The Set Point for the Week – Part 5

Handle the toughies yourself.

Planning ahead is key for the success of important meetings. To give you an idea of what I mean:

The speaking order is predetermined.  Jon goes first, followed by me; I do a quick check with the safety manager for a report on any accidents or near misses, and then we go into breakout rooms for a 15-minute breakout session where field managers can review Learning Paths (skills training courses) or Leadership Competencies. We cover one or two modules per week to get through the whole course in a year.

All together again, we go through the jobs report. We review about 100-150 projects very quickly and efficiently. We are all following a report with all the information – cost, project hours, hours up, hours left, deposits paid, and balances due.

The key to running this well-orchestrated meeting is organization. It really starts Tuesday afternoon when the management team gets together and reviews the Ops Meeting agenda for the next day. We talk out issues and more or less script the first 15-20 minutes of the meeting.

Share the mic with your team. I used to do a lot more of the talking at the meeting, but now I’ve started sharing the speaking duties with our president, Jon Meyer. So, Jon reads the report cards and Google reviews instead of me; he is getting good at it. Jon then reports on the new people hired, Feet on the Street targets, revenue goals, and profit-and-loss stuff. He is starting to look like the new leader!

Handle the toughies yourself. However, I still speak of challenges and opportunities; doing that is enjoyable. In addition, I discuss other announcements and plans for marketing, volunteering events, and future meeting schedules.

Tuesday’s preparation is vital and gives us a chance to review our Ops Meeting. We examine the meeting repeatedly while discussing how it could run even better.

Thank people. I thank folks personally, publically, and repeatedly for individual and team accomplishments and tell them how (mostly) well we are doing. And we can’t say enough, “Thanks again for being here so bright and early!”

Take the time to prepare. Be organized. Share the spotlight, and thank people often.

Build muscle. See you Monday.