“Use the Daily Update system where new hires send a 5-10 minute daily email covering what they accomplished, problems they faced, and questions they have. This reveals performance patterns and accountability levels within 30 days.”
About Daily Update System
The Daily Update System is a framework where new hires send a 5-10 minute daily email covering what they accomplished, problems encountered, and questions they have. This simple practice reveals more about an employee's true patterns and performance in 30 days than people who have known them for years.
Eben used this system recently with great success, finding it reveals whether employees are results-driven versus activity-driven and provides clear documentation for performance conversations or termination decisions.
Misconception
“You need months or years of working with someone to truly understand their work patterns and reliability”
30 days of daily updates reveals more about an employee's true patterns than years of casual observation
Relevant Clips43
- How-To
How to Implement the Daily Update System for New Hires -- A 30-day employee evaluation system using daily email reports
- Teaching
Daily Update System to Evaluate New Hires in 30 Days
Use the Daily Update system where new hires send a 5-10 minute daily email covering what they accomplished, problems they faced, and questions they have. This reveals performance patterns and accountability levels within 30 days.
- Teaching
Long-Term Optimist Short-Term Pessimist Mindset
It's a mindset where you expect most new ideas and projects to fail in the short term, but remain optimistic about making progress over time. You test everything and stick with what works while quickly abandoning what doesn't.
- Teaching▶ 1:57
Assign an Assistant to High Performers Who Skip Updates
If someone is a high performer but inconsistent with daily updates, you can provide them with an assistant to handle the updates or coach them on the importance of communication while keeping them on the team.
- Teaching▶ 0:33
Daily Update Email — Three-Part Formula
Daily updates should include three components: what you accomplished and results you got, problems or challenges that came up, and questions you have. The email should take only 5-10 minutes to write.
- Teaching
90-Day Cycles and Daily Huddles for Team Alignment
Use 90-day planning cycles, implement daily team huddles, hire drivers who take ownership and responsibility, and focus on impact rather than just money when motivating top performers.
- Teaching▶ 0:33
Daily Update System — Five Minutes Covering Wins Problems and Questions
The Daily Update system requires new hires to send a 5-10 minute daily email covering three areas: what they accomplished, problems encountered, and questions they have
- Teaching▶ 0:58
Implement New Knowledge Immediately or Lose It
In today's information-accelerated world, you must use new knowledge immediately to drive it into your memory and nervous system, or you'll almost certainly forget it
- Teaching▶ 2:45
Track 3 to 10 Daily Vital Business Stats
Start with 3-10 daily vital stats including money spent daily, money hitting your bank account, new leads generated, total sales volume, and refunds/cancellations.
- Teaching▶ 2:28
Consistent Daily Updates Reveal Accountability Patterns Over 30 Days
The most basic test of the Daily Update system is simply whether the employee sends it every day - consistency reveals accountability and communication style
- Teaching
Daily 5-Minute Updates Plus Weekly 90-Day Trend Reports
Small teams should provide 5-minute daily updates with 1-2 charts they're responsible for, plus participate in weekly team reports analyzing 90-day trends.
- Teaching▶ 4:58
Daily Rituals Timed for Peak Willpower in the Morning
Design specific daily rituals performed at the same time each day, ideally early when willpower is strongest, and practice them consistently for 30 days
Show 31 more
- Teaching▶ 34:15
Virtual Teams Scale to 70-80 People With Zero Office
Virtual teams can scale to 70-80 people with no office if you hire people who work when it makes sense for them and focus on results rather than hours
- Teaching▶ 5:42
Business Timing — You Can't Harvest What You Didn't Plant
Success requires tilling soil in spring, tending and weeding, then harvesting in fall - you can't plant seeds at summer's end and expect a harvest
- Teaching
Daily Update System Creates Documentation for Hard Conversations
The Daily Update system provides clear documentation for termination conversations by focusing on the one consistent request that wasn't fulfilled
- Teaching▶ 0:37
Daily Update Emails Reveal Performance Patterns Within 30 Days
Daily updates should take 5-10 minutes maximum. If it takes longer than that, the employee is doing something wrong and overthinking the process.
- Teaching
Value Is Completely Subjective — Same Production Cost, Different Price
High performers who miss daily updates can be coached or given assistant support, but non-performers who also miss updates should be terminated
- Teaching▶ 1:05
Thirty Days of Daily Updates Reveals More Than Years of Casual Acquaintance
Watching daily updates for 30 days reveals more about an employee than people who have known them for years because you see their true patterns
- Teaching▶ 9:22
Timing Success Like Farming — Plant Early or Miss Harvest
Success requires tilling soil in spring and tending plants to harvest in fall - you can't plant seeds at summer's end and expect a good harvest
- Teaching▶ 2:51
Pre-Committed Spending Decisions Prevent Wealth Destruction
Making spending decisions in advance with time for reflection prevents wealth destruction, while moment-based decisions guarantee money waste
- Teaching
Weekly Team Reports Build Common Business Language
Create weekly team reports where leaders analyze 90 days of data and explain trends to build common language across the organization
- Teaching▶ 8:58
The Super Ritual: Designing Your Entire Day
Create a super ritual that encompasses your entire day with phases of renewal, inner work, outer productivity, and interaction
- Teaching▶ 4:33
Redesign Your Ideal Day Like Assembling a Puzzle
Create a super ritual encompassing your entire day with phases of renewal, inner work, outer productivity, and interaction
- Teaching▶ 3:58
Three-Level Business Tracking — Daily Stats to Monthly Deep Dives
Implement a 3-level tracking system: daily vital stats dashboard, daily/weekly team updates, and monthly in-depth analysis
- Teaching▶ 7:27
Five-Minute Daily Updates Assess Team Performance
Implement a five-minute daily update system covering results, challenges, and questions to assess team member performance
- Teaching▶ 2:20
Daily Huddles Keep Virtual Teams Aligned
Implement daily huddles where virtual teams connect each morning to align on daily objectives and maintain team cohesion
- Teaching
Track Cash Flow With Delayed Payment Consideration
Track cash flow with delayed payment consideration, especially for credit card businesses with refunds and cancellations
- Teaching▶ 10:48
Build a Daily Dashboard Tracking Top Business Metrics
Create a daily dashboard with charts tracking top business metrics like website traffic, email subscribers, and sales
- Teaching▶ 9:50
Daily Huddle Calls Prevent Remote Team Silos
Conduct daily huddle calls to keep virtual teams coordinated and connected, preventing people from working in silos
- Teaching▶ 13:32
State Your Top Priority at the Start of Every Daily Huddle
State your top priority at the beginning of every daily huddle call to align your team and prevent distraction
- Teaching▶ 0:09
Build Rituals That Feel More Abnormal to Skip Than Do
Build personal success rituals that become so integrated they feel more abnormal not to do than to do them
- Teaching▶ 1:02
Morning Ritual Must Address Physical, Emotional, and Logical Renewal
A morning personal success ritual must address three key areas: physical, emotional, and logical renewal
- Teaching
Daily Vital Stats Tracking Costs About Five Dollars a Day
Implementing daily vital stats tracking takes only minutes per day and costs approximately $5 daily
- Teaching▶ 6:53
Three Critical Daily Metrics: Visitors Subscribers Customers
Track three critical daily metrics: website visitors, new subscribers, and paying customers
- Answer▶ 11:40
Five Simple Metrics to Track Your Business Daily
Start with simple metrics like website visitors, email opt-ins, and sales. Add bank deposits and expenditures if desired. Track daily for 30 days, then create charts to visualize trends. This gives you control and confidence in your business decisions.
- Answer▶ 7:55
Money Is Only Given in Exchange for Value Created
Track three essential numbers daily: website visitors, new subscribers or inquiries, and paying customers. Put these in a simple spreadsheet—it takes just three minutes daily but gives you unprecedented insight into your business trends.
- Answer▶ 5:34
Start Delegation With Customer Service and Refunds
Start with repetitive, frequent tasks like customer service, refunds, tracking, and reporting. Create standard operating procedures (SOPs) with specific steps rather than just telling them stories about how to handle situations.
- Answer▶ 9:27
Three Daily Systems for Managing Virtual Teams
Implement three core daily systems: five-minute daily updates covering results, challenges and questions; daily huddle calls for coordination; and a dashboard tracking key business metrics with charts showing trends over time.
- Answer▶ 14:00
State Top Priority at Every Daily Huddle
State your top priority at the beginning of every daily huddle call, even if it sounds repetitious. People forget easily and get distracted by new tasks or conflicting demands, so consistent daily reinforcement is essential.
- Answer
Tracking Systems for Measuring Remote Team Performance
Use tracking systems, dashboards, and reporting mechanisms that provide objective performance data rather than relying on physical presence to assess productivity.
- Quotable▶ 1:05
30 Days of Daily Updates Reveals What Years of Friendship Cannot
if you will watch someone's daily updates every day for 30 days you will learn so much about them that people have known them for years don't even realize because you will see the pattern
- Quotable▶ 2:44
Results Accountability and Communication — Non-Negotiable Standards
we need results and accountability and communication and it's just not your style to do that
- Quotable▶ 0:01
It's Not Who You Hire — It's Who You Don't Fire
it's not the person you hire it's the person you don't fire that destroys the business