If Verne Harnish were the coach of the Indianapolis Colts, he would probably ditch the team’s famed no-huddle offense.
Harnish, an Ashburn-based author, columnist and small-business consultant, finds great value in a regular 15-minute “huddle” of staff members. The huddle is part of his idea that “learning and coaching” are key elements in the success of a small business.
“Whoever learns faster wins,” says Harnish, who addressed the Virginia Council of CEOs on Tuesday at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond.
The huddle is one thing that CEOs can do to in “getting their gut back.” He is not talking about the pounds they gained over the holidays but the gut instinct they relied on in starting their companies. Too often, Harnish notes, building a business means CEOs get further and further away from the information they need about customers and competitors. “Because of their inability to stay in touch, their gut goes bad,” Harnish says.
He believes that once or twice a day huddles allow the CEO to get information, communicate with staff and decide on at least one thing that must be accomplished in the next four weeks.
The profitability of companies that use huddles is three times higher than the industry average, Harnish says.