Monday Morning Minute Message Madness

Many leaders of large organizations engage in a practice often called "The Monday Minute," the "Monday Morning Minute," or something similar. It takes the form of a weekly message, distributed each Monday, and intended to focus the attention of the people of the organization. The focus of attention is supposed to be a recent success, or an anticipated major initiative, or an outstanding achievement by an individual or a team. For organizations that are so large that most people don't know what most of the other people are doing, the Monday Minute is supposed to knit the organization together — to make a whole out of otherwise-disparate the parts.

Monday Minute presentations can be in text, Web pages, audio messages, or videos. The more elaborate forms have high-end production values, with action footage or dramatic shots of scenery, company facilities, or company products in action.

If the organization isn't too large, the Monday Minute, or something analogous under a different name, can help. But there are some traps and pitfalls to avoid. Here are six ways to go wrong with your Monday Minute practice.

Misalignment of value

These weekly For organizations that are so large that
most people don't know what most of the
other people are doing, the Monday Minute
is supposed to knit the organization
together — to make a whole out
of otherwise-disparate the partsmessages usually do have organizational value. They do help somewhat to bring the organization together. But unless members of your audience see that value as useful in their own work, the value of the messages won't align with the value they seek and need for executing their own responsibilities. The weekly message, for them, will seem to have negative value because the effort required to digest the message will appear to much of the audience to exceed any possible benefit.

Be certain that the content of your messages is truly valuable not only to you but also to your audience.

Not only a minute

The title, "Monday Minute" is clever, appealing, and memorable, in part, because of the alliteration. (See "The Trap of Beautiful Language," Point Lookout for December 18, 2019) If the Monday Minute messages truly are only a minute long, that's great. But if they're much longer — five or ten or even 15 minutes — much of the audience won't stay with you. They'll check out after the third or fourth minute. Or if they do stay with you, they might come to resent the time spent.

Limit your "minute" messages to 60 seconds, or find a new title.

Not enough happening to justify a weekly message

A problem that is the opposite of "Not only a minute" is a lack of interesting content. If you're just glad-handing folks for minor victories, you're doing more damage than just wasting time. People will learn to see through the glad-handing. They'll recognize that not much is actually happening in your organization. Your messages will begin to serve as acknowledgements of staleness.

The fix for this is simple. Make more happen, or reduce the frequency of your messages.

Message too specific or arcane

If understanding the content of the message requires familiarity with closely held or arcane information, the message can have an effect opposite to what is intended. Instead of bringing people together, the message can make people feel excluded. This outcome is more likely if the message is couched in technical terms or in terms of jargon or acronyms that only the people most closely involved understand.

Ensure audience familiarity with elements of message content by relying on repetition. Have a for-more-info section that includes an internal Web address for a page that has quick summaries of otherwise-mysterious terms or functions.

Scenic backdrops unrelated to the message

For leaders who have ample budgets, there is a risk of excessiveness in production values. For example, shooting the Monday Minute message on a beach, or at a historic site, or atop a Utah mesa might seem inspirational, but to some in the audience it can seem excessive and wasteful. And for those in undesirable locations, inspirational settings for the Monday Minute message can serve to remind them of their own undesirable locations. They might see money spent on these messages as money that could have supported "real work." You might generate more resentment than unity.

Be certain that the backdrops for your messages are relevant. They must add value, meaning and power to the message.

Most important, remember that your messages are likely to be captured by audience members, to be replayed in perpetuity, whether or not you archive them. This means that they must be durable. If a message contains high praise for an initiative that fails dramatically soon afterward, or if a message contains technical flaws and conceptual errors, you and the whole Monday Minute Message program can become a punch line before you can say "Dunder Mifflin."  Top    Next Issue

Are your projects always (or almost always) late and over budget? Are your project teams plagued by turnover, burnout, and high defect rates? Turn your culture around. Read 52 Tips for Leaders of Project-Oriented Organizations, filled with tips and techniques for organizational leaders. Order Now!

Your comments are welcome

About Point Lookout

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

This article in its entirety was written by a human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Effective Communication at Work:

Deliver the Headline First

When we deliver news at work — status, events, personnel changes, whatever — we sometimes frame it in a story line format. We start at the beginning and we gradually work up to the point. That might be the right way to deliver good news, but for everything else, especially bad news, deliver the headline first, and then offer the details.

Inbox Bloat Recovery

If you have more than ten days of messages in your inbox, you probably consider it to be bloated. If it's been bloated for a while, you probably want to clear it, but you've tried many times, and you can't. Here are some effective suggestions.

Some Truths About Lies: III

Detecting lies by someone intent on misrepresentation is an important skill for executives, managers, project managers, and just about anyone involved in knowledge-oriented organizations. Here's Part III of our little collection of lie detection techniques.

Barriers to Accepting Truth: I

In workplace debates, a widely used strategy involves informing the group of facts or truths of which some participants seem to be unaware. Often, this strategy is ineffective for reasons unrelated to the credibility of the person offering the information. Why does this happen?

More Things I've Learned Along the Way: V

When I gain an important insight, or when I learn a lesson, I make a note. Example: If you're interested in changing how a social construct operates, knowing how it came to be the way it is can be much less useful than knowing what keeps it the way it is.

See also Effective Communication at Work and Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Coming December 13: Contrary Indicators of Psychological Safety: I

To take the risks that learning and practicing new ways require, we all need a sense that trial-and-error approaches are safe. Organizations seeking to improve processes would do well to begin by assessing their level of psychological safety. Available here and by RSS on December 13.

And on December 20: Contrary Indicators of Psychological Safety: II

When we begin using new tools or processes, we make mistakes. Practice is the cure, but practice can be scary if the grace period for early mistakes is too short. For teams adopting new methods, psychological safety is a fundamental component of success. Available here and by RSS on December 20.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenogMhuqCxAnbfLvzbner@ChacigAthhhYwzZDgxshoCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

• Get 2001-2 in Geese Don't Land on Twigs (PDF, )
• Get 2003-4 in Why Dogs Wag (PDF, )
• Get 2005-6 in Loopy Things We Do (PDF, )
• Get 2007-8 in Things We Believe That Maybe Aren't So True (PDF, )
• Get 2009-10 in The Questions Not Asked (PDF, )
• Get all of the first twelve years (2001-2012) in The Collected Issues of Point Lookout (PDF, )

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500-1000 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info