• Personality and leadership style assessments , which help team members appreciate each other ’ s differences .
• Meal and social time during off-site planning sessions and monthly management meetings .
• Shared learning experiences .
Once the team is healthy , then it is ready to tackle the tough work of setting priorities successfully .
ROCKEFELLER HABIT NO . 2 Everyone Is Aligned With The No . 1 Thing That Needs To Be Accomplished This Quarter To Move The Company Forward
Rockefeller Habit No . 2 starts with identifying your Critical Number , introduced and popularized through Jack Stack ’ s classic book , “ The Great Game of Business : The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company .” Though all your metrics are critical , reserve the term Critical Number for your measurable No . 1 priority , even when other metrics are nearly as important .
To derive the one Critical Number , imagine the hundreds of important things you need to accomplish lined up like dominoes . Find the lead domino : the one initiative that , when pursued , makes it easier to accomplish everything else . Or identify the constraint — the choke point or bottleneck — and address it first . For more on how to choose this “ critical ” constraint , read my favorite business book of all time , “ The Goal ” by the late Eliyahu Goldratt . Scaling up is all about eliminating constraints — in the business and for customers .
It ’ s tempting to have a few “ main ” priorities , but that just means your focus will be pulled in different directions , thus not really achieving anything of significance . For true scalability to occur , I urge you to prioritize one goal and make sure everyone is on board with achieving it .
Scaling a company takes time — it ’ s all about taking a step forward , checking in and adjusting accordingly . This can only happen if there are regular check-ins and goals . One such goal is the quarterly goal that allows for small wins , which leads to your company ’ s focus on its No . 1 priority .
ROCKEFELLER HABIT NO . 3 Communication Rhythm Is Established And Information Moves Through The Organization Accurately And Quickly
Meetings have gotten a bad rap , with some corners eschewing the benefits of meetings . However , I believe daily , weekly , monthly , quarterly and annual Meeting Rhythms help to address the No . 1 challenge people face when working together : communication .
It might sound counterintuitive to have this many meetings , but when executed properly , they actually save everyone a lot of time in the long run . Communication will become much more open and smoother , and your team will have the clarity and feedback it needs to focus on the company ’ s No . 1 priority .
ROCKEFELLER HABIT NO . 4 Every Facet Of The Organization Has A Person Assigned With Accountability For Ensuring Goals Are Met
Getting accountabilities clear throughout the organization is crucial . There should be one accountable person assigned to each cell within the organization , and this needs to be clear throughout the organization . Of course , this doesn ’ t mean this person is the boss or gets to make all the decisions .
ROCKEFELLER HABIT NO . 5 Ongoing Employee Input Is Collected To Identify Obstacles And Opportunities
Ah yes , data — both measurable and immeasurable — will fuel clear decision making . This is the first key component for qualitative data you ’ ll need to guide the business . It is critical for senior leadership and middle managers to engage their employees in data collection from within the company . In other words , roll up your sleeves and prepare to take notes .
Here are some guidelines we recommend :
• Collect data from your employees , especially your sales channels and those on the front line as they are closest to the action .
• Talk to one employee a week . Here is the question senior leaders should ask : “ What should the company start / stop / keep doing ?”
• Pay attention to the “ stops ” as this will give you an idea of the roadblocks your people face and what to eliminate .
To download your copy of the Rockefeller Habits Checklist , visit ScalingUp . com today .
Verne Harnish is founder of the world-renowned Entrepreneurs ’ Organization ( EO ), with over 13,000 members worldwide , and chaired for 15 years EO ’ s premiere CEO program , the “ Birthing of Giants ” held at MIT , a program in which he still teaches today .
Founder and CEO of Scaling Up , a global executive education and coaching company with over 200 partners on six continents , Verne has spent the past three decades helping companies scaleup .
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