As Close To a Silver Bullet As You Will Find

By John C (New Orleans)

Over the years I have worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs and their businesses. There in one thing all of them had in common – they all fell well short of the hopes and dreams the founder had when the businesses were started. Generally the entrepreneur will recognize that there is a problem in the business but all too often the focus is on fixing (or patching over) that problem. Rarely is the owner willing to take the approach to look at the entire business and develop a systematic approach to dealing with the business as a whole.

I believe the owners have been reluctant to take a holistic approach because there wasn’t one that was simple, would apply to any business and actually had been proven in the field. Now there is one – the Entrepreneurial Operating System. And Traction – Getting a Grip on your Business explains the EOS in great detail.

The system is simple (but far from easy) six part method which will work for any business. The part that is not easy is total commitment and consistency. It will not work unless the top management is totally committed and the program is followed consistently.

The six parts to the system are: Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process and Action.

All great businesses start with a clear vision and all employees must buy in and be aligned with the vision. There is a step by step process to develop and clarify your vision.

You cannot have a great business without the right people. Jim Collins in Good to Great made the point of getting the right people in the right seats. Traction tells you a simple method for achieving that. You do not need to master Top Grading or attracting “A” people … just follow the system. There is a simple template to follow.

I have never worked with any business that really mastered the Scorecard. This is the handful of numbers that tell you exactly how the business is doing in real time – while you can take corrective action. Most businesses rely on historical data which is of little value in running the business. Traction gives you a method to develop your own Scorecard and tells you how to use it.

Issues – all businesses have them but there is more time wasted in discussing them than solving them. Again, there is a simple process for dealing with issues which solves them once and for all. The process is called IDS – Identify the real issue, Discuss it, Solve it. I loved the idea in the Discuss part when the facilitator says “Tangent Alert”. Too often when trying to solve issues, we get sidetracked by issues which are tangent to the issue at hand. By staying focused on the real issue and not allowing the discussion to wander off down countless rabbit holes, issues get solved.

This is a fantastic guide for those who truly want to take their business from chaos or also ran to being a first rate, highly profitable company. All the components are here. It is all laid out in easy to understand, step by step instructions. Wickman, the author, gives countless examples from the real world. He is quick to point out the potential problems you will encounter as you try to implement the EOS model.

I started out saying this is as close to a silver bullet as you will find. I truly believe that. But then I must add that there are no silver bullets. This is a valuable guide book. As Wickman points out, reading this book will only make you aware of the process. The value is in implementing. Personally I doubt that many entrepreneurs will be able to implement this process without some outside help. They are simply too close to the action to see things objectively. And for the process to truly be effective, you need to stay focused. “Stay Focused” is a byline for Wickman. Entrepreneurs are notorious for not being able to stay focused.

Read the book. It is a great read. It will show you what is possible. You will immediately see the need and the benefit to be gained by implementing the EOS model. I would then suggest you retain an accountability coach/mentor to keep you on track and totally committed to the program.