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Communication Sucks! Try a Daily Huddle

Have you ever played whisper down the lane as a child? It all begins when one child whispers a phrase – let’s say ice cream, into the ear of another child. That child passes the phrase along to the next, and so on. A dozen children later and the last child announces the phrase he or she heard: “RICE BEAN!”

Whether you are playing whisper down the lane as a child, managing a crew at the course or running a small lawn care company, communication sucks!

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Sam Walton, founder of Walmart understood the power of good communication. That’s why he started a daily huddle: a meeting that occurred every day for a specific, short amount of time (think ten to fifteen minutes). Each morning, the Walmart crew would gather to discuss key information, providing direction and alignment to the entire team.

Walmart isn’t the only company to incorporate a Daily Huddle. The Ritz Carlton has a daily lineup, Johnson and Johnson has a daily meeting and at Muirfield Village Golf Club, Director of Grounds Management, Paul B. Latshaw, has his own daily meeting before the crew begins their day.

Here are some of the basics for designing your very own daily huddle taken from The Rockefeller Habits, by Verne Harnish.

  • Time of day – It should be as early as possible, ideally before the work day begins.
  • Length of time – Five to fifteen minutes depending on the team size.
  • Number of attendees – Teams of seven or fewer people. If you have more than seven people in a meeting, split up the team.
  • Who attends – Every person in your company should be attending at least one daily huddle.
  • Who runs it – Select someone on your team that is organized to run the meeting.
  • Where does it take place – It can be done in person or over the phone. Although, in person is always BEST!


What should your meeting look like?

  • What’s up – The first section of the huddle should allow members to share something they’ve accomplished since the previous meeting. Allow three to five minutes for this section with each participant talking for no longer than thirty seconds.
  • The numbers – Cover your critical metrics that are most important to your team. For example, at Holganix we discuss the number of RAD placements as a critical number. Allow three to five minutes for this section.
  • Roadblocks – Review any roadblocks faced by the team and see how other team members may be able to come to their rescue. Allow three to five minutes for this section.
  • Values and ideology – Discuss values related items that don’t fit into the first three sections. For example, at Holganix we share a story about an employee, partner or customer that lives by one of our core values.

Turf roots



Posted by Kaitlyn Ersek on Jan 20, 2016 3:21:00 PM

Kaitlyn Ersek

Topics: lawn care, sports turf, golf course

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