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Brandon Elliott

Brandon Elliott

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  • Brandon Elliott
  • May 18, 2020
  • 11:20 pm

Turning Football Huddles Into Business Strategy

Imagine that a running back entered a football huddle and said , “I ran 900 yards last month.” Then the huddle breaks, and players line up for the next play. What would happen next?

Or imagine they had no huddles in a game. Instead they met three days prior and determined every play. How do you think the game would unfold?

As crazy as this sounds, it’s the result of most companies’ meetings. Members provide updates about things that have already happened and rarely change their plans after they are in place.

Like football, team huddles are about the next play, not the past. It’s a look at how to attain a short-term result based off our current position on the field. Not every play is a shot at the end zone. On the contrary, most touch downs are scored by dozens of short gains.

This seems very simple. Yet in the business world most people are wired for updates and top down direction.

Following these 5 simple guidelines and agenda from Scaling Up keeps a team moving quickly down field.

Agenda: 1 min. per person

My Next 24 Hours (the next play)

My KPI’s (yards needed, downs remaining, score)

My Stucks (the other teams blocker)

Step 1:
Always know where you are on the field by using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

An example of 2 KPI’s in football are yards gained and downs remaining. It would be impossible to play without these metrics. What are your KPI’s?

Step 2:
What is your end zone?

Yards gained is part of the journey toward a win, but the game is won by scoring touchdowns. Everyday action must point toward our end zone. What does success look like? How do we get there?

Step 3:
What individual actions are expected?

If the quarterback calls a play and every player runs their own perspective of it, failure will result. We must be vocal with our team to ensure alignment toward the same expectation. A huddle is the opportunity to pull or be pulled into accountability. This is the definition of teamwork.

Step 4:
What is blocking your goal? (A Stuck)

Your stucks are anything in the way of you and the end zone. Nothing blocking your path means you are likely standing still. The team will help remove hurdles quickly so you can run the ball.

Step 5:
Give feedback. What are you seeing?

The players on the team can feel, see, and hear everything. The GM in the stands can only make decisions based off of what he/she sees from afar. If the problems or opportunities felt by those on the field are cascaded across to the team’s strategy, better/faster decisions can be made.

In an agile environment the future is built by the entire team. Leadership goes from a title to an expectation from all. When all members are apart of “Creating A Place Where Life Gets Better”, it is the ultimate meaning in life.

Have an extremely powerful week. Don’t be scared to change the world.

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One Response

  1. Avatar Tom Noonan says:
    May 18, 2020 at 11:47 pm

    Great Metaphor !!

    Reply

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