Friday Emails: Keeping the Team Aligned with Real-Time Updates

Borrowed

"Another important ingredient that has been in the Wal-Mart partnership from the very beginning has been our very unusual willingness to share most of the numbers of our business with all the associates. It’s the only way they can possibly do their jobs to the best of their abilities—to know what’s going on in their business. ... [It] makes people feel responsible and involved."

From " Sam Walton: Made In America" by Sam Walton [Book]

Learned

When I moved into the CEO role, there were already a lot of initiatives and changes in the works. I knew that communication would be critical to success. After having my 1-1 meetings with everyone on the team, I noticed a gap between the work we were doing each week and how aware the team was of our progress.

Traditionally, we’ve used our weekly and monthly team meetings to share updates, but these were often more polished and didn’t always reflect what was happening in real-time. At the same time, we transitioned our Tuesday Meetups to focus more on team brainstorms and workshops rather than being update-heavy.

With all this in mind, I decided to send a casual Friday email to the team a couple of months ago sharing a few things on my mind and some noteworthy updates from the week. I sent another one the following week, and now, I’ve been doing it for seven weeks straight. So far, the (anecdotal) feedback has been positive, with folks saying they feel more up-to-speed with what’s happening and aligned with how we’re tracking toward our vision—the ups and the downs.

All said, our preference for transparency and desire to over-communicate is not new. It's been in the fabric of Barrel's culture for as long as I can remember.

During the pandemic, we began weekly financial updates to the team, sharing revenue booked each week, new wins, and so on. These updates were born out of an uncertain time, and they helped keep the team informed. While data like this is important, it doesn't tell the full story.

In my Friday emails, I can paint a clearer picture of what's beginning, happening, or on my mind—everything from upcoming initiatives to new business wins and why they matter. As of a couple of weeks ago, these emails will replace the financial update.

In a short time, these Friday updates have become a helpful practice for me. Much like this newsletter, they force me to reflect each week on what matters most and what I might not have shared in the past. I like thinking about this as a constant open line to the team, and that any announcements won't come as a surprise unless that's the intention. The financial update information may make its way back into our communication, but likely on a less regular cadence.

I’m looking forward to keeping this habit going, playing with the format, and seeing what shape it takes months from now.

Thought

What’s one thing I can do to improve communication with my team?