How to Build a Company Rhythm
BY IT GLUE | November 02, 2016
In our daily work, we’re bombarded by email, Slack messages, and phone calls. It’s easy for us to get distracted and lose focus on the bigger picture. But the most successful MSPs always keep their eyes on the prize. How do they do this? They develop a strong company rhythm.
The best way to create a rhythm is to set out targets — daily, monthly and quarterly. These targets keep the team focused. Set your targets in relation to SLAs, to make sure the team’s work is oriented to the things that matter most to building the business.
The right tool(s) for the job
Khorus is one tool that has proven successful. At IT Glue™ we use Khorus to set goals for the company, for each department, and then for each person within the department. The app sends out reminders for people to update their progress towards these goals.
When people get into the flow of monitoring and updating their goals, they stay more focused, and less prone to distraction. The feedback that the organization’s leadership gets helps them to ensure that the whole team is rolling with good flow. Each team member learns how to manage their own rhythm, so that they are consistently making progress towards their objectives.
Not only is it important to establish these daily, monthly and quarterly rhythms, but it is important to to establish rhythms that flow across multiple employees. Project/task management software like Asana helps with this. Asana is a task manager, and it allows each team member to have a set list of tasks on their docket for the day. It has project management (PM) capabilities, ensuring that PM workflow is effective. And tasks can be easily prioritized, to keep people focused throughout the day.
With these tools, rhythm can be established across an entire departments — you end up with a company comprised of a series of highly-efficient teams.
Purpose
Tie rhythm to the company’s core purpose. The purpose will define who you are as a company, and the goals you set should reflect that purpose, every day. Purpose inspires people in a way that a mission statement never can, and specific goals create the rhythm that allows your people to live that purpose.
The thing about rhythm is that after a while, it shouldn’t need to be forced. Everybody in the company should flow through their goals, set new ones, and just keep doing that as part of an ongoing process.
