Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32JUNE 2016 • FOGHORN 25 BUSINESSMATTERS write a one-pager, describing in bullets the last 30 and the next 30 days, plus updates to key goals and metrics. In the meeting they do the majority of the talking; once we are calibrated, I ask very few questions. At the end of the meeting I can celebrate, encourage and gently remind them of outstand- ing promises. We establish a regular drumbeat, with everyone ready on a monthly basis to recap and make (or renew) their commitments. Generally, all these meetings can be accomplished in one afternoon and the next morning; for years, I have been saying that 90 percent of my paycheck should be allocated to one day of work a month. When all the meetings have concluded, I write my one-pager (OK, it is longer) to my boss summarizing the last month and the month ahead. Some bosses didn’t read my report, which was fine by me, since I derived so much value from writing it. The result is that dreaded annual reviews become a breeze: you simply have to refer to the dozen monthly documents. Team self-appraisals are es- sentially teed up, and the conversation can zoom out to a much bigger picture as teams have been getting monthly feedback. And these sessions turn into training sessions–over time I like to include the direct reports of my team. It trains the next generation of leaders on what their boss is doing. I’ve had office managers run the meeting while the GM is on vacation. Or, when I am drilling into missed goals for several months, it puts the GM or VP on the same side of the table as their team, with everyone wanting to fix that issue next month. Other key ideas involve getting your meeting sequence right: a quick daily huddle, a weekly team review of the metrics, the monthly business review, and the quarterly off-site to set goals. And, hopefully, have an annual meeting to celebration success. Doing a monthly business review will allow you to focus less on annual goals, and more on 90-day goals. Ninety days is a great amount of time to dig deep into a couple of areas in the business and make tangible progress, while annual goals just seem to float for months without activity, and can be overtaken by events. By doing monthly business reviews, with a focus on 90-day goals, you’ll cycle through key issues much quicker, allowing you to stay ahead of the competition and make your team a high performing one. In sum, a good operations leader focuses on people and projects. The ideal way to train your team, cycle through quarterly goals, is to have a monthly business review. You’ll feel in the groove, see your farm team grow before your eyes, and cycle much quicker. Give it a try and see how quickly it can align your team. n About the Author Bob Shaw is a veteran industry executive, having led over 100 vessels responsible for over 10 million passengers a year. He can be reached at shawrw@gmail.com.