4 Rhythm Habits You Can Improve (Video)

At Breakthrough Conference 2016, there was a breakout session called Rhythm Hacks, Tips, and Tricks presented by yours truly! It was a great workshop where I hope I was able to deliver little secrets that you may not have known about our software. But, since not everyone who reads our blogs uses Rhythm software, I thought I would share part of my session that can apply to all Rhythm fans!

From helping clients and seeing their dashboards, I’ve come up with a list of things that most teams could improve. Even if you don’t use the Rhythm software but implement Rhythm habits (i.e., Weekly Adjustment Meetings, Red-Yellow-Green), these may be some easy adjustments to make your and your team’s execution more robust.

4 Rhythm Habits You Can Do Better

1. Just Keep Status-ing

There are few times while checking dashboards in Week 9 that I’ll find a team who has weeks 1-5 statused then the rest of the weeks are blank. Maybe you’re not keeping up with your weekly status because you’re not making time to meet with yourself. Whether or not you use Rhythm software, it is a best practice to take a few minutes out of your day and plan your week. This is what the whole “meeting with yourself” is about. Status your metrics and progress on your priorities at this time.

Another reason for not statusing is because the priority or KPI has been red for several weeks, and it can feel demoralizing. Continue being red! This is your chance to ask for help and make adjustments.

2. Shades of Gray

If you have a priority that won’t begin until week 5 of the quarter, then status it to represent you have not started it yet - we use gray. This way, you won’t have a blank status and have say week after week, “I haven’t started on this yet.”

Status gray the week before you’re going to start the priority (e.g. Week 4), so your weekly adjustment meetings will remain focused on what needs focus now.

3. Collaborate

Again, if you are red or yellow - ask for help! Comment on the KPI or priority (or email, or talk about it) saying that you are stuck and what you need help with.

4. Link to the Big Picture

Rhythm has the capability of visibly showing that what one person is working on is related to someone else's goal, a team priority, or a longer-term initiative. Even if you don’t use Rhythm software and have a spreadsheet instead, show how what every person is working on is related to a bigger picture goal.

When you and your team improve on these four habits, you are sure to get more initiatives done successfully!

Come to Breakthrough Conference 2017 to learn more habits you and your team can improve.