Another Meeting

Every Friday at 9 am we have our executive meeting. It’s a place where we discuss financials, check in on big projects, do some good old-fashioned venting, and every once in a while, shed a tear. 

Every company-wide initiative we roll out gets shared with the executive team first. Sharing with this team helps us bench-test our ideas and through the conversation, we’re able to understand our own ideas better, all while getting feedback and insight that we might not have. While we can’t outsource our vision for the organization, having people put our ideas through the wringer is invaluable. 

The meeting started its life as a Team Leader meeting—anyone who ran a department or store location, and at some point, it transitioned into the “Executive Meeting.” I don’t love the name—it sounds a bit corporate so I’ll often refer to it as our “upper leadership meeting.” Over the years it’s gone through multiple incarnations both in its format and in the people that attend. Basically, it’s a group of people whose opinions we trust that have earned their spot with the passion they have for sharing our mission and values, the way they carry themselves at work, and who have a track record of turning ideas into reality.

I have a complicated relationship with this meeting. Some days it feels like the highlight of my week, and on others, it feels like we’re wasting our time. Sometimes we come prepared, sometimes we wing it. Sometimes we try a new format and stick to it for a month only to slip back into chaos. Sometimes I talk too much. Sometimes I don’t say enough. Even though my two business partners and I have clearly defined roles, we’re all passionate about every aspect of the organization and it’s not uncommon for us to have different opinions on the best way forward.

While my natural inclination is to have everything completely buttoned up, sitting through a disorganized meeting every once in a while feels way better than feeling disconnected because we have no communication with our team. Despite all its imperfections, the spirit of the meeting is true.