Traction - Get a Grip on Your Business

Jeff Huron -

I recommend Traction for anyone that has a business. Business owner and consultant, Gino Wickman, explains his system – Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) – for gaining traction to build a self-sustaining entity run by an effective system rather than by your determination and effort alone.

The key is getting the EOS in place so your business functions without your micromanagement, which means letting go of control.

The EOS consists of Six Key Components:

  1. Vision: You need to clearly define and communicate your vision for the company. This involves defining your values, focus and marketing strategy. Wickman includes tools to help you sharpen your vision.
  2. People: You need to hire the right people and put them in the right positions. Wickman includes a people analyzer tool to help you do this.
  3. Data: Many owners do not have the right data to help them determine the health of their businesses. Owners must develop a Scorecard that includes the key performance indicators that tell them how the business is doing on a weekly basis. Management should decide a weekly goal for each indicator and assign one person to be responsible for it.
  4. Resolving Issues: The “Issues Solving Track” has three steps: identify, discuss, and solve important issues at weekly meetings. The most important decisions usually aren’t unanimous, but, once a decision is made, the entire team must support it.
  5. Documenting Process: There are three steps to systematize your business: identify your key processes, document each process, and ensure that everyone knows where the processes are documented and follows them.
  6. Traction: To get traction, you need to establish priorities and have weekly and quarterly meetings. Have the meetings on the same day and time each week, follow the agenda, and start and end on time.

Wickman includes useful exercises, charts and tools for implementing the EOS and growing your business. You can even hire his consulting firm if you need help or are ready to take things to the next level.