Part 1 of 7 of this Blog Series by Warren Sager. Read Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, and Part 7.
After moving to Louisiana, the heart of football country, I became a fan of college football – specifically LSU, where my son attended. Being a student of business, I was amazed at how similar football is to business and now I frequently use football references to coach businesses. Here are 7 ways your football knowledge can increase your business success.
#1 Huddle
Leaders must communicate the company’s vision, goals, and what it will take to achieve them; making communication one of the most important skills to succeed in business. People also need critical feedback in order to improve.
In football, communication is key to winning and is achieved through countless meetings. Football teams have full-team meetings, special-teams meetings, pre-game meetings, and even half-time meetings to adjust for an effective 2nd half. The teams most visual meeting is the huddle before every single play. If you don’t review the plan with the team before every play, there is a good chance of failure.
- Does your business team “huddle” before each play?
- Do you have company and department meetings where everyone understands the “next play” and their role in executing the play?
- Does your company’s meeting schedule reflect football’s successful meeting cadence?
I teach teams to set up clear meeting rhythms that include:
- Daily Huddle – Check-in meeting to stay synchronized.
The daily huddle: A 5 to 15 minute meeting to discuss tactical issues and provide updates.
- Weekly Management Meeting – Tactical, Focused, and Collaborative Conversation.
The weekly meeting: A 60 to 90 minute discussion to review progress on the quarterly priorities and tap the collective brainpower of the team in addressing one or two main topics.
- Monthly – A discussion to learn and solve.
The monthly management meeting: A half to full day meeting, in which all senior leaders, middle management, and frontline managers come together to learn and collaboratively address one or two big issues requiring several hours of effort.
- Quarterly – Goes over priorities, critical number, and validates strategy.
- Annual – Meeting to strategize and plan.
The quarterly and annual meetings: At this one-to-three-day offsite meeting, leaders update the One Page Strategic Plan and establish the next quarterly and/or annual theme.
Good communication enables companies to have a clear plan that everyone knows and understands, and when people know their role in making the plan work, the company gets things done and wins.
The best football teams communicate better than the rest to win; the best companies will also grow and win with better communication.
Ready to lead your team to the championship? Contact Assured Strategy today to learn more and take advantage of a Free Coaching Session.
Assured Strategy is a Business Strategy Coaching Firm that focuses on Strategic Coaching, Executive Coaching, Performance Coaching, and Leadership Training throughout North America with the experience to help small to mid-size companies succeed and grow. Assured Strategy’s coaches educate and mentor CEOs and executive teams in people, strategy, execution, cash, leadership and team building, and the company has represented more than 250 businesses. Assured Strategy offers business strategy coaching, workshops, webinars, leadership groups, employee assessments, and business process improvement services to empower its clients to think strategically and effectively execute their business objectives. For more information, browse our website or call (702) 421-3212.