Posted on Mon, Jun 15, 2009
Small Business Monthly
A conversation with: Gino Wickman
By Nancy Kaffer
Gino Wickman, a business coach, founder of the Livonia-based Entrepreneurial Operating System and author of strategy guide Traction: Get A Grip On Your Business, shared thoughts with Crain's reporter Nancy Kaffer about how businesses can manage rapid growth without flaming out.
Let's talk a little about entrepreneurial culture. There are two kinds of entrepreneurs. There's the type that is looking for balance and puts the family first. The second type is the one that puts the business first and the balance is second. Neither is right or wrong, but it's true.
So what advice would you give to each? There are four prescriptions I would offer. First, I would say, stay true to your core.
What does that mean? If they will just stay true to their core values, passions, niche and their number one biggest goal, if they let those things lead and guide them, it ... keeps them focused on what's important and eliminates distraction.
Number two? Number two is a remedy I call “delegate and elevate.”
In this case, the flameout comes from the entrepreneur doing things they don't like and aren't good at. They find themselves getting away from stuff they love to do.
They should list everything they love to do, everything they're great at. That's going to help create real clarity for them around where they should be spending time.
When entrepreneurs get overwhelmed, they lose creativity.
So what's the third idea? As more and more is coming at an entrepreneur, what they tend to do is throw people at the situation. They're overwhelmed, so they'll find a family member or friend and plug a person in. The most important thing they could do is invest the time to get the right people.
What qualities should they be looking for? They need to find people that have two simple things: that possess their core values, and “GWC.” That's people that get it, want it, and have the capacity to do it. If the person they're looking to bring on has the “get it want it capacity,” then they've brought on the right person in the right seat.
Let's hear number four. Take clarity breaks. Typically the entrepreneur is ... getting buried in the day to day. Pre-schedule an appointment; spend either a half-hour a day or two hours a week for thinking time. It's going to help them become more efficient and effective, with the clarity, energy and certainty that they need to continue to grow the business.
Posted on Tue, May 12, 2009
According to Gino Wickman, a former founding member of EO Detroit, entrepreneurs cannot build a great organization on multiple operating systems. They must choose one.
An entrepreneur since the age of 21, Wickman, author of Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business, refined his real-world business experiences into The Entrepreneurial Operating System™ (EOS), a practical method for helping companies clarify, simplify and achieve their vision. The system is built around the idea that every issue goes back to one of the six fundamental components— People, Vision, Data, Issues, Process and Traction.
Throughout his experiences, Wickman has determined that the key to success is to organize all the moving parts of a business and focus all available energy and resources in one unified direction. As a result, chaos will be replaced by clarity and simplicity, producing valuable traction. With increased focus, day-to-day operations become more controlled, cash flow improves, nagging issues are finally resolved and the organization can move forward together as a cohesive team.
Since the business landscape has dramatically changed in recent months, there are several key questions Wickman advises his peers to consider when it comes to getting a strong “grip” on their business. These questions include :
- Is the company’s vision clear and shared by everyone in the organization?
- Does the leadership know how to determine if each person in the organization is the right person in the right seat?
- Does the owner have a pulse on the business and the ability to predict future results through a handful of numbers?
- Are all issues resolved quickly and correctly at all levels in the organization?
- Is the business systematized to easily handle growth and expansion?
- Is there a high level of accountability, discipline and execution at all levels in the organization?
click here to visit Entrepreneurs' Organization
Posted on Tue, Mar 03, 2009
Executive Read: Weekly Book Reviews by Notable Twin Cities Leaders
Who: Matt Meents, CEO of Reside (Minneapolis, MN)
What: “Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business” by Gino Wickman
Why: “Of all the great business books I’ve read, none has had a more lasting impact on me and my business than ‘Traction.’ I used to be a frustrated entrepreneur turning out 300 ideas a day that rarely took root in a way that helped our business. So I worked harder and longer until I was burned out and ready to quit. The simple concepts and practical tools in ‘Traction’ have given me my life back and brought a new level of energy and focus to our entire team.”
“Traction’ introduces readers to the six key components of a truly great business: vision, people, data, issues, process and traction. The book makes it easy to assess your own company in those areas. It provides a full set of real-world tools and a proven system, EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System), that helps your team become its best by constantly working to strengthen each of those components.”
“All entrepreneurial businesses are fast moving. As a provider of Web services that help businesses grow, Reside is no exception. But my 300 ideas were a source of chaos that served to complicate our forward progress rather than accelerate it. Thanks to ‘Traction’ and EOS, we’re now focused on achieving our vision, delighting our clients and working together as a more cohesive team.”
“Based on my own experience, I think this book will be particularly beneficial to frustrated entrepreneurs who want to get their lives back and love their businesses again.”
Posted on Tue, Feb 24, 2009
My guest today will be Gino Wickman, author of the book Traction...Get A Grip on Your Business, an entrepreneur, and creator of EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System), a practical method for helping companies achieve greatness. The economic situation is creating confusion, isolation and a feeling of powerlessness. People are locking up when they shouldn't be - it is scary. Now is the time for leaders to step-up and provide their organizations leadership, create security, and implement a system to keep organizations going and growing. Gino Wickman's Entrepreneurial Operating System is the system that leaders can use to clarify, simplify, and get their people through the scary times. Call in with your questions or comments.
Listen now
Posted on Sun, Feb 15, 2009
SMALL BUSINESS MONTHLY
Do research before hiring a consultant
By Nancy Kaffer
Veronica Lujic and Nicole Rafaill's State of the Art, a custom framing shop and gallery in Ferndale, had been open about a year when the pair decided it was time to get help.
Both are artists, Lujic said, but needed business operations expertise. So they hired a consultant.
“A lot of businesses fail in the first two years, and we didn't want to be one of those businesses,” she said.
That was three years ago, and Lujic and Rafaill are still in business.
While there's a host of free advice available for business owners and would-be owners, free resources may not meet all a business owner's needs. So when is it time to hire a business coach or consultant? And how do you find the right person?
“My very strong opinion is go free first — there's a lot of great free information out there, and with the Internet, the world is our oyster,” said Gino Wickman, a business coach, creator of the Entrepreneurial Operating System and author of the book Traction: Get a Grip On Your Business, a business strategy guide. “When it's a good time to use a consultant is when you don't have the answer and can't find the answer.”
Finding the right consultant, said Ed King, director of small-business services in Wayne State University's department of executive and professional development, is a matter of research, research, research.
Check with trade associations and on industry-specific Web sites to see who's respected in the field, King said. Look for an adviser who's served comparable businesses, and has delivered results.
Wickman advises business owners to be demanding when seeking a coach or consultant.
“Ask for their entire client list, not their best three, which is what they'll want to give you,” he said. “And make sure they offer a guarantee — if I don't deliver the value I promised, you don't have to pay me.”
Don't take a consultant's claims of expertise at face value, King said.
“If you start talking to them and they don't understand the buzzwords of the industry, that's a bad sign,” he said.
Setting clear goals is important, Wickman said, for the consultant and the business owner.
Lujic and Rafaill met with a few consultants before they met someone who clicked.
The consultant led them though a retail planning process. They helped the owners identify business strengths and weaknesses, areas that were working and those that required improvement.
“A lot of that is numbers,” Lujic said. “You assess when people are coming in, what kind of people are coming in, all the statistics people usually talk about but you never really know "til you sit down and see it.”
Nancy Kaffer: (313) 446-0412, nkaffer@crain.com.
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Posted on Tue, Jan 20, 2009
EOS Implementer puts focus on business growth
Livonia business coaching company will dissect a business, then refine its goals, values.
Karen Dybis
Special to The Detroit News
Gino Wickman is a businessman who thinks like a scientist. There is nothing this entrepreneur-turned-EOS Implementer enjoys more than dissecting a company to study its inner workings. It may be painful, but taking a business apart is sometimes the best way to revive and energize it, Wickman believes.
“I really love the world of business and entrepreneurs. I’ve been through that pain myself,” said Wickman, who helped facilitate the turnaround of his own family’s firm.
After that business’s successful sale, he thought about retiring. Instead, he created The Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), a Livonia-based group that helps companies refine their goals and values.
To share his principles with others, Wickman recently authored a book, “Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business.” His goal is to promote the book while continuing to grow EOS through its business coaching and workshop services.
Besides owning his own firm, Wickman is one of the original 10 members of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (then known as the Young Entrepreneurs Organization.) When working with his fellow members, Wickman found himself examining the key components of a well-run firm. It was this analysis that became the foundation of EOS.
“I have an absolute passion for helping people get what they want out of their business,” Wickman said. “I decided to pursue my passion because I knew there was a need.”
One client is Zoup! Fresh Soup Company, the Southfield-based chain of eateries. Founder Eric Ersher said Wickman’s insights give his management team the focus they need to handle the chain’s steady growth.
“It has been transformational for our business,” Ersher said. “The Entrepreneurial Operating System has made us more focused and helped us work toward common goals. We’re less distracted.”
Wickman has worked with nearly 100 Michigan firms since he launched EOS eight years ago. His ultimate goal—the 20-year plan as he calls it—is to have helped 10,000 firms and have them run on the EOS platform.
To reach that goal, Wickman wrote “Traction” and now has seven implementers working across the nation and internationally to spread his ideas. “I wanted to put it all in a book so they can self-implement or work with his team to achieve renewed focus,” he said.
“Most entrepreneurs unfortunately are frustrated. You start a business with this great vision in mind, but you get away from it because it just gets so crazy,” Wickman said. “This gets you back to the reason why you wanted to do it in the first place. And it helps you surround yourself with all the great people you need.”
Wickman mostly centers his attention in the book and in his day-long sessions with the leadership team. Once they start to strengthen his key components—vision, people, data, issues, process and traction—they often regain their passion and excitement for the jobs they do.
EOS generally works with companies of 10 to 250 people and with revenues of $2 million to $50 million, Wickman said.
Karen Dybis is a Metro Detroit freelance writer