A friend and business colleague recently asked if I would serve as a reference for a position she is seeking. I was honored she asked and, of course, said “yes.” Several days later I received an email from the recruiting firm with a very long list of questions, as well as a copy of the position description.

One of the questions intrigued me: “What advice can you give us that will help us successfully manage this candidate?” Quite frankly, I’m not sure I understood the question; I think it was open to multiple interpretations. So here is how I answered.

I don’t believe any of us “manage” people. I believe we create an environment in which people can manage themselves. We create that environment in several ways:

• First, we must genuinely care about the people with whom we work. Notice the emphasis; that’s because people don’t work “for us,” they work “with us.”
• Make sure everyone’s expectations are clear, not just yours.
• Schedule quarterly conversations so you know what is on each other’s mind—no assumptions.
• Be available so people have access to you. Don’t smother them by micromanaging—have an even exchange of discussion.
• Give feedback quickly, both positive and negative. Provide the former publicly and the latter in private.
• Working with people does not mean you are their pal or they are family.

Creating this type of environment moves your team, your company forward. And remember, your personality or style doesn’t matter—just be you. What does matter is the first point in the list—you must genuinely care about your people and be committed to them—that is non-negotiable.

One of my favorite Jim Collins’ quotes is “The moment you feel like you have to manage someone, you’ve made a hiring mistake.”

In case you are wondering, I didn’t pontificate to this extent in my response to the reference question! I sure was tempted, however.

Managing people can be one of the most challenging aspects of running a business. The roles, responsibilities, expectations and job descriptions are often unclear due to structural issues. EOS^®gives you the tools you need to create an accountability chart, make sure you have the right people in the right seats, and that those people get it, want it, and have the capacity to do the job.

Do you have a workplace environment that allows your employees to manage themselves? If not, let’s set up a time to discuss how you can get there. Just fill out the consult form below to request a free, 15-minute, no-obligation phone call with me. I look forward to helping you lighten your load and build a company your employees will thrive in and won’t want to leave.

As previously stated, I learn from each of my clients, which helps me become a better EOS Implementer™. The lessons I receive from the Leadership Teams with whom I have the privilege of working also become learning experiences that I pass on to other teams. Every one of my clients has heard me say, “I have a client who . . . ” followed by an idea, a nugget, a concept, etc. that I believe will bring clarity to a team and may help them move forward. So, with that introduction, I have a client who.…

During a Quarterly Pulsing™ session with one of my Leadership Teams, I walked into their conference room and on a side table there were a number of small jars, along with a medium sized cylinder and a large cylinder. I, of course, was compelled to examine this display. And what a display it was.

Each member of the Leadership Team had a jar in which they placed the number of stones representing their Rocks for the quarter. The jars were decorated, some artistically, others with the person’s name simply printed on the jar. The medium sized cylinder was labeled with the end date of the current quarter. And the large cylinder was labeled with the end date of their 1-Year Plan. Oh, and there was one more unlabeled cylinder – it held a lot of sand and a scoop.

My initial thought was this was a clever way to visually illustrate their Rocks. This was in keeping with these leaders of an award winning e-learning company. The magic for me occurred at our session.

As I read each Company and Individual Rock, the owner moved the Rocks that were “done” from their jar to the current quarter cylinder. Rocks that were “not done” remained in that person’s jar. After we determined the team’s Rock completion rate, each team member reviewed the shiny stuff, the unexpected projects, and anything else that impacted their ability to focus on their Rocks during the quarter. As they described those events, they added a scoop of sand to the current quarter cylinder, eventually covering all the stones. When the team finished reviewing all the Rocks, the Integrator moved the “done” Rocks to the 1-Year Plan cylinder.

This exercise provided the Leadership Team an opportunity to review, discuss and celebrate their quarter in a memorable way. Listening to this animated team be open and honest with each other, be vulnerable with each other, and celebrate together made my brain dance.

I’d love the opportunity to talk with you about your individual and company Rocks, the progress you are making with them, and whether you’d be able to move your Rocks from one cylinder to another. I invite you to use the contact form below to schedule a free 15-minute phone call with me. Whether you use EOS^®in your business or not, have identified Rocks or not, or just want to talk about moving your business to the next level, I’m game for a conversation. I used EOS^®in my former business, so I’m a strong believer in the process. No pressure of course, but if you are ready to make some serious progress in your business, EOS^®is a great option to get you there. I look forward to helping you visualize your Rocks and move them to completion.

Each year I attend a local live streaming of Leadercast, a daylong conference in Atlanta, Georgia helping leaders realize their potential. This year’s theme was about building healthy teams—a topic that is perfect for an EOS Implementer™! Every year the speakers are amazing, and I want them to just keep talking! Truth be told, I would love to sit down with any one of them over a cup of coffee and soak up as much wisdom as possible.

One of my favorite Leadercast speakers is Andy Stanley, an Atlanta-based pastor of North Point Ministries. He presents annually, and his message is always thought provoking. Andy started this year’s presentation stating, “Healthy teams are comprised of people with extraordinary clarity around what, why and how with a predisposition to execution.”

This is exactly the central theme of EOS^®. Every EOS Implementer™ in the world is focused on helping the Leadership Teams with whom they work become a team with extraordinary clarity about who they are, where they are going, and executing on that awareness every single day.

Building healthy teams takes work, and that work begins with the company leaders. One of the questions I often ask a Leadership Team is, “Are you the leadership team your company deserves?” Let’s put some context around that question.

How many people do you think your company impacts every day? There is the obvious answer — the number of employees in your company. Did you count their families? How about your business partners’, vendors’ and customers’ employees and their teams? And let us not overlook the community members you impact through your product or service, as well as any philanthropic or volunteer efforts. One of my colleagues determined that for every 100 employees in a company, their reach extends to 10,000 people. 

Here is a 7-point checklist to use with your leadership team to help you assess the strength of your Leadership Team:

1. We are 100% on the same page with the company vision and plan.
2. We are very healthy, cohesive, and completely open and honest with each other.
3. We solve issues quickly.
4. We live the company core values.
5. We are highly accountable.
6. We fully embrace our operating system (EOS^®).
7. We are great leaders and managers.

So, are you the Leadership Team your company deserves? If the answer is yes, great! Congratulations on doing the hard work, and I encourage you to continue growing stronger every day. If your Leadership Team isn’t strong, who will lead the company?

EOS^®provides many tools to build strong leaders. These tools give teams the foundation and structure they need to develop their skills and improve their leadership abilities. As an EOS Implementer™, I help businesses with these tasks every day, and I’d love to talk with you about it. If you’d like to schedule a call with me, please use the consult form below to set it up. I look forward to helping you strengthen your leadership skills, and become the healthy team your company deserves. 

When I work with Leadership Teams, there comes a point where we meet every 90 days to evaluate the previous quarter, ensure the team is 100 percent on the same page with where they are going and how they will get there, and prepare for the next 90 days.

I have worked with a couple of Leadership Teams who question the value of evaluating the previous quarter and reviewing each section of their V/TO™ every 90 days.

The evaluation of the previous quarter starts with a review of the Leadership Team’s Rocks—we are asking if each Company Rock and each Individual Rock was “done” or “not done”. We then calculate the completion rate, with a goal of completing 80 percent of each quarter’s Rocks.

I then open up the discussion by asking the Leadership Team four questions:

1. What did you do WELL?
2. What could you have done BETTER?
3. What did you LEARN?
4. What grade would you give the quarter?

This is where the magic happens. Leadership Teams have rich discussions around the first three questions, which prepares them to answer the fourth question. And by this point, each member of the Leadership Team usually grades the quarter within a plus or minus of each other. The end result is that the team appreciates the previous 90 days, strengthens their ability to make predictions, and creates stronger Rocks for the next 90 days. 

One of the reasons EOS Implementers™ teach Leadership Teams to create a 90-Day World™ is that, as humans, we can stay focused for about 90 days, and then we lose focus. Reviewing the V/TO™ reminds the Leadership Team, and ultimately the entire company, why we are a company running on EOS^®.

I read the Core Values™, Core Focus™, 10-Year Target™, Marketing Strategy, 3-Year Picture™, and the 1-Year Plan to ensure the Leadership Team is 100 percent on the same page with each section. I also ask questions to determine if they are using their V/TO as intended or is it just a piece of paper they bring to their Quarterly Pulsing Sessions. If it is the latter, then we need to have a bigger discussion.

Ultimately, I want Leadership Teams to learn from the exercises, let the previous quarter go, and move on as smarter, better, faster planners of their future. 

Becoming a better planner means you sometimes have to look back in order to move forward. And moving forward is as simple as exploring EOS^® for your own business, or further refining the Six Key Components™ if you have already implemented it. Would you like to share where you are with your business and the progress you make (or wish to make) each quarter? If so, I’d love to talk with you about it. Please use the consult form below to set up a phone call with me. No obligation, no pressure and no worries. I look forward to helping you set yourself up for future success.

I remember learning about goal setting in both college and graduate school, which routinely led to an assignment to write goals for the year. And as I learned about creating, scaling, and managing businesses, the assignments became even bigger—create a five-year strategic plan for your company. Those were always painful assignments for me. Not because I didn’t believe in the power of goals, but because my professors expected to see 50 page plans with at least 20 goals.

So like all good business owners, I worked with department heads, and sometimes consultants, to create detailed strategic plans with pages of goals, charts, graphs, and statistics. Those plans were a thing of beauty with one small problem—by the end of the year we had only accomplished three or four of the goals. And the charts, graphs, and statistics made little, if any, difference in the outcomes.

When my leadership team and I implemented EOS^®at my last company, our implementer introduced us to a simpler approach to strategic planning. We learned to write a handful of goals to achieve our annual plan. We focused on the three to seven priorities that would position us to look back on the year and know it was a great year. Not 20 goals—just three to seven. And of course, they had to be S.M.A.R.T., which stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. Take a look at the example below of two versions of the same goal:

Version 1:      Improve our sales pipeline.

Version 2:      Add $2M in qualified target market opportunities with an estimated close date before December 31st.

See the difference? Of course you do. 

As an EOS Implementer™ I introduce additional considerations for great goal setting.

1. Does each member of the leadership team know “what done looks like”?
2. What could interfere with the company’s ability to complete these goals?
3. How will the leadership team avoid that?

The value of this simplified approach is that we are prepared to actually achieve our annual goals—three to seven absolute priorities for the year. Now that’s a thing of beauty!

Simplifying goals can be difficult for business owners because they are so close to their own business. Sometimes an outside perspective can make a world of difference. Let’s talk one-on-one about streamlining your approach and setting realistic and impactful business goals. Simply use the consult form below to pick my goal-setting brain and request a free, 15-minute phone call. We can discuss goals, EOS^®, or any other business topic that’s got you spinning your wheels. As we head into the second half of the year, now is the perfect time to launch a new effort to simplify, get S.M.A.R.T., and start making progress.