The Winning Manager’s Playbook

Football, construction, and the Blue Angels

What do football teams, construction companies, and the Blue Angels all have in common? They all have a brief but critical meeting just before they go out to execute their activities.

Football teams have a huddle before every play. They do this because every play is important—it’s a potential scoring play—and because conditions change between each play.

Similarly, construction companies have a morning project meeting. They do this because each day is filled with numerous activities that demand attention to detail and close coordination of resources, and because conditions likely will change from one day to the next.

The Blue Angels have a pre-flight briefing before every flight. They do this because ...