I’ve followed the practice of sending my boss a weekly recap email every Friday since 2016. I still do it because it is so valuable. Sending your boss a weekly snapshot does many things for you:
- Status updates help your boss know your progress — curtails micro-management as your boss knows your projects and status
- Highlights blockers and concerns that you have for discussing next week — giving your boss a heads up helps clue them into what you need help on
- Process and close out your week — a good way to recap
- Reminds you of the “oh shoot, I forgot to do _____” — acts as a final check of Monday morning priorities
There are many more benefits. Let’s jump into the email structure now.
- Word count: Helps your boss know how much time they’ll spend. I assume 110 words per minute but adjust accordingly
- One Big Thing: What is the theme? One short sentence to capture it
- Highlights: Start with celebrations! Share some GOOD and POSITIVE news. List max of 3 items
- Should Know: What are the things your boss should know? Could be a signed contract, a new policy, cross-functional agreement made on Project ABC. No more than 5 items
- Blockers: Share what is preventing you from getting work done. Which projects are blocked, why, and what needs to happen?
- Next week: List out 2-4 projects or initiatives that you’re working on next week. Less is more
- OKR status: This is where I include a red-yellow-green status update and any concerns to highlight
- Fun anecdote: Share something fun. You’re all entering the weekend. Make it enjoyable!
It sounds like a lot. The email is only a summary of your week. It is very beneficial to keep 1:1s brief and focused. Below is an example with fictitious examples to help convey the purpose and flow.
Hi,
Word count: 430 (3.9 minutes)
One Big Thing: Significant progress with the tech debt resolution project is underway. Light at the end of the tunnel and the team is stoked and motivated with the progress!
Highlights 🥳
- We hired [name] for _____ role. They are joining two weeks from Monday
- Moving forward with [vendor] discussions — pursuing a proof of concept to validate
- Kudos to [Teammate] as she is doing fantastic work, taking on more, and executing proficiently with Project A
Should Know… 💡
- [Vendor] — moving forward. Starting a proof of concept next week
- Customer Health data went to red because of underlying product analytics data snafu. See [link] for more details. It has since been resolved
- Shared the CS Ops vision and FY24 strategy with the team; good response and feedback. Will roll this out to the broader CS team next
Blockers ️⛔️
- Customer migrations to the new product data process have stalled out because of XYZ
- Product analytics ARR coverage is 80% (link) for usage data
- Customer email campaigns at the user level are delayed because of XYZ upstream data issue with contacts
Next Week(s) ⏭️
- Onboarding plan for [new hire]
- Finalize Digital CS strategy to expand beyond in-app and email. Need to create a holistic view with Community, customer portal, and integrations with Support and Education
OKRs
- Operationalize Product Analytics data in Gainsight 🟢
- Stabilization of Customer Success Systems & Data Model 🟡
Fun anecdote: Summer’s over. Kids are back at school. Our homes are quiet once again 🤫
Jeff Beaumont 