The Two-Word Check-in: A Minimal Daily Meeting
Before status, accountability, and conflict resolution, the daily meeting has to warm up the social fabric. That is what a two-word check-in is for.
What a difference through just two words.
Two Words Check-in.
I used it as a warm-up in a leadership session for a Boston-based BioTech.
They liked it so much that they started using it as common practice. They started using it in their weekly Review/Retrospective/Planning sessions (Yes, they were using Scrum to develop the company; go figure)
It became a highlight.
Before you can talk work, accountability, results, and tackle conflicts, you need to maintain / warm up the social fabric.
Here’s an idea -
Instead of talking about what you’re all working on, share how you’re feeling.
Check-in with each other as human beings. (Two words check-in is one great way to do that, but whatever works)
And that’s it. (no 3 questions, no status, nada. Unless people really want to chat about something, or an issue emerges from the check-in)
That’s the most essential aspect of a Daily Scrum/Standup anyhow.
Try it.
Let me know how it went?
Practical thinking on turning AI pilots, adoption, and portfolio work into business impact - by finding the constraint, changing the work, and proving value as you go.
Yuval Yeret helps product and tech leaders move from agile theater to evidence-informed delivery. Work with Yuval →
- 01 To Async or Not to Async 2 min
- 02 Meetings People Would Be Disappointed To Miss 2 min
- 03 When is Agile worth the Overhead? 5 min