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I've been re-thinking the Daily Coordination Meeting. I've been watching daily meetings. Often, the project participants are taking care of basic coordination — doing last-minute planning — rather than managing their commitments. The name of the meeting Daily Coordination is part of the problem, but only part. Coordinating one group with another is a small part of the the daily meeting. The most important part is taking the time to let each other know that you and your group have done what you said you would do for that day. This builds trust and it creates a basis for the performing groups to take the hedging out of their promising. When one group doesn't have confidence in what another group will do for them, then we understandably get hedging. Hedging leads to work areas being ready but no one working. The aim is for the project work to flow unimpeded from one performing group to another.

Even the most reliable performers have to deal with the unexpected.

A second key aspect of a meeting for managing commitments is to make timely declarations of completion. When we tell someone, "We'll be finishing the following work tomorrow just as we promised to do," that allows others to mobilize in anticipation of your completion rather than waiting to hear that you've finished before mobilizing your own staff. One project team member called this "just good courtesy". My Nana would agree.

Even the most reliable performers have to deal with the unexpected. The daily meeting is the opportunity for a performer to forewarn that the promise is in jeopardy and to make a new promise. Giving people a heads-up that we will not complete as originally promised and then offering a new promise allows others to re-plan their work avoiding or minimizing the negative impacts of your non-performance. Re-commitments build confidence among the team members. Repeated re-promising is certainly grounds for lack of confidence. However, hearing in advance that something won't happen gives others the chance to re-plan, make contingencies, and avoid the wastes associated with an upset.

Conduct a meeting that gives performers the opportunity to take care of others on the team

There is one other big opportunity in conducting a meeting for managing commitments. Often, a performer or group will find it necessary to jump through hoops to keep their commitment. It is a shame if completing that work would fail to advance work on the project. And sometimes that is the case. The team should use the meeting to explore what are the impacts of renegotiating a promise. Staying late missing your child's school event to finish something that is not needed at the moment is a shame. No one wants to do that or see others do it.

The Daily Coordination Meeting is dead; long live the Daily Coordination Meeting. In its place conduct a meeting that gives performers the opportunity to take care of others on the team…have a meeting for managing commitments.