The Great Game of Business:

When Games lose their pop, company leaders often rush to pile on the ‘fun’ when they ought to be working on the basics. Our coaches offer three proven ways to brush up your Game and make winning a habit.

1. Fine-tune your huddles. Rich Armstrong, general manager of The Great Game of Business, offers this advice: involve new people all the time and be hard on performance yet easy on the performer. With huddles, routine is everything. Hold them at the same time each week. Keep them short, focused and lively. And don’t allow people to skip out. SRC huddles work well because meeting leaders are trained to do the following:

• Focus on what’s required to meet the goal and remove road blocks to success.
• Deliver bad news matter-of-factly and constructively. Be a leader, not a boss.
• Listen carefully and respond with empathy. Keep everyone’s self-esteem in tact.
• Don’t accept excuses. Offer advice and help without removing responsibility.
• Move from numbers to stories to the truth. It often takes time to reach the truth.
• Regain commitment to the goal at hand and end huddles on a high note.
• Make sure the numbers are discussed during chalk talks or departmental meetings.

2. Aim for resistance-free communication. This may take a little practice, but it’ll help you and your employees converse in ways that drive results, says leadership guru Dr. Cal LeMon of Executive Enrichment Inc. These strategic conversations (or ‘meetings of the mind’) guide people to common ground where they can set goals that are clear, desirable and achievable. Use these steps to guide your next strategic conversation:

• Paraphrase: When someone shares an important idea, make sure you comprehend by repeating or paraphrasing it: “Here’s what I hear you saying. Is that correct?”
• Interrogate: Discover more about someone’s intentions or expectations by asking: “What do you want from our conversation?”
• Test reality: Once you have an answer or objective, figure out what’s possible by asking: “What can either of us do about this?”
• Set limits: Here, honesty rules. Don’t over-promise, just simply say: “This is what I can and can’t do in this situation.”
• Come to an agreement: Maybe there’s some negotiation, some give and take. Wrap it up by saying: “Okay, no more discussion. This is what we’re expecting.”

3. Avoid the top three Game ‘sins’.  Side-step these common mistakes provided by Great Game coach Tom Samsel and a few seasoned practitioners.

• Assuming everyone understands the numbers. Early on even your managers will be sheepish about admitting they don’t understand certain financial concepts. Ask them up-front and provide whatever training they need. Have employees take short, non-threatening open-book quizzes to become eligible for bonuses.
• Not taking forecasting seriously. Forecasting accuracy is what separates great open-book companies from good ones. Use plenty of charts and graphs. Ask your forecasters to explain major assumptions. Play a game to tighten up predictions: movie tickets for anyone who comes within 10% of the actual at month’s end.
• Changing the bonus program during the year. It’s not a good idea to change Game rules in the midst of play. When a profit target seems unattainable, design mini-games to keep people on task. Discuss what it would take to win, try new strategies and inspire people to pull together and make it happen. Come-from-behind wins are the sweetest—and the most educational.