Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business

by Gino Wickman

A Rock is specific, measurable, and attainable.

SMART goals

Once the priorities are set for this quarter, no new priorities can be added! If someone does try to throw something else over, you get to throw it back because you all agreed on the current Rocks as being the most important priorities for this quarter. New ideas and thoughts that arise during the quarter should be put on the V/TO Issues List for next quarter.

Please note that while the company and leadership team members should have three to seven Rocks, everyone else in the company should have one to three.

THE EOS QUARTERLY MEETING PULSE Who: The leadership team Where: Off-site Duration: Eight hours Frequency: Every 90 days Prework: Vision/Traction Organizer complete (Everyone brings his or her issues and proposed priorities for the coming quarter) THE QUARTERLY MEETING AGENDA • Segue • Review previous quarter • Review the V/TO • Establish next quarter’s Rocks • Tackle key issues • Next steps • Conclude

The two most common reasons for not achieving a Rock are: • You took too much on and overshot, which was poor prediction on your part. In this case, your team will need to become better at setting more realistic Rocks. The first time most clients set their Rocks, they almost always set them too high. • Someone dropped the ball. In other words, the Rock was attainable, but the person in charge did not give it his or her all. In this case, you have an accountability issue, and you need to put it on the Issues List and solve it. In the long run, you will reach a point where every member of the leadership team always gives his or her maximum effort when owning a Rock.

THE EOS ANNUAL MEETING PULSE Who: The leadership team Where: Off-site Duration: Two days Frequency: Every year Prework: Bring completed Vision/Traction Organizer, proposed budget for next year, and thoughts on goals for next year. THE ANNUAL PLANNING AGENDA: DAY ONE • Segue • Review previous year • Team health building • SWOT/Issues List • V/TO (through one-year plan)

When you review your goals for the year, you must take the same approach as the Rock review. You want only black-or-white “done” or “not done” answers.

When the results are vague and debatable, it’s far too difficult to see clearly what worked and what didn’t. You then rationalize your way into believing the year was better than it was. When you have no real way to pinpoint what to improve upon, you aren’t going to get better.

V/TO (Through One-Year Plan) At this point in the session, you challenge the company vision. This is the Annual Meeting Pulse, and nothing is sacred. Working your way through the V/TO, take a hard look at your core values, challenge the core focus, make sure everyone is still on board for the 10-year target, and confirm that the marketing strategy is still unique and valuable to the customer. Where you’re not on the same page, discuss and debate until everyone is in sync.

THE EOS WEEKLY MEETING PULSE Who: The leadership team Where: The office conference room Duration: 90 minutes Frequency: Every Week Prework: Rocks established and Rock Sheet created; Scorecard complete; Issues Solving Track understood by everyone THE LEVEL 10 WEEKLY MEETING AGENDA Segue 5 minutes Scorecard 5 minutes Rock review 5 minutes Customer/employee headlines 5 minutes To-Do List 5 minutes IDS 60 minutes Conclude 5 minutes

A productive Meeting Pulse should meet the following five criteria. The meetings must 1. be on the same day each week, 2. be at the same time each week, 3. have the same printed agenda, 4. start on time, and 5. end on time.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHECKUP For each statement below, rank your business on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 is weak and 5 is strong. 1. We have a clear vision in writing that has been properly communicated and is shared by everyone in the company. 2. Our core values are clear, and we are hiring, reviewing, rewarding, and firing around them. 3. Our Core Focus™ (core business) is clear, and we keep our people, systems and processes aligned and focused on it. 4. Our 10-Year Target™ (big, long-range business goal) is clear, communicated regularly, and is shared by all. 5. Our target market (definition of our ideal customer) is clear, and all of our marketing and sales efforts are focused on it. 6. Our 3 Uniques™ (differentiators) are clear, and all of our marketing and sales efforts communicate them. 7. We have a proven process for doing business with our customers. It has been named and visually illustrated, and all of our salespeople use it. 8. All of the people in our organization are the “right people” (they fit our culture and share our core values). 9. Our Accountability Chart™ (organizational chart that includes roles/responsibilities) is clear, complete, and constantly updated. 10. Everyone is in the “right seat” (they “get it, want it, and have the capacity to do their jobs well”). 11. Our leadership team is open and honest, and demonstrates a high level of trust. 12. Everyone has Rocks (1 to 7 priorities per quar...

Key check up

When rolling the tools out, I recommend first choosing what are known as foundational tools. These are as follows: • The V/TO • The Accountability Chart • Rocks • The Meeting Pulse • The Scorecard

Key foundational tools

The entire system is built around how people really operate: • The 90-Day World stems from the reality that humans can only focus that long. • The To-Do List in the weekly meeting is designed to ensure accountability. When people know someone is going to check up on what they committed to, they do it. • The V/TO is designed to get your vision out of your head and into the heads of others using a simplified approach of answering only eight questions. This makes it easier for people to see. When they can see it, they will believe it and it’s more likely to happen. • Data forces you to give people numbers so you can measure achievement. People relate to numbers because measuring is a natural human tendency. It creates a benchmark. If you create a culture in your sales department of attending two prospect appointments a week, people will strive to hit that mark. Setting measurable targets will direct their activity. • Core values go to the heart of human nature. Like attracts like. People who are like-minded work well with each other. Different people have different values, but when you meet someone who has yours, there is an instant fit. • The Meeting Pulse forces people to “keep the circles connected,” as Sam Cupp would say. People need to stay connected. The saying “Out of sight, out of mind” is true in any company. If you don’t stay connected, you’re going to start to stray and people will start to work at cross-purposes. • The Issues Sol...

Key EOS human nature

At some point, though, you will hit another ceiling. When this happens, you have to continue to practice the five leadership abilities. You have to: 1. Simplify, using the EOS tools. Remember that less is more. When everything is important, nothing is important. 2. Delegate and elevate by knowing when you and others are at capacity. 3. Predict well, both for the long term and short term, through your V/TO, Scorecard, and Rock setting and by following the Issues Solving Track. 4. Systemize by consistently managing your core processes. 5. Structure your organization the right way using the Accountability Chart, which continually evolves as you grow.

Key ceiling so simplify

Henry Ford said, “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.”

1. Accountability Chart (which includes People Analyzer and GWC) 2. Rocks 3. Meeting Pulse (which includes IDS, Level 10 Meeting, Quarterlies, and Annuals) 4. Scorecard 5. V/TO (which includes core values, core focus, 10-year target, marketing strategy, three-year picture, and one-year plan) 6. Three-Step Process Documenter 7. Everyone Has a Number

The Accountability Chart, Rocks, Meeting Pulse, Scorecard, and V/TO are known as the EOS foundational tools.