Construction Business Owner, October 2007

Editor's Note: This is tenth in our 2007 series of The Business Owner Toolbox written by our regular columnist George Hedley. Each article is written to provide you with practical, immediately applicable business management tools to assist you on your path to building a successful, growing business.

Why do most people feel meetings are a waste of time? Because they often are! Too often, managers call too many meetings to report on what’s happening and don’t involve the attendees, ask for input, have meaningful discussions or adjourn with an action plan. In some meetings, the leader rambles along and doesn’t keep the group focused on tasks or priorities at hand. In other meetings, there’s no agenda or structure and they become “free for alls” without direction or conclusion.

Effective meetings occur on a regular basis and follow a regular agenda. They are action focused, dynamic, encourage open discussion and achieve consensus. A good meeting leader boils down the issues to a few top urgent priorities that will make a difference and keep everyone focused on solving problems. Good meeting leaders present every issue as a question to open up discussions and encourage fresh ideas to resolve issues.  

Here is an example of the wrong way to introduce a meeting topic: “Next item, the financials. Controller Joe, tell us about the revenue and expenses for last month and where things are looking bad.” Instead, present the topic as an item for discussion: “Everyone has reviewed last month’s financials Joe sent out a few days ago. It’s obvious we have to do something different in order to achieve our overall goals. Let’s get everyone’s input and ideas on what we should do differently in the next three months. Let’s start with you Dave.” Now you’ve got everyone involved. You are identifying what everyone thinks about the problem and their suggested solutions. This will lead to some real decisions and action instead of negative talk and finger-pointing.  

Consider using these eight “must” meetings to get everyone on the same page and achieve your company goals. Be careful. Don’t start implementing them tomorrow unless you are really committed to holding them on a regular basis. There is nothing worse than starting something and then deciding it wasn’t really that important after all.

1. Daily Team Huddle-Up Meeting

Can you imagine a football team winning games without calling plays before every down? Before every play in football, the team huddles up to discuss what they’re going to do next, make sure everyone clearly knows their role and what they’re expected to do. In your company and in your field crews, a similar huddle is a must if you want your teams to be winners. This activity will improve your bottom line as daily activities become better coordinated and focused on what end results are expected by team captains or foremen. Like a football huddle, this is a short meeting where everyone stands in a circle and talks about the upcoming daily activities, targets, goals, conflicts, confusions, schedule coordination, material requirements, equipment needed, availability of tools and deadlines.  

     Who:           Project crew, team, staff or department

     When:         First thing every morning

     Where:        Office or jobsite standing in circle 

     Duration:     Maximum five to ten minutes    

     Agenda:       Everyone discuss their

1. Activities and needs
2. Goal and target progress
3. Production priorities
4. Deadlines and milestones

2. Monday Morning Quarterback Meeting

Again, just like on every winning football team, every week the coaches review their team’s accomplishments, progress, needs, challenges, areas for improvement and then decide what they need to do the next week to achieve their goals. Then on Monday morning, they meet with their entire team, review the game plan for the next week and discuss what needs to be done to make it happen. Every field crew, management team, division or department needs a similar program to get everyone focused on their game plan for the upcoming week. Meet on Monday morning in a convenient place where everyone can get involved and contribute. Use visual charts to explain the goals and plays (ike football coaches). Discuss key success factors such as production targets, finances, customer satisfaction, quality requirements, schedule milestones, revenue or expenses. Use this meeting for weekly training of upcoming activities taking place in the upcoming week and safety issues to be aware of.  

    Who:            Project crew or team, management team, office staff or department

    When:          Every Monday morning

    Where:         Jobsite or office 

    Duration:     Maximum fifteen to thirty minutes   

    Agenda:       Review game plan and team tactics for upcoming week                         

1. Review past week’s team achievements and challenges                          
2. Praise and recognize individual accomplishments                          
3. Set current week goals and targets                         
4. Discuss this week’s production plan                           
5. Each team member discuss their role                         
6. Provide training on upcoming activities                         
7. Discuss safety concerns for upcoming week  

  

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