The best parenting advice I ever got was to date my kids. For all the parenting mistakes I made, I took this one to heart and to this day I have strong relationships and open communication with my adult children. The idea is simple. I asked for one hour each week and I’d buy (of course). They pick the place and time, they just have to talk…about anything. Their agenda not mine, I just needed to hear what’s going on. My promise was not to lecture.
When implementing EOS, clients often say, “this may be simple, but it’s not easy!” And they’re right. I’ve been helping other companies master these tools for more than seven years, and I’m still learning something new every day.
It’s amazing how most business issues are predictable. They rarely surprise us, yet so often leaders are unprepared to handle them as they surface. Why is that?
Does your company have a “complaint department?” Most do. Someone with a door that’s always open, a sympathetic ear and the promise of keeping things “between us.” In many organizations, these people seem to serve a valuable purpose—or at least do no real harm.
If resolving business problems is making your leadership team discouraged, you’re not alone. Some of my entrepreneurial leadership teams hit an emotional wall after their first year of implementing EOS—especially if they need to resolve many large organizational issues in the company. Even when they make significant progress in the first year, they still feel unsatisfied and a bit discouraged. Why?
On a recent Saturday, my wife Trina and I along with a good friend and client went for a hike deep into the backcountry of the Cascade Mountain range. The hike (climb/scramble) consisted of 9 miles round trip with a total of nearly 2,900′ of ascent. We found yet another absolutely amazing piece of God’s creation.
