When we kick off our first EOS Worldwide session called “Focus Day,” we introduce the Leadership Team to a concept called Hitting the Ceiling and 5 Leadership Abilities that will help them from that moment on to break through the ceiling and continue growing.
The backbone of this teaching comes from Dr Larry Greiner’s Evolution and Revolution of Business.
Now EOS focuses on building strong leadership teams and making them Vision. Traction. Healthy. Our clients are privately-held businesses with 10-250 employees and anecdotally, I’d put them in the first 2 phases in the above chart.
The chart itself is as fascinating as this insight: every single company in the history of business will experience “Hitting the Ceiling.” EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. Multiple Times.
It got me to thinking about a different type of company segmentation. I wonder which one you are and wait for the catch at the end…
1. Smooth Sailers (Never Hit the Ceiling Yet)
- Description: Companies cruising through early stages of growth with minimal resistance. Leadership may be unaware of what lies ahead.
- Emotions: Naivity, overconfidence, hubris
- Indicators: High growth without challenges, lack of internal friction, no significant resignations or operational issues.
- Message: “Enjoy the calm seas while they last because storms are inevitable.”
2. All Hands on Deck (Currently Hitting the Ceiling)
- Description: These companies are grappling with a significant bottleneck or crisis that threatens their growth trajectory.
- Emotions: Frustration, panic, volatility.
- Indicators: Resignations, leadership misalignment, missed deadlines, unclear vision, artificial harmony within teams.
- Message: “Batten down the hatches and chart a new course.”
3. The Eye of the Storm (Post-Crisis but Vulnerable)
- Description: Companies that have weathered one ceiling but are in a deceptive calm before the next one hits. Complacency and denial may be setting in.
- Emotions: Relief, complacency, false confidence.
- Indicators: Stabilized operations but no substantial forward momentum. Risks of slipping back into old habits.
- Message: “You’ve survived the first wave. Are you ready for the next?”
4. Storm-Bound Survivors (Perpetually Struggling)
- Description: Companies that repeatedly hit ceilings without resolving the root causes. Constant churn and chaos.
- Emotions: Exhaustion, cynicism, hopelessness.
- Indicators: High turnover, leadership burnout, distrust within teams, lack of cohesive strategy.
- Message: “Treading water works until you drown.”
Here’s the catch. You are one of these 4 segments and in fact, at some stage of your company’s lifecycle, will hit each and every one of them. Multiple times. Remember the “ALL” companies in the history of business part? That includes YOU.
How do you know which one you’re in? What are the signs to watch out for? Try these on for size:
- Naivety or Hubris (Smooth Sailers): “We’ve got this figured out.” “This will never happen to us.”
- Denial (All Hands on Deck): “If we can just get through this, it’ll all be fine.” “We can’t worry about anything else right now.”
- Complacency (Eye of the Storm): “We’re fine now. Crisis averted.” “This is just a bump in the road.”
- Resignation (Storm-Bound Survivors): “This is just how it is.” “It’s the cost of doing business.”
Hopefully, you’re not shouting BINGO right now. Instead, why not apply this framework to help you navigate next steps through the fluid, dynamic and VUCA waters of change:
The “Ceiling Charting Compass” Framework
- Assess: What stage is your company in?
- Identify: What are the current signs of hitting the ceiling?
- Plan: What leadership abilities need strengthening?
- Act: What EOS tools will break you through?
- Prepare: What’s the next ceiling you’ll encounter, and how do you plan for it?
EOS Worldwide bakes all of this into it’s core operating system, both with the 5 leadership abilities and 20 core tools designed to help deliver clarity, alignment, discipline, accountability, team health and protect your precious energy.
Whether you’re encountering pain right now or lulled into that false sense of security, it helps to be prepared, doesn’t it? That’s the power of planning…or “predicting” (one of the 5 Leadership Abilities.)
Whether this is happening to you or someone you care about at another company, give me a shout or visit my microsite and let’s talk. I’d love to help.
