Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business

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Successful leaders surround themselves with great people. You can’t build a company without help. EOS… provides a practical understanding of the two essential ingredients of any great team: the right people in the right seats.” Right person, wrong position: The employee shares the company’s core values but isn't in a position that matches her particular talents. She may have been promoted to a position that’s not a good match, outgrown her current position, or was put into the wrong position to begin with. Process Component – “systemizing your business by identifying and documenting the core processes that define the way to run your business”

After building out the Accountability Chart, you should ask these three questions to confirm that you have fully completed it: As with the three-year picture, set a revenue goal, profit goal, and a one-year measurable consistent with your three-year measurable. Get it, Want it, Capacity (GWC)– uses the following three criteria to determine determining whether the right people into the right seat for their true skill set: Measurables – the 3-5 metrics (department) or 5-15 metrics (company) that are recorded weekly on the Scorecard Identify your key processes: Identify the processes for carrying out every major activity of your business.

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Here's what Traction does right: Everything. There are clear plans and tools and strategies for getting a business at least looking in the right direction. How do I know? I've been using them, and they seem to be working. At least nobody's punched me yet - which might be as good as one could expect for anybody who takes a consultant's advice. How to Be a Great Boss ( book summary): Helps leaders and managers at all levels of an organization get the most from their people. Ensure that everyone follows the processes: As the company’s leader, make clear your expectation that everyone, including your leadership team, will follow the processes. I got what I wanted out of this book and don't feel a need to read more - however if I find myself working for another startup company, it might be time to read it again.

Most businesses fail to reach the next level of growth because owners are afraid to let go of total control, trust their leadership team, and delegate to them. But for their business to grow, they need to take that leap of faith. The key is getting an EOS™ in place, so your business functions without your micromanagement. Here's what Traction does wrong: Cute-ness. This isn't really a severe flaw - more likely it's a problem of the genre. Everything must have a special name in business books. It's a rule. "TO DO LIST" is far too simple, and wouldn't sell any books. "ACCOUNTABILITY ACTION MATRIX" sounds like an MBA, and an MBA = smarter than me. (this is not a real example from Traction. it's what English majors call hyperboleeeeeeeeeee - which means using too many letters to make a point.) Right People – “the ones who share your company’s core values;” they understand the vision, fit within the company culture, and will work to make the organization better Problems are like mushrooms: When it’s dark and rainy, they multiply. Under bright light, they diminish.” After you read this book you WILL have a SYSTEM that you can use to run your business. As it turns out, SYSTEMS are what business is all about.Solve: In this step, you determine a solution or conclusion, with an action for someone to take. Add the action item to a to-do list, and when it’s carried out, you’re done with the issue. Communicate vision to everyone in company. All must understand and share. Have a quarterly state-of-the-company meeting to cover past, present, future and review V/TO. Have each dept. review V/TO quarterly. There are 6 components to running a business. That's what the book is focused around. It's all great stuff. But, as a practical matter the biggest/most notable changes to our business have been:

W: Want it: The person also must have a strong desire and motivation to do the job, as well as truly enjoy it.

PDF Summary Chapter 2: Letting Go of Control

The fifth component of the EOS™ is process. Your company has a few key processes that keep it running—together they constitute your unique “way” of doing business. Honing your processes so they run without constant oversight frees you to focus on building your business rather than being mired in its details. Also, when you have a defined way of doing business, your company becomes scalable and more valuable should you decide to sell it. Communicate the core values, incorporate them into your processes for hiring, firing and rewards, and keep them alive via everything you say and do. (ii) What’s our core focus? Your marketing strategy: One reason you need clarity about your core focus is so you can then focus your marketing strategy effectively. An effective marketing strategy has four parts: I'd recommend this book if you want to transform your company or are starting a new company. It offers a total solution for operational excellence that impacts every aspect of running a business. Some of the content may seem familiar if you tend to read a lot of business books. (In fact many of the main points are quoting other authors.) But there are several great insights in this book that are not available elsewhere, and they are quite helpful for any business owner or executive leader. This book does a good job of taking the key principles of business success and making them actionable. For example, before reading this book I would think, feel, and say that "I hated meetings". This book changed the way I look at meetings, but it didn't stop there. It then gave me a system on exactly how to conduct great meetings. Now, I can say that "I used to hate poorly planned meetings", but now I cannot emphasize strongly enough the importance of regular meetings, because they are efficient and effective, and necessary for team communication. Review the previous quarter: Review the financials, then review the company and leadership team priorities to confirm which ones were achieved (you won’t complete 100% every quarter; strive for 80% or better).

Core Values – the three to seven guiding principles for who you are as an organization that help you and your people make decisions and behave for the greater good Your one-year plan: A plan for what has to happen this year creates traction for achieving your vision. In contrast, honing your processes so they run without constant oversight frees you to focus on building your business rather than being mired in its details. Also, when you have a defined way of doing business, you make your company more scalable and valuable in the event you decide to grow or sell it. Clarify your vision and you will make better decisions about people, processes, finances, strategies, and customers. Vision Component – “clearly defining who and what your organization is, where it’s going and how it’s going to get there”

PDF Summary Chapters 9-10: Implementing the EOS™

When everyone follows their process, it’s much easier for managers to manage, troubleshoot, identify and solve issues, and therefore grow the business. The clear lines of process enable you to let go and gain more control.”