It’s not surprising for me to hear a refrain that goes something like: “Yes, I know that there’s a bunch of stuff I need to do, but with the way my calendar looks, it’s not going to happen any time soon. So, what’s the one thing I need to focus on to make my business better?” To this my answer is always unequivocally, “Establish an effective tactical meeting beat.”
In a nutshell, a tactical meeting beat is a regularly held meeting of a team that is working on a common set of goals. As the name suggests, the tactical meeting focuses on the day to day, tactical execution. If facilitated effectively, tactical meetings ramp-up accountability and trust by enabling the team to resolve issues and get things done. As represented in the framework of icube™, the tactical meeting is the foundation of the entire system and its most critical success factor.
This is also why the most important outcome of the kick-off session of icube™, Intensity Day, is establishing a tactical meeting beat. In all the facilitations I have been a part of, time and again an effective tactical meeting is a predictor for overall success of the facilitation. Even if you didn’t want to go through with the rest of the system facilitation, a tactical meeting beat is the one thing that you can do to make your company better.
As I described in my article about meetings, setting up regular meetings with the same agenda and process is the first step towards setting up an effective tactical meeting beat. The next and last step is to follow the process, not miss meetings, and keep improving!
Something magical happens when you establish an effective tactical meeting beat. Teams that are able to tackle tactical issues are also more effective at thinking and acting strategically. These teams aren’t fighting fires anymore, but delving deeper into issues and working on improving company culture. Leaders and team members find that they have more clarity, time, and experience what is often described as “flow,” making work more enjoyable.
Join PCS Insight at Automation Alley on Tuesday, October 1 for a discussion on how to effectively facilitate tactical meetings to supercharge your business strategy, ramp up accountability, and create a more positive work environment. Register here to attend this free event.