My partner Mike and I spend most of our day, every day, working on organizational growth. We have chosen a profession that allows us to be “in the mix” nearly all of the time and pioneer new routes to age-old problems. We navigate endless tracks of business processes and organizational strategies. It’s a world requiring constant adjustment and we’ve become addicted to it.
One of the most simple and powerful practices we use every day is the Meeting Prebrief & Debrief. Planning and reflecting drives continuous improvement and activates Deming’s“Plan, Do, Check and Adjust”guidance.
The “Prebrief” is simply an alignment session with your primary partners before a meeting. This huddle, allows the whole team get on the same page.
- What is our agenda?
- Who is leading?
- What are we going to cover?
- What do we want to avoid?
- Who is coming and what’s their agenda?
The “Debrief” takes place right after the meeting while it’s fresh in your mind. The Debreif allows you to learn from the session and voice any concerns or idea.
- What grade would go give it?
- What did we learn?
- What worked and what didn’t?
- What could each of us have done better?
- What are the next actions?
The practice seems so simple, yet is a powerful communication method that can reinforce the value of every gathering. Take it from a couple of lads who spend most of their business lives in meetings, it’s a great practice with very little extra effort.
Great. In the “Debrief” be sure to also ask, “What other business(es) are you connected to that can benefit from services like ours?” This is a powerful question, and should be a large part of your marketing strategy. Even if the executive(s) doesn’t have an immediate answer, the seed has been planted.