Day #50: Create Your Triple Five Report Friday for a Killer Next Week

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365 Ways to Get Results: Day #50: Create Your Triple Five Report Friday for a Killer Next Week

In my career I have repeatedly watched people either not set weekly goals or set their goals for the week on Monday morning. How dreaded is that? Who wants to come to work after a long relaxing weekend and start the day by having to figure out what to focus on for the week. I say set your goals for the next week on Friday when you have the benefit of what is and is not working on top of mind by using a simple three part report: The Triple Five Report.

Managers that have trained under me have their employees fill out this report every Friday, keep a copy and submit a copy to them before they leave for the week. I’ll give you some practical applications of that after I explain the report.

The Triple Five Report

Who is to do it: You. On you. (And your employees on themselves.)

When to do it: Every Friday afternoon. (Saturday or Sunday if you work weekends.)

Where to do it: At your desk.

How to do it: Have blank copies of the “Triple Five Report” form in a file nearby so that you may simply pull one out and hand write it before you stop working for the week.

Why do it: Because when you return to work the next week you will know right where to start without looking back at last week.

What to do:

1. Create your “Triple Five Report” form in a simple Word document. At the top of the page type: “Triple Five Report” under which you will create a line entitled “Name” and one entitled “Date.” Then on the rest of the page create a three row/one column chart where each row covers a third of the page. You will type the following statements at the top of each section. If you don’t want to create a chart, then just type the first statement below at the top of the page followed by the second a third of the way down and the last a third of the way from the bottom.

1. What were your five greatest accomplishments this week? Did you meet your goals from last week?
2. What were your five greatest frustrations?
3. What are the five goals you plan to accomplish next week?

2. Three-hole-punch the forms. Keep the uncompleted forms in a folder and the completed forms in a binder.

3. Hand write your answers to these three questions every Friday afternoon before you stop working. Keep them organized in sequence.

Managers, while this report is an opportunity for you to coach people on setting good goals, it is also your job to help people with step two of this report – their frustrations. If the specifics of the frustration is out of their hands and cannot be avoided, coach them to apply their strengths to be able change what they can control and to identify what may be eliminated from their to-do list. Help them prioritize their work in alignment with what is important to them and the organization. Be sure to send clear messages that will help them understand what is a priority and what is not. Then listen while they identify the path they will devise to get to your agreed upon destination.

When You Are in a Slump

When you are “stuck” or in a slump take a look at the binder that holds your reports and reflect on the goals you have been setting. Are they too formulaic and weak? Can they be farther reaching? Are you procrastinating? Reflect on your STRENGTHS and your VALUES which you have determined from other worksheets on my Web site. How would you apply your strengths to call you to a higher standard? Are your goals in alignment with your values?

I have used this Triple Five Report with my staff across a number of organizations. It truly helps them understand better what is important and what is not. It allows me to coach them to become the leaders they want to be while also eliminating useless work from their plates. And it keeps us all on the same page regarding the direction of the organization. I use it for myself to help keep me on target. As leaders we sometimes think we don’t need such discipline. Nonsense. Try it for a couple of weeks and see what new things you accomplish. Start now!

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Mary Lee Gannon is the president of StartingOverNow.com – Leading Productivity Solutions for People and Organizations. Mary Lee is a graduate of The Duquesne University Professional Coaching Program and an alumnus of the 2010 Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital Coaching in Medicine & Leadership Conference. Her personal turnaround came as a stay-at-home mother, with four children under seven-years-old, who endured a divorce that took she and the children from the country club life to public assistance from where within a short time she worked to the level of CEO. Services include: Workshops, Meeting Facilitation, Coaching, Webinars, Speaking and Management Consulting. Areas of Specialty: Strategic Planning / Board Development / Healthcare / Public Relations / Goal Setting / Meeting Facilitation / Acountability / Leadership / Time Management / Life/Career Transition. Her book “Starting Over – 25 Rules for When You’ve Bottomed Out” is available in bookstores or at Amazon. Get her FREE ebook – “Grow Productivity – A Leader’s Toolbox” on her web site at www.StartingOverNow.com.

A Productive Culture = “No” to Short-Term Profits and “Yes” to Employees

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The Wall Street Journal CEO Council recently created a task force on what would restore confidence in business. The CEOs of Eastman Kodak, Verizon Communications, WPP Group and the Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School all agreed that the leading recommendation is for companies to focus less on shareholders benefits and short-term profits and more on the professional development of its workforce, its customers needs, and sustainability.

“We talk too much about benefits we provide to our shareholders,” the CEO task force recommended in a Wall Street Journal article on November 22nd. “We should be talking about benefits provided to our employees, customers and the public.”

Why don’t businesses do this? Because they can’t see how it will pay off. Very short sited. Their culture – the harmony of their work force – then becomes focused on the company instead of the individuals who contribute to the good of the company. The leaders then communicate only the values of an increased bottom line and market share which leads the employees to feel dehumanized instead of inspired and motivated. Productivity suffers immeasurably and no one seems to understand how to improve it. So they start shuffling job responsibilities and doing employee engagement surveys and nothing really changes.

Listen to these successful CEOs. Start by examining your own corporate culture.

How to Build a Productive Culture of Organizational Excellence

1. Define very solid company values that include the enrichment of your employees as part of the statement. Research the values of other companies that you admire.

2. Create a no-blame environment so that issues are brought to light.

3. Have managers ask each employee what they value personally and how they can better put those values to work in your company.

4. Give the employees an anonymous cultural survey and use the results to help restructure your corporate values. Give the survey again in a year and track the results.

5. Demonstrate to your employees that you care about their well being by providing fun programs on stress reduction, time management, team building, management development, meeting facilitation.

6. Create a culture of accountability by asking employees to report back how they have altered their behaviors based on what they have learned from enrichment. Continue to track the progress.

7. Prove professional coaching for leaders with potential who are stuck or need development in a certain area.

8. Allow the employees to create their own task force to address issues that are of importance to them. Give them a voice. And listen don’t interrupt.

9. Sustain customers or clients by knowing who they are. What do you need to measure to gain and retain customers/clients? Communicate and update it regularly for your employees so that they know what is being measured. Include their development in that measurement.

10. Keep a dynamic demographic record on your customers such as how many there were in total from the last quarter. How many were new? What is your economic indicator – cost per customer on what? How many clients increased their purchase from the same time last year? Their age? The trends in zip codes that hold most of your clients? Were referred? Gave you a referral?

11. Keep in touch with your clients not just to ask them for more business but to give them information that will make their life easier. This is a free information society. What information can you share in an e-newsletter or program that will be of benefit to them and qualify your company as an expert when they do seek the product or service you provide?

12. Keep in regular communication with your employees with information that may help them. Do you want to give free flu shots to keep them healthy but also keep absences down? Is there traffic information that they may find helpful? Banks offer programs on identity theft and others consumer issues free of charge.

13. Celebrate your company’s successes and that of your individual employees! An internal announcement? Cake? Lunch? Party? Can you give everyone an afternoon or day off to volunteers in a charity?

Leaders within the organization are responsible for the culture. Communicate that you care about your employees as more than a vehicle to advance the mission of the company. They ARE the company Start now!

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Mary Lee Gannon is the president of Gannon Group – a full service executive coaching, training and consulting firm that provides turnaround strategies for people and organizations by improving team performance, executive leadership skills, board performance, planning and project execution. Mary Lee’s personal turnaround came as a stay-at-home mother, with four children under seven-years-old, who endured a divorce that took she and the children from the country club life to public assistance from where within a short time she worked out of that to the level of CEO. Her book “Starting Over – 25 Rules for When You’ve Bottomed Out” is available in bookstores, on Amazon or on her web site. Visit Mary Lee’s web site at www.StartingOverNow.com or email her at marylee@startingovernow.com.