87plus Blog

This is an overwhelming time for all people, but especially for leaders of small businesses. You feel a sense of responsibility for the health, safety, and security of your employees. If you're in an "essential business" customers are counting on you to continue delivering your products and services. You may be shut down completely - wondering when (or if) you'll be able to re-open. You're worried about your own safety, and for the health and wellbeing of your family and friends.

I recently shared a 90-Minute Overview of the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS) with a leadership team that was deciding whether to work with me to implement EOS in their company. The team shared that they were frustrated with their current situation.

For some, simple business might appear to be an oxymoron. Almost all of the businesses I have worked with over the past 30 years have been anything but simple. Is it possible to keep business simple, with a simple business structure, a simple business plan, simple business processes and simple management? Is it really possible to simplify business?

Five years after opening REJUV AVE., a relationship-based medical skincare spa in Fenton, Michigan, Tracy and Scott Aubuchon felt like their company had hit the ceiling. They realized that growing the business would require significant changes, so they began to seek advice from other business owners who had faced similar challenges.

After discovering Gino Wickman's book Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business, Tracy and Scott were convinced that the Entrepreneurial Operating System^® (EOS) tools were exactly what they needed to get their company to the next level. 

Companies running on EOS^® know that articulating and communicating your Core Values is essential to getting the right people in the right seats to help you achieve your vision. That’s because these values define the characteristics that you want every single person in the company to share so you can build the culture you want in your company.

Some teams hit an emotional wall after their first year of implementing EOS^®. Teams that begin with many large issues to resolve can make significant progress in the first year and, because of what is still left to accomplish, feel unsatisfied and a bit discouraged.

Even the most successful entrepreneurs occasionally discover that running a business is more challenging than they expected. If you're a business owner, you may often find yourself dissatisfied by a lack of control over time, the market, or your company. You may have people who don’t listen, understand, or follow through. Or perhaps your profits are flat, preventing you from taking your business to the next level.

In a recent session with a client, several leadership team members mentioned during their check-in that EOS® was “not working.” The Integrator expressed frustration that they were not making enough progress and worried that their investment in the process was not paying off.

Does this gardening incident sound familiar? “My son ran over my rosebush with the lawn mower. I thought for sure it was dead! But to my amazement, it came back stronger and more vibrant than ever.” It seems like most of us have a gardening incident somewhere in our past. Aside from teaching your son to spare the shrubbery, there is a business lesson in this gardening incident, too. It’s about pruning for growth.

It’s arguable that the same vision, hard work, techniques and patience that are required to grow a vibrant garden are also required to grow a vibrant business. Just like gardening, growing a business is a blend of science, art, and practice.