What the heck is “AMB”? 

I’m so glad you asked. It is an acronym for “Always Measure Backwards.”

This is a concept I learned as a member of Strategic Coach. And it is a concept I teach and practice with the Leadership Teams with whom I work, but I haven’t consistently practiced it in my own business.

As entrepreneurs and business owners, I hope you routinely measure the progress you are making in your organization. You may have a wall chart tracking monthly sales, or perhaps you look at a balance sheet at the end of the month to evaluate cash flow.

If you are running your business on EOS^®, then I know you are measuring progress weekly with your Scorecard, and checking the health of your organization in your leadership team weekly Level-10 Meetings™. And the same tools are in place at the departmental level.

It is important to recognize that the only way you can determine if you are making progress in your organization is to measure that progress, regardless of which management system you use.

And the best way to evaluate your progress is to measure backwards.

It is easy to fall into the trap of looking at a sales goal each month, for example, and focusing on how much more the sales team needs to sell to achieve the annual sales goal. That leads to questioning ourselves, criticizing our colleagues, and maybe even feeling disappointed if last month wasn’t as great as the previous month.

In that example, you are measuring where you thought you would be rather than measuring your progress. If, however, you measure backwards, you will identify progress and maybe even identify some areas where opportunities lie. So, staying with the monthly sales goal example, celebrate the fact that your team increased sales 17% last month. That’s progress. That shows where your sales team is right now based on where they started.

Oh, and in case you are wondering—I’m improving my ability to AMB in my business, too! How about you? 

If you’d like to discuss your AMB efforts or challenges, or just have questions about EOS^®, please use the contact form below to schedule a time to chat with me. I would be happy to share my story as a business owner who implemented EOS^®, and how I’ve used AMB with my clients’ businesses to gain a better understanding of trends and progress. 

Let’s always measure backwards in order to always move forward in our businesses!

Remember the old joke, “How do you eat an elephant?” The answer was, “One bite at a time!” The same punch line holds true for solving your organization’s issues.

There are three types of issues common to all organizations:

1. A true problem that needs to be solved
2. Information that needs to be communicated and agreed to by the team
3. An idea or opportunity that needs feedback, brainstorming, insight, and/or a green light from the team

Sometimes a leadership team encounters a true problem that needs to be solved, but the issue appears enormous. Perhaps there are multiple potential root causes, or the issue simply feels impossible to solve. The tendency is to take the easy way out and give up. I encourage you not to do that! 

Instead, give a marker to the person who brought the issue to the team and send him to the whiteboard. Have that person clearly state exactly what he needs from the team—what “solved” looks like. We call this starting with the end in mind. The leadership team doesn’t need the 20-minute story. They need to know what is needed for the greater good of the organization.

Then, start asking questions about the issue, and have the owner of the issue start listing the answers on the whiteboard. Keep asking questions until everyone fully understands the root cause of the issue.

When an issue appears enormous, tracking the answers on the whiteboard will help the team determine if there are multiple root causes, each of which is an additional issue. Start listing those on the right side of the whiteboard for another time. And stay laser focused on the root cause of the issue the team is solving right now.

This approach requires two things: First, the leadership team must focus on solving the primary issue. Second, they must have the persistence to commit to it.

That takes discipline and an understanding of the process to keep everyone focused, but an EOS Implementer can help. When tackling those discussions one bite at a time, a root cause is identified, additional issues are flagged for later, and solutions to the issue are brainstormed.

If your organization has issues that need to be solved, I can help. Please use the contact form below to schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation with me. We’ll lay the groundwork so you can begin solving your organization’s issues one bite at a time.

The goal of every leadership team is to achieve alignment. Organizations that are truly aligned have created so much clarity that there is little room for confusion, disorder, and infighting.

How can an organization achieve alignment? I’m glad you asked! Here are five steps every organization can take:

1. Make sure everyone understands their position and how they will create the greatest value for the company.
   
   The leadership team builds the organizational structure that defines where the company is going. They also define the accountabilities for every position within the structure—think of it as “if the seat could talk.” They ensure every team member understands the lane in which they are best suited to swim and how they will create the greatest value for the organization.
   
   
2. Create the organizational culture that delivers consistent outcomes. 
   
   Leadership teams who invest the time to discover the organization’s personality will create alignment within the organization. And that’s when a leadership team can surround themselves with people who will drive greatness in the organization.
   
   
3. Create the habit of measuring organizational health weekly. 
   
   Accountable team members appreciate numbers because they create an esprit de corps with everyone pitching in to ensure organizational results. Another way to think of this is to practice Pearson’s Law: “When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported back, the rate of improvement accelerates.” 
   
   
4. Create consistency throughout the organization.
   
   Develop your organization’s playbook, your “way of doing business,” and help every team member follow the playbook. This will ensure your organization functions uniformly and delivers the desired outcomes.
   
   
5. Understand the role of leadership.
   
   Leadership teams must understand why they are in a position of leadership. Patrick Lencioni makes this point perfectly on page 105 of his book, The Motive: “We can talk all day about what we’re supposed to do, but if we don’t understand why we’re leading in the first place, none of it will make sense.”
   
   

Aligned organizations have the courage to look into every corner of the organization and flush out the elephants in the room, identify the internal teams that do not play well together, and look for the enhancements they can make.

Are you interested in learning more about how to achieve alignment in your organization? If so, let’s talk about it over the phone. You can schedule a time with me using the consult form below. When all parts of your organization align with the whole, magical things happen. Let’s outline a plan that helps you get it done.

If you have ever watched a football game, I expect you are familiar with the end run—a football play in which the ball carrier attempts to run around one end of the defensive line.

Another definition of an end run is “an evasive maneuver,” and that is where the connection to the term lies with EOS^®.

Just like in football, there is an offensive tactic EOS Implementers™ recommend leaders and managers use to eliminate end runs in their organization. More on the offensive tactic in a moment.

Organizational end runs occur in one of two ways. First, a team member goes around the Integrator generally to complain and occasionally to request assistance. The second way in which end runs take place is when the Visionary goes around the Integrator and gives direction to team members in one or more departments.

This often occurs prior to an organization having a well-defined company structure in place. Team members typically seek out the person with whom they are most familiar, or who they know best. And end runs are often disguised as “open door” policies.

Once an organization defines their company structure via the Accountability Chart, it is critical to develop a new behavior that will stop end runs. Allowing end runs to continue damages relationships, creates confusion, and undermines the role of the Integrator.

What is that new behavior? I’m glad you asked—we call it “The Question.” Here’s how it works. Let’s say Elmer goes to the Visionary to complain about something. The Visionary should listen carefully, and then respond, saying, “I hear you. I have one question. Are you going to tell him or am I? Because one of us has to tell him.”

Asking this question doesn’t change the need for team members to brainstorm or for leaders and managers to listen. Communication in an organization is critical to organizational health. Using “The Question” simply serves the organization and team members best when we allow the Integrator to be effective.

How have you been dealing with end runs in your organization? Maybe you didn’t realize it was happening and how counterproductive it can be. If you would like to talk through your Accountability Chart, your challenge with end runs, or the best way to pose “The Question,” lets chat. Simply fill out the contact form below to set up a 15-minute phone consultation with me. I would be happy to answer your questions and help set you up for success.

When something isn’t quite right in a company, it is not uncommon to see leaders and managers focus on what they think is going on. That approach leads to crafting a solution without having reliable data. Leaders and managers in this situation are attempting to solve a problem in isolation.

Enter the Scorecard—one of the foundational tools EOS Implementers™ help Leadership Teams create and use. A well-designed Scorecard gives you a weekly pulse on your business, which allows you to do two things:

1. Identify and correct immediate issues
2. Recognize trends so you can identify and correct long-term problems

A Leadership Team’s Scorecard is made up of five to 15  forward looking, activity based numbers, with weekly goals that lead to desired outcomes. The italicized phrase is critical to the value of your Scorecard.

In order to construct an effective Scorecard, you must believe The 7 Truths:

1. What gets measured gets done
2. Managing metrics saves time
3. A scorecard gives you a pulse and the ability to predict
4. You must inspect what you expect
5. You can have accountability in a culture that is high trust and healthy
6. A scorecard requires hard work, discipline, and consistency to manage, but it’s worth it
7. One person must own it

Need some help getting started? Here are five generic outcomes every company wants:

1. Get new customers
2. Get orders from existing customers
3. Make sure customers are happy
4. Serve those customers profitably
5. Have cash

Be patient when you design your first Scorecard. Invariably you will come up with a number that really doesn’t tell you anything meaningful. There also is the potential that a number that sounds useful takes four hours to gather each week—not a good use of anyone’s time. It usually takes a Leadership Team three to six months before they have the right set of measurables and love their Scorecard.

Remember: five to 15 forward looking, activity based numbers, with weekly goals that lead to desired outcomes. You’ll get there. And I’m here to help if you need it.

If you’d like to set up a time to discuss your company’s Scorecard or any other EOS-related topic, please fill out the form below. We’ll get a consult call on the calendar so you can start gathering data, measuring progress, and recognizing the trends and problems in your business.