to a bottleneck by saying, “call so-and-so” but if two people start engaging over an issue, politely suggest they take it off line. Remember, the daily meeting needs to be kept short. •Verne Harnish was named one of the Top 10 Minds in Small Business by Fortune Small Business. In a one-day seminar on Friday March 2 2007, Verne Harnish will provide those attending the WA Business News seminar practical tools fast-growing companies can use to create focus, alignment, better communication and a winning strategy.