Monthly Themes Drive Focus and Direction 

When the former President of Aurora, Michael Quinn, instituted this activity into our weekly meetings, I originally thought we could not sustain it.  Secondly, I thought the reps would react to it in a negative way, saying that it may be “fluffy” or not applicable to their success.  We’ve been doing it now and for over a year and the response, participation and the quality of perspective the team shares has been great.

Each month we pick a company theme.  Past themes included Winning, Momentum, Skill, Planning, and Execution.  The theme always correlates to what we feel is needed to drive the necessary behavior and ultimately results during that particular month.  Then, each week, the leadership team selects a quote that best supports the theme and direction for the week.  We start each Monday morning call with the quote and ask for perspective from the team members.  It’s a 10 minute exercise that sets the tone for the call and the week.  Throughout the call we draw upon it and refer to it as the week progresses.  The quote often serves as guiding light of sorts.    

We are in the midst of a merger and as you can imagine there is still a lot of anxiety around territory alignment, rules of engagement and  team consolidation.  Perseverance seemed like a great theme for February as we need everyone to stay positive and focused on doing the right things.

Although the themes change monthly, you can imagine how they can build on each other.  Often account executives recall the lessons from previous months and apply them to a daily situations months later. 

I always send the quote and any video links the night before, so the team members have a chance to reflect on their interpretation and we don’t waste time during the meeting watching videos.  This week’s Video is definitely worth a look.  You probably have heard of Amy Purdy.  Very inspirational story!

See today's email with the weekly quote and video link below. 

Team,

I hope you had a great weekend.  Below is our quote of the week and a link to a short video.  I think both support our February theme of  “Perseverance” very well.  I look forward to your comments and perspective during our call tomorrow morning.

Quote: “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier”. - Colin Powell

Video:  Living beyond limits