"Hey guys, you need to see this!"

When was the last time you heard that sentence, or a variant of it, during the rounds of your operation?

It's an important little sentence, because it conveys importance, urgency, and personal line-of-sight, as it sets up an ad hoc communication platform for a skilled manager to communicate to her/his staff.

Why is this important?

1. Through increased communication, the manager will reap the rewards of increased discretionery effort/engagement
2. When staff become accustomed to these ad hoc forums, virtually anything can be communicated, from corporate/organization directives, to unit performance improvement requirements
3. These ad hoc sessions, by nature short (5-10 minute standup meetings), once used to communicate non-operational/transactional information are a natural opener to improved communication to the unit manager, providing the manager with a better sense of the pulse of the operation, and the needs of her/his staff

To integrate this simple transition into your daily routine, or into the routines of the managers reporting to you, I suggest adding it to your PDA schedule now, scheduling the activity for 30 business days, and sending the invitation to each of your direct reports (to get it on their schedules).

...tell me your impressions in 30 days!