Stronger Foundations for Business Success

One Saturday Morning …

In late 2007 I had just moved from Philadelphia to Salt Lake City. The big news at the time was the completion of nearly four years of renovation to the Utah State Capitol building. Tours of the completed project were being given and I found myself there one Saturday morning taking it all in.

It was beautiful! Mahogany framed windows and doors were beautifully restored. All of the plumbing and electric was new. The paint was crisp and conducive to the overall polish and shine of the spaces. And beautiful art and furnishings were everywhere. No expense had been spared!

Something I Wasn’t Expecting

As my tour was concluding, I was prepared to leave with an appreciation of the beautiful work. Then something I wasn’t expecting happened. The tour guide, who had observed my unusual interest in the process of the project, informed me that a lecture was about to take place and I might squeeze in.

At first, I struggled with the thought… “Do I really want to go hear a lecture on a Saturday morning?” Ultimately I submitted and to my surprise, experienced the best part of the tour that day!

The Biggest Investment

A small panel of those who had led the project — the general contractor, engineers, construction trades and project managers — were telling their parts of the building restoration story. That’s when I realized I hadn’t even seen the biggest investment that had been made in the whole restoration project — the new foundation.

A New Foundation

The best technology at the time the building was constructed couldn’t adequately protect the building against seismic activity that had become more apparent over the last century. So the building was retrofitted with a new foundation that includes 280 “base isolators” that can move up to 24 inches in any direction. This way, the ground can move without disturbing the building above it.

Speedy Decision Making

One of the most exciting parts of the story to me was the General Contractor relating his demand that all of the major participants in the project would co-locate in temporary trailers on the job site. Every day. For the duration. He knew from experience that a key factor in slowing down a big project like this was having to track down people for questions or decisions. When key people were needed to overcome an unforeseen obstacle or to make a decision, knowing where to find them would enable speedy decision making!

Preparing Your Business for the Future

This whole story reminds me of what businesses go through when they prepare their businesses for the future with the Entrepreneurial Operating System®.

Your business is like a beautiful building in need of renovations. You built it with the best you had over the years. But the new world is revealing seismic shifts in the economy, marketing & sales, employee relations and finance — to name a few. Will your business be ready to respond to the shifts without cracking or falling apart and injuring people as it crashes down?

New Business Foundations

You need a new foundation and you can build it under your existing business. It requires that everyone on your leadership team “show up to the job site”. Everyone needs to learn the Foundational Tools of EOS to perform the intricate dance of taking your business into the future.

The Foundational Tools include the following:

• The Vision/Traction Organizer™ (V/TO). This clearly articulates your vision for the business. Where you are going and how you will get there.
• The Accountability Chart™. This clearly lays out the structure of your organization. It is a key in your ability to scale and create a business that doesn’t depend on having the founder in the middle of everything. Clear roles enable your whole team to execute with discipline and accountability.
• Rocks. Rocks are the most important things that must happen in your organization over the next 90 days. Clarity on the 3-7 most important things for your company and each individual will give you focus and Traction!
• The Meeting Pulse™. You need a world-class agenda to optimize the precious human energy you bring together to operate your business, overcome issues, and innovate into the future. A consistent leadership meeting becomes a key vehicle for trust and teamwork in your business. (This is like all the sub-contractors being together on site to effectively make decisions together.)
• Scorecard. What are the key measures that quantify your weekly progress toward your vision? Can each individual see how they are contributing to business objectives?

In the repertoire of 20+ EOS tools and disciplines found in The EOS Toolbox™, these five are the foundation … Your “seismic base isolators” that will help you to withstand the shock of anything the world might throw at you. You are equipped to continue breaking through every ceiling and move your business powerfully into the future!

NEXT STEPS FOR YOU

Are you ready to embark on a project to build a new, resilient foundation for your business? With an EOS Implementer™ as your guide you will  experience Vision, Traction and Healthy in your business like never before. It is a journey that can take several years. But when you are willing to bring your team together and focus on Foundational Tools … The outcome will be strong and beautiful! When you build a better business, you can live a better life!