Staff Meetings and Your “Why”

In my previous life, when my partner and I were growing Computer Systems Technology, we designated the third Monday morning staff meeting every month to have a different agenda than the other traditional staff meetings we held throughout the month. This staff meeting was designed to have a quick review of how we were doing relative to our revenue, headcount, and profitability goals set at the annual kickoff meeting. The CFO would brief the leadership team on those metrics and if there were actions required we would have a brief discussion on them, make assignments, and move on to the primary objective of this important monthly meeting, which was to revisit why we were building this business together and where we were going.

At this meeting, we reminded the leadership team that our objective was to review what our annual company objectives were and then—most importantly—go around the room and ask members of the leadership team their thoughts on why we were building the business. We would ask a few members to share what they were going to do after we accomplished the corporate goal of reaching a significant per-year revenue level and achieving a successful liquidity event.

This consistent revisiting of why we were in business, our focus on the corporate ultimate objective, and frequently revisiting our individual personal dreams protected our culture of “holding hands and running,” which is what set us apart from our competition—we knew where we were going, that we’d get there together, and we knew why!

What has been your experience with revisiting your “why”? Do you have any tips or recommendations for how to hold this important, vision-focused meeting? Feel free to share in the comments below.