RAINMAKERS
“ Your emotional attachment to longstanding members of your team interferes with your ability to objectively evaluate their performance and fit .”
the team are encountering . The huddle is not a time for discussion , debate , or problem solving - that happens offline or at your weekly meeting .
To keep your huddles on track , pick and rotate a “ quarterback ” each week who is accountable for ensuring a timely , focused , effective daily rhythm .
The Weekly Meeting : The weekly meeting , run by the CEO ( or team leader ), provides the forum to go deeper . Most of your time here should focus on monthly / quarterly metrics , priorities , and identifying , discussing , debating , and solving issues and opportunities . Weekly meetings are between sixty and ninety minutes , maximum .
Start your communication rhythms with the leadership team first . Resist the temptation to cascade them throughout the organization until the senior team has mastered them and is deriving clear value from the process .
How clear , coordinated , and effective are your firm ’ s communication rhythms ? If your answer is anything other than “ crystal clear , fully synchronized , and extremely effective ” then it ’ s probably time to radically rethink the beat of your business .
Conclusion
“ The most radical and far-reaching solutions often need rethinking of processes and deep questioning of the status quo - and these are hard .” - Bill Price .
We are creatures of inertia ; of habits including actions and thoughts . Inertia is the enemy of change - yet change , including radical change - is required to successfully lead and scale a growing business .
Andy Grove and Gordon Moore , the duo who famously scaled Intel Corporation through the 1980 ’ s found an effective way to overcome their inertia as leaders and implement radical change .
Although memory chips were Intel ’ s primary , highly profitable , business in the early 1980 ’ s , inexpensive chips from Japan began flooding the market and driving prices down . Grove
recalled a conversation where he asked Moore : “ If somebody took us over today , what would they do ?” Moore ’ s answer : “ They would get us out of the memory chip business and into the processor business .”
In that moment , the two leaders made the decision to “ fire ” themselves as President and CEO , walk out of the building , and then walk back in as the “ new ” President and CEO to lead Intel into the processor business . The rest , as they say , is history .
Although you may not need to “ fire ” yourself as a leader , you do need to challenge the status quo and radically rethink things to successfully scale . Start today with one of the three “ lead domino ” areas with the most potential for positive impact : People , Priorities , and Rhythms . ■