The High-Involvement Method for Improving Financial Performance Assuring that the time and money spent on Forward Forecasting yields greatly improved financial performance is certainly one of the primary results expected from this process. A key element of financial Forecasting success is the involvement of the right people regardless of functional area, organizational position or geography.

When I think about all of the times I’ve been hired for various jobs over the course of my life, I have the benefit of 20-20 hindsight to see the enormous impact that training had on my success (or failure) in each job. Although I’ve now worked for Zingerman’s almost seven years, I still remember going through the hiring and orientation process, most particularly as a seasonal, temporary employee at Zingerman’s Mail Order. In fact, my experience at Mail Order is a big part of the reason that I wanted to stick around after that fast-paced, fun, and all-too-brief holiday season!

Playing The Great Game of Business can be a real rush, especially in the beginning. It’s a new concept for most people, so there’s an initial excitement when everyone is first figuring out how this all works. But the romance can fade, and if it does, The Game can become just another routine office chore. How can you tell if the romance is fading? There are four obvious danger signs. Individually, they can just be one or two people being grumpy, but collectively, they can signal that people are starting to take The Game for granted. So here’s what you need to be wary of:

Leading a meeting where everyone in your company is present doesn’t have to be an overwhelming, dreaded experience. Company-wide meetings or Huddles, can be engaging, educational and even interesting…if you format them in the right way. Here are four tips to make your company-wide Huddle a success:

You know from our last few posts that the Huddle Cycle is a series of meetings where financial and operational numbers are shared (and forecast) at a series of meetings. We’ve already explained the format of the first two parts of the process: The Pre-Huddle and the Management Huddle. The third and final part of the Huddle Cycle is the company-wide Huddle; or what most people think of as “the Huddle”.

Recently, we discussed the basics of the Pre-Huddle, the first step in the Great Game Huddle Cycle. Of course, in any process, there is an inevitable second step (and in this case a third, which we’ll discuss soon). The second step of the Huddle Cycle is the Management Huddle. This meeting takes place after company Pre-Huddles and provides a structure for information to be communicated through the company in a bottom-up fashion (as opposed to traditional management systems which filter information from management to employees).

“A well-executed Huddle creates focus, accountability, alignment (line-of-sight), and a sense of urgency to take action and drive improved results” Recently, we explained why you should hold weekly “Huddles” as opposed to traditional staff meetings and how to format those Huddles to ensure they are effective. However, a consistent format is only a small aspect of the overall Huddle framework. For a workplace Huddle to be most effective, you must get your team into the habit of communicating in a specific way. Complete the checklist below to see if your Huddles meet these 12 communication criteria:

In the Huddle Cycle, numbers are forecast and shared at a series of meetings (Huddles) from daily departmental check-ins to weekly company-wide gatherings. The Pre-Huddle is the first of three Huddles in the Huddle Cycle. In this workplace Huddle, the team reviews work-group performance, develops a financial opinion (or forecast) from operational performance and communicates this information up through the company.

Every year, Shawn Askinosie makes pilgrimages to some of the hottest, most humid and poorest regions on the face of the Earth, specifically: San Jose Del Tambo, Ecuador; Davao, Philippines; Cortes, Honduras; and Tenende, Tanzania.

Every company makes mistakes. That's one thing all businesses have in common. That said, each mistake is an opportunity - especially if the error affects a customer. Some companies blame anyone or anything but themselves. They may or may not correct it. They may or may not apologize. Some act like they’re doing you a favor if you ask them to correct their own goof-up. A culture of blame exists in these firms. Their mantra is “It’s not my fault."