A Daily Ritual for Success

Some individuals have daily rituals. So do some athletes. But very few businesses have daily rituals to improve the business and drive results. One daily business ritual that has worked for a number of companies and other organizations is the daily meeting or conference call.

“Daily!” I can hear you saying now. Yes, daily. Here is how it works.

First, identify what the most important objectives for the year are. These are usually defined in the business plan. Next see which ones are broken down by month. If they are not broken down by month do so. Then break them down by day – either calendar day or business day depending on the nature of your business.

Secondly, who owns each of the results for the company or organization? There must be an accountable owner. This is the person the Board or the CEO looks to for the delivery of the business result. The second in command for each of these people must be identified also.

Finally, the logistics. What time, where, call in bridge only for those who are not at the primary office location and a format for reading out daily and monthly cumulative results plus related issues.

The call must go on every business day which may be five, six or seven days a week. The most senior accountable owners must be on the call. The only excuse for their not being on the call is being in transit on an airplane, with a customer or sick. Every call, every day will review the result for the previous day, the cumulative result for the month and any significant issues impacting performance. These issues raised must be specific and must be assigned to an owner with a follow-up within 24 hours.

While the daily results review meeting may seem like overkill, it serves to create focus, crystallize accountability, raise the sense of urgency and improve communication across organizations. Try it and let me know how it works for YOUR company or organization.

George F. Franks, III is the President of Franks Consulting Group – a Bethesda, Maryland management consulting and leadership coaching practice. His web site is:

http://franksconsultinggroup.com. George’s career and leadership e-zine is at:

http://careerandleadership.com

He can be contacted at gfranks@franksconsultinggroup.com