10 Disciplines for an Exceptional State of the Company Meeting

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” — George Bernard Shaw

Shaw’s quote captures a truth most leaders eventually learn: effective communication doesn’t happen by accident. It takes rhythm and intention. The State of the Company (SOC) is one of the most powerful ways to build that rhythm across your team.

In my recent article on Getting Your Vision Shared by All, I outlined five touchpoints where vision becomes part of how people think and act. The quarterly State of the Company meeting is touchpoint #3, the moment when vision is reinforced, priorities are reset, and culture and connection are strengthened across the team.

But knowing you should hold a quarterly SOC and knowing how to make it exceptional are two very different things.

When Magnet 360 acquired my company in 2014, I discovered something unexpected: a quarterly meeting rhythm that actually worked. We didn’t do everything well, but this we got right through experimentation and refinement. We tested formats, lengths, and engagement tactics. Some worked, others didn’t. Every quarter, we gathered feedback and improved. Over time, the SOC stopped feeling like a meeting and started feeling like a celebration with music, food, and recognition that made people want to be there.

Over the past decade, I’ve shared these practices with nearly 100 leadership teams and learned just as much from their experiences as they did from mine. What follows is the result of that collective learning: ten disciplines that consistently separate exceptional State of the Company meetings from forgettable ones.

Here’s how to run a State of the Company that inspires alignment, energy, and pride quarter after quarter.

1. The Meeting Pulse

The State of the Company works best when it’s built into your company’s rhythm, not treated as an event to schedule when convenient. Make it a standing commitment every quarter with the same cadence and expectation every time.

Hold it soon after your leadership team’s quarterly planning, while energy and alignment are still fresh. Alignment doesn’t spread by osmosis; it spreads through communication. The SOC is your chance to reset and refocus the entire company so everyone rows in the same direction.

Schedule all four SOCs a year in advance, and hold them within two weeks of quarterly planning (ideally within a few days). Wait longer, and you lose momentum. I’ve seen teams hold their SOC six weeks after planning. By then, they’re halfway through the quarter trying to rally people around goals that are already behind schedule.

A steady pulse keeps everyone informed, aligned, and confident. It builds trust, eliminates rumor, and signals that leadership is organized and dependable.

Discipline Check: If the SOC feels optional, alignment becomes negotiable. Treat the pulse like your company’s heartbeat: steady, reliable, and essential.

2. Come Together

Everyone should hear the same message at the same time. How you make that happen depends on your structure.

If your team is in one location, bring everyone together. The energy of being face-to-face is hard to beat.

Distributed teams have options: regional hubs connected virtually, fully remote company-wide meetings, or leadership traveling to deliver the SOC in person at each site. Some companies rotate which region joins headquarters each quarter to spread costs and build connection.

At Magnet 360, we tried all three. We started by bringing everyone to one location, but we eventually realized that having the entire company travel to HQ had become too costly and was draining energy rather than building it. So we adjusted. Each region began gathering in its own office, joining a single virtual meeting with one camera per site. Leaders contributed their parts from their respective locations so every office felt connected and involved, rather than watching HQ run the show.

Whatever the setup, be intentional. The SOC isn’t just information sharing; it’s an opportunity to strengthen trust, connection, and culture.

Discipline Check: Don’t treat remote employees as spectators. Whether in person or online, design the experience so everyone feels included in the same conversation.

3. The Agenda

A great State of the Company doesn’t need a complex agenda. Simple and predictable wins every time. When people know the flow, they can focus on the message instead of guessing what’s next.

I’ve watched leadership teams pepper their people with announcements, workshops, and exercises during the SOC. It can feel disjointed and hard to follow. I’ve found that a simple, sequential flow works best. One that moves naturally from reflection to recognition to direction.

Here’s the structure I recommend:

Where we’ve been – Celebrate wins, results, and milestones from the last quarter.

Where we are – Share key updates, company news, and recognition.

Where we’re going – Revisit the vision, reinforce your core ideals, and align everyone around what’s next, including new quarterly priorities and, at the start of the year, refreshed annual goals.

That’s it. Simple, clear, and repeatable. Start with something that connects people and close with something that inspires them.

Discipline Check: Keep it concise and uplifting so people leave with clarity, focus, and energy for the quarter ahead.

4. Lead as a Team

A great State of the Company isn’t a solo act. When the entire leadership team shares the stage, it sends a powerful message that you’re aligned and leading together.

I’ve seen SOCs where one leader presents for 90 minutes straight. By minute 30, attention fades. When multiple leaders contribute, it brings energy, variety, and perspective. It also gives department heads a chance to speak directly to the team, showing that alignment isn’t just talked about and that it’s lived.

Sharing the stage also relieves pressure. No one person has to carry the entire event or all the preparation. Dividing responsibility makes it more engaging for the audience and more sustainable for the team.

Still, one person should guide the flow of the meeting. It doesn’t need to be the CEO. Choose whoever best embodies your culture and brings energy to the room. Their role is to connect the sections and keep things moving.

Discipline Check: Don’t turn the SOC into a parade of disconnected updates. The goal isn’t equal airtime, it’s showing a leadership team that’s united around a shared vision.

5. Review the Entire Vision

The State of the Company is your chance to remind everyone why you exist, what you stand for, and where you're going. Don't just share short-term goals; review the entire vision so people see how this quarter fits into the bigger picture.

The Vision/Traction Organizer™ (V/TO™) captures your complete vision and execution plan on two pages. You don't need this exact format, but you do need something clear and consistent that tells the whole story.

Print copies for everyone. Make them on-brand and worth keeping. One client counted how many landed in the trash after their first SOC. After a year of consistent reinforcement, none did. The vision had become a compass people actually used.

Discipline Check: If you feel like you've said the vision too many times, you're probably saying it the right amount.

6. Celebrate

A great State of the Company should feel like a celebration, not just a meeting. It’s a moment to lift energy, remind people that progress is worth pausing for, and make the experience memorable.

Make it festive. Play music. Bring food. Decorate. Create an atmosphere that makes people want to be there. When people walk in, they should feel proud to be part of something special.

Then celebrate wins: company milestones, customer successes, and individuals who lived your values. Recognition amplifies the sense of progress and connection. It reminds people that their work matters and that you’re winning together.

At Magnet 360, we called it the Rockin’ Rally, complete with an employee band, great food, and creative awards. It was loud, fun, and cultural. People came because they wanted to, not because they had to.

Discipline Check: Don’t let your SOC feel routine. Make it an event people look forward to.

7. Break the Ice

How you start the State of the Company sets the tone for everything that follows. If people walk in tense or distracted, it takes effort to get their attention. But if you begin with something light and interactive, you immediately create energy and connection.

The goal isn’t team building; it’s comfort. You want people to feel relaxed and ready to engage, that they’re part of the conversation, not an audience.

One of my favorites was a company-wide rock-paper-scissors tournament. Everyone stood up, paired off, and competed until one champion remained, proudly holding a ridiculously large trophy that was intentionally over the top for such a simple game. It always sparked laughter and set the perfect tone for what followed.

Once people start smiling and engaging, that energy carries through the rest of the meeting.

Discipline Check: Keep it simple, human, and fun. The goal is connection, not performance.

8. Provide Context

Don’t just announce decisions; explain them. Brené Brown said it best: “In the absence of data, we make up stories.” Those stories are rarely positive.

I’ve watched leaders announce a change in direction without explaining why. Within hours, employees were speculating in Slack channels, wondering if layoffs were coming or if core priorities had shifted. All because leadership assumed the “why” was obvious.

When you share new goals or missed targets, add context. Why do they matter? How do they connect to the long-term vision? What opportunity or challenge shaped this direction?

Give people the backstory so they understand your reasoning, not just your results. When people see the “why” behind your decisions, they stop speculating and start believing.

Discipline Check: Don’t just read the slides. Explain them. Context builds clarity and clarity builds trust.

9. Perpetuate Culture

Every State of the Company is a chance to reinforce who you are, not just what you do.

An intentional culture is defined by your core values and how consistently people live them out. The SOC is your opportunity to pause, recognize those behaviors, and celebrate the people who model them every day.

Highlight team members who’ve gone above and beyond living your values. Tell their stories. Explain what they did and why it mattered. Recognition like this shows everyone what “living the values” actually looks like in action.

At Magnet 360, we created space for employees to recognize each other, sharing who lived a value, which one, and why. Those peer nominations became one of the most authentic reflections of our culture.

Discipline Check: Culture isn’t something you talk about once a quarter. It’s something you live every day and the SOC celebrates the people who make that real.

10. Rate It

A great State of the Company isn’t built overnight. It gets better through feedback and iteration.

Before wrapping up, take five minutes to ask everyone to rate the session on a scale of 1 to 10. Then ask a single follow-up: What would make it a 10 next time?

You can use a show of hands, quick poll, or short survey. The method doesn’t matter as much as what you do with the results.

This practice creates accountability both ways. Leadership learns whether the message, environment, and format connected. The team sees their input drives improvement. When people see their feedback acted on, engagement and trust grow.

Over time, you’ll start to see patterns and small wins that build a better experience each quarter. The SOC becomes a self-improving system that reflects the same discipline you expect from your business.

Discipline Check: Don’t just collect feedback. Act on it. The best meetings evolve because their leaders listen.

The Payoff

These ten disciplines aren’t a checklist to complete once. They’re a system that compounds over time.

The first State of the Company won’t be flawless. You’ll miss something. The energy will feel off. Someone will leave confused. That’s expected. What matters is that you commit to the rhythm and improve every quarter.

Over time, you’ll notice the shift. People stop checking phones during the meeting. They start referencing the vision in everyday conversations. They look forward to the next one.

That’s when you know it’s working. The SOC has become more than a meeting. It’s become the heartbeat of your organization.

The companies that win don’t just set great visions. They create systems that keep people aligned, energized, and moving in the same direction.

Your State of the Company is one of those systems.

Footnotes & Sources

1. George Bernard Shaw, "The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." Quotation widely attributed to Shaw; its enduring relevance underscores the gap between intent and understanding in organizational communication.

2. Brené Brown, “In the absence of data, we make up stories.” From Brené Brown’s research on vulnerability and trust in leadership, often referenced in Dare to Lead (Random House, 2018).

3. The Vision/Traction Organizer™ (V/TO™) is a registered trademark of EOS Worldwide, LLC. Used with acknowledgment and appreciation for its contribution to organizational clarity and execution discipline.

4. Portions of this article build on ideas introduced in Getting Your Vision Shared by All (Simple Leadership, 2025), the author’s previous article in this series.

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