In fast-moving environments--most companies today--daily huddles can keep communication consistent and effective. We use huddles and keep them to 15 minutes max. Each team member gives an update and a "daily number" is shared, which measures the overall health of the project. If you have six data consecutive points in any direction you have identified a trend. Each member also shares a "stuck item," which highlights problematic areas early and enables the slaying of monsters while they're still small. Huddles can cascade to keep everyone on the same page. For example, it there are three project teams working on the overall project, the separate project teams have a huddle followed by a huddle of three project teams and their superior. Tom's Takeaway: It can be tempting to forgo communication tools, like huddles, especially when you're in the end game and near project completion. Don't give into this temptation because this is when clear and consistent communication is most critical to project success.