Morning Huddles: Seven Minutes, Not Seventeen

I start most days the same way: a seven-minute huddle. Not a meeting. A reset. Headcount, hazards, focus, help. That’s it. When we keep it short and useful, the whole day runs smoother. When we skip it, we spend the morning chasing what already happened.

Why seven minutes?

Because attention is precious. The first ten minutes of a shift or workday set the tone for everything after. Long stand-ups become status theater. People stop listening. Seven minutes forces clarity. It tells the team, “we respect your time; we just need alignment.”

What we cover

• Headcount: who’s here, who’s new, who’s out. No stories. Just facts.

• Hazards: the thing most likely to break or slow us—machine issues, system alerts, a big customer due at noon.

• Focus: the one thing we protect today. One. Not ten. “Accuracy over speed this morning.” “Ship the beta by 3.” “Keep wait times under 6 minutes in lunch rush.”

• Help: who needs a buddy in the first hour; where I’ll jump in if it gets rough.

How it sounds

“Morning. We’re down one person in B-aisle; I’ll cover the first 30 minutes. The new tote labels are blue for fragile. Today’s focus is pick accuracy—speed later. If you see a blocked barcode, snap a pic and move on; we’ll fix labels at 2 p.m.”

Office version

For desk teams I post a quick note in our main channel by 9:05: headline, focus, known risks, decisions we’ll make today. It replaces a 30-minute recurring meeting that no one liked. Everyone can read it in under a minute.

Remote version

I record a 60-second Loom: what matters, what’s at risk, how to get help. People watch it on their time. They reply with blockers. I summarize decisions at 4 p.m. It’s asynchronous, but there’s still a beat to the day.

What not to do

Don’t run a huddle to read yesterday’s spreadsheet. Don’t tell long stories. Don’t let one person hijack it. And don’t turn it into a performance review. A huddle is a compass, not a courtroom.

How to measure if it works

You’ll feel it first: fewer “any updates?” pings, fewer mid-morning pileups, more confident starts. If you must count something, count the number of clarifying questions after the huddle (should drop) and the average time-to-decision on small issues (should drop too).

Rollout in a week

• Day 1: announce the seven-minute format.

• Day 2: run it standing, timer visible.

• Day 3: ask two people to lead sections.

• Day 4: move one meeting outcome into the huddle.

• Day 5: ask the team what to cut or add. Keep it light.

Seven minutes of clarity beats an hour of cleanup. Try it three days in a row. Your shift will feel lighter.