Take a Look at Traction was originally published in The Firm Review: Talent Edition
All businesses get “stuck” or hit the ceiling at one point or another. This process is inevitable and is actually part of the life cycle of every business. As human beings we innately know how to survive our growing pains, but it is often another story for business owners. According to a 2013 Forbes article, eight out of 10 startups “crash and burn” within the first 18 months. Please note, this excludes franchises and existing business that are purchased. The percentages are scary; however, before you go down the rabbit hole of despair, there is hope.
In Gino Wickman’s book Traction, Wickman addresses this issue and provides solutions. His solution is known as the “The Entrepreneurial Operating System” or “EOS.” EOS is a complete system with a simple set of proven tools that help leadership teams to obtain three things: Vision, Health, and Traction.
• Vision—from the standpoint of first
getting the leadership team 100 percent
on the same page with where the organization
is going and how the team is going
to get there.
• Health—meaning to create an environment
where the leadership team becomes
open, honest, functional, and cohesive.
Unfortunately not all leadership associates
function well as a team.
• Traction—from the standpoint of helping
the leadership team to become more
disciplined and accountable, becoming
masters of execution, and achieving every
part of the organization’s vision.
Where the leadership team points, so
goes the rest of the organization. The
objective is for the entire organization
to become crystal clear on the vision,
becoming much more accountable and
executing on that vision while gaining
consistent traction.
The Traction plan works well for any organization that is looking to grow, willing to be open and honest, and ready to do the work. This is not a seminar, quick fix, or flavor of the month. This changes culture, creates clarity, and establishes accountability. There are specific steps that can be taken to “implement” the EOS system into your organization. In some cases, leadership teams will work on self-implementing EOS and there are tools on the EOS, website to assist. In other cases, there are professionals who will help companies with the implementation.
As Omaha’s first professionally trained EOS Implementer, I encourage you to visit entadv.com. On the website you can download the first chapter of Traction for free, and there is a complimentary download library of tools available to get started. If you would like to learn more about what the pure implementation of the EOS process looks like, feel free to reach out. One of the core values of EOS is “Help First,” and we live that.