This book is a must have for any business owner and their management team.
- Dan Sullivan
Traction is a business cornerstone.
If your business is 10-250 people or $2-100million in revenues, this book will become your best friend.
Gino Wickman got his entrepreneurial start turning around a family business. After great success, he architected an Entrepreneur Operating System (EOS) that would also help others run their business in a simple, clear fashion. After implementing EOS with 50 companies, he was convinced he had something great. Once his partner implemented it himself to ensure the system's success wasn't just a Gino thing, they really started building it.
Over 20,000 businesses have now implemented the Entrepreneur Operating System and the reviews are fantastic. I have a few friends who are running their business using this framework to great success and joy.
The EOS Entrepreneur YouTube account has an overview video.
The book has the tools and checklists for the full implementation of the EOS system. One of the many things I like about this system is it lines up perfectly with what we do here at THBN. Typical business consultants charge lots of money for great material that will make you feel better and get excited. The missing component is how to take it to real world and implement these ideals day-to-day. Traction is named after the very idea of getting these practices to have traction in your operation each and every day.
You need to have these fundamental beliefs to truly see this change through:
1. |
You must build and maintain a true leadership team |
2. |
Hitting the ceiling is inevitable |
3. |
You can only run your business on one operating system |
4. |
You must be open-minded, growth-oriented and vulnerable |
This illustration is one I use all the time with my clients:
"I liken long-term prediction to a team of short-sighted people cutting a road through a jungle. They may be the most productive team that's every cut a road... however, if there is no leader to climb a tree and tell them where the road is going, they might very well be cutting a zig-zag." |
There are 5 leadership abilities you need to break through ceilings:
1. |
Simplify the organisation |
2. |
Delegate and Elevate |
3. |
Predict both long-term and short-term |
4. |
Systemize |
5. |
Structure your company the right way |
The system is broken into 6 Components that your business is likely already divided into. I might argue some of us have more, and they are redundant and in need of simplification. Within each component, there are a number of tools available on their website you can use to work through and improve your business. The book goes through each component and tool and helps you work through the challenges that may arise. |
A few areas that are typically difficult to manage in business are simplified immensely with the tools.
Issues like accountability of your people; whether your people are right for the role and the company; how to build a scorecard for the vital information needed at a glance each period; how to identify, discuss and solve issues; how to have great meetings (they are even called Level 10 meetings and get rated out of 10 at the end of each one - there's something unheard of); how to build and improve processes; and, most important, how to get everyone aligned around all these components.
This is the simplest, most practical way to run a business. Buy the book and try it out - it's free to implement on your own - you will be very pleased you did.
Rating: 4½/5
Have you have read it, what did you think?