The EOS Model®: Issues Component™

THE EOS® MODEL

The EOS Model® provides a visual illustration of the Six Key Components™ of any business that must be managed and strengthened to be a great business. This model applies to big and small businesses alike, in any industry.

ISSUES

The fourth key component of the EOS Model® is the ISSUES Component™. All businesses have issues, and through time, the same few problems reoccur. Thus, as a leader, you have to anticipate and resolve your problems using an Issues List – repository to keep your problems organized in one place. Use this space to house your organizations problems, challenges, obstacles, opportunities, and new ideas.

First, you have to allow for issues to be discussed by fostering an open and honest work environment that promotes transparency, lets issues by uncovered, and flow up to leadership to be solved once and for all.

Instead of talking in circles around your problem and never get to solving them, you should resolve issues in a simple, timely, and efficient way using the Issues Solving Track – the process your team uses to Identify, Discuss, and Solve (IDS) issues on an ongoing basis.

1. Identify the three most important issues and prioritize them. remember, if you think that everything is important; then, nothing is important. Next, your team should dive deep and distinguish the root cause, which can be written in a concise problem statement.
2. Discuss the potential solutions and create a plan of action to resolve the issues. Many people get stuck as they spend a lot of time in discussion and never get to solving. If your team successfully identified the issue, the answer will likely be clear and obvious.
3. Solve the issues using the plan of action and assign someone to be responsible for each item. The team will create an action item on a to-do list. The responsible person will execute and complete the task, and the issue is finally resolved.

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR THE BEST IDS

• If your discussion is going too long, you are likely not solving the real issue, not being open and honest, politicking, or on a tangent.
• Tell your team what you need by using the following statement: “To feel solved, I need… more information about X, an answer from the Y team, additional training on the Z process.”
• Use what and how questions as prompts to encourage your team to speak up on Issues – What is frustrating you? What is making your job harder? How would your team respond if you asked what is making their job harder?
• Listen. When a team member is talking about a problem in the break room or you’re talking to a colleague about a frustration, encourage them to add it to the Issues List.

Want to run a friction-free business?

Contact Andrea Schlapia to learn how the Entrepreneurial Operating System® can transform your team, your profits, and your life.