Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business

by Gino Wickman

Most leadership teams spend their time discussing the heck out of everything but rarely solving anything. What is draining your energy is not having a lot of work to do; rather, it’s having unresolved issues.

Thou Shalt Not Try to Solve Them All Take issues one at a time, in order of priority. What counts is not quantity but quality. You’re never going to solve them all. The faster you understand that, the better your odds are of staying sane. Solve the most important one first, and then move on to the next.

Thou Shalt Live with It, End It, or Change It This is another great lesson from my dad. In solving an issue, you have three options: You can either live with it, end it, or change it. There are no others. With this understanding, you must decide which of the three it’s going to be. If you can no longer live with the issue, you have two options: Change it or end it. If you don’t have the wherewithal to do those, then agree to live with it and stop complaining. Living with it should, however, be the last resort.

The Issues Solving Track always follows the three steps: identify, discuss, and solve.

To systemize your organization through your core processes, you must take two major steps. First, you have to document the core processes. Second, you have to ensure that they are followed by all.

DOCUMENTING YOUR CORE PROCESSES There are three stages in documenting your Way. First, identify your core processes. Then break down what happens in each one and document it. Finally, compile the information into a single package for everyone in your company.

DOCUMENT EACH OF THE CORE PROCESSES In this step, the Accountability Chart comes into play. The person that is accountable for a certain process takes charge of documenting it. The head of sales and marketing takes the sales process and the marketing process. The head of operations takes the one to three operations processes, and so on. The integrator usually owns the entire project, making sure everyone is clear and on track.

Eliminate steps, condense steps, and put checklists in place where possible. Some steps in your processes will easily be converted to checklists that can be used on the floor or in the field. You should make your processes bulletproof so that no one can screw them up.

The other reason you must document and simplify your processes is that your business has to become self-sustaining. It has to be able to run without you. You have to get your key processes out of your head and onto paper. God forbid something happens to you or any of your people. If one of you disappeared tomorrow, could someone step in and pick up right where you left off? They should be able to, and by doing this step, you’ll ensure that they can.

In Patrick Lencioni’s book Death by Meeting, he opens the book by making a humorous observation. After hearing many leaders complain about meetings and saying things like, “If I didn’t have to go to meetings, I’d like my job a lot more,” Lencioni asks us to imagine hearing a surgeon saying to a nurse before surgery, “If I didn’t have to operate on people, I might actually like this job.” He then asks us to consider the fact that, for those of us who lead and manage organizations, meetings are pretty much what we do.

Team Health Building Many great team-building exercises are available. You may already have one. If you don’t, I highly recommend an exercise I call One Thing. Each member of the team receives feedback from the others on his or her single greatest strength or most admirable ability and his or her biggest weakness or hindrance to the success of the company. The exercise is done out in the open, with the entire leadership team present.

After everyone has received the feedback from their team members, each then must choose one thing he or she will commit to doing differently in the coming year based on the feedback. It’s short, simple, very powerful, and effective, and it leads to great insights with improved openness and honesty on the team. This exercise should take no longer than two hours.

SWOT/Issues List Provide an opportunity for everyone to share what they believe the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are. This is the classic SWOT analysis, a management tool for helping an organization take a good look at itself and clarify its current state, both good and bad.

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...

SHINY STUFF When the business is really humming and on track, you may get a little fidgety and start to get distracted by shiny stuff. This mostly happens to visionaries. Here are two discipline strategies to keep you focused and engaged. First, find a challenge inside the business. Focus on your “acres of diamonds.” Put your energy into something that is going to perpetuate the existing vision. Dive into cultural projects that will boost the core values and the people. Experiment with some new products or services in line with the company’s core focus. Go interview your top clients and really dig into what is working and what is not working for them. Take employees to lunch and ask them the same kind of questions. Test current products and services, and make sure they are still relevant. All of these activities will keep you stimulated and further the vision of the company. Second, if you’re starting to become distracted by shiny stuff that is outside your core focus and your leadership is supportive, then go explore. You must, however, protect your existing business, making sure the integrator is comfortable with your reduced time commitment. You cannot drain any necessary resources or energy that the current company needs to achieve its vision. If your new business idea is a good one, and it doesn’t fit in the current core focus, consider starting a new company with its own resources. Too many times, a new idea is incorporated into the current company, and it’s the kiss...

Don came to call it “The EOS Life,” which is defined by: 1. Doing what you love 2. With people you love 3. Making a huge difference 4. Being compensated appropriately 5. With time for other passions.