Page 76 - Lighting Magazine August 2018

on the Mark
take a stand
Keeping the meeting short and on a topic is the keystone to a successful outcome. Standing – not si ing – helps that become a reality. The huddle is not the place to solve or express problems; that would require more time and detail than this pur- poseful interaction can a ord.
A er conducting thousands of these types of meetings, I can assure you that issues will be brought up — and that is ne. They must be acknowledged, noted, and when the session is complete, you need to set a time to resolve them.
Standing at the meeting communicates to the group that the gathering will be short and to the point. It’s not a problem if someone wants to sit or lean, as long as the huddle stays on point.
“People say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing, that’s why we recommend to do it daily.” —Zig Ziglar
don’t WinG it
Your sales meetings must have a distinct agenda that follows a theme for that month or a speci c time period. During the huddle, explain what your focus is and express the goal that you wish to ac- complish. The purpose of the huddle is to create a positive interactive dialogue that presents new ideas, skills, and information. What this means is everybody speaks at the meeting.
Having a way to assure that everyone shares can be as simple as going around the group and asking each to take a turn speaking, or make it in- teresting and let the speaker toss a ball or hand o a “talking stick” to facilitate the next person’s turn. This is a lighthearted way to get all involved and have some fun. There is only one simple rule to follow; the person with the “ball” or “stick” is the only one who can speak, except for the meeting leader who is in control.
To see results, you need to invest time in these huddles to gather information, create activities that reinforce skills, or introduce new ones. A good time ratio of Meeting Time to Create Time is two to one. If the planned huddle is 15 minutes, the time investment is about 30 minutes.
CatCH tHem doinG sometHinG riGHt
Remember, the morning huddle is about start- ing the day feeling good. The result of a positive morning huddle is that the sales teams leave en- ergized, enthused, and a bit more knowledgeable. These outcomes cannot be reached if we have distilled the morning meeting to facts, gures, and an admonishment of errors.
The activity of “catching” them breaks out two ways. The rst is positive acknowledgment of an observed act that is expressed during the huddle. Applaud these team members in front of their peers for notable situations that are positive ex- amples of their role. Then, positive reinforcement must be done throughout the day. The second “catch” is of the “above and beyond” variety. When any sta member is caught going beyond expectations, provide a simple reward. In the past, I have used rewards ranging from small food or gi cards to gi certi cates for dinners out, concert tickets, and even a weekend away. This lets the team member include a friend or family member in the celebration of them doing a super job.
72 enLIGHTenment Magazine | august 2018
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