When one of my clients is working to strengthen the Process Component in their business, the ultimate goal is getting a handful of Core Processes documented, simplified and “FBA” – which stands for “followed by all.” Often, when recording a Rock or Goal on the whiteboard that includes “FBA,” I turn around to find one or more leaders looking at me skeptically.
“What’s FBA?” they’ll say, or “How is that a SMART Rock?”
Fair questions.
What FBA doesn’t mean is that every person in the organization does every step in every process flawlessly. That’s not only unattainable, but expending the effort to attain that kind of uniform compliance would kill the spirit (and the cash flow) of an entrepreneurial company in no time.
In an EOS company, FBA has a very specific definition, and it’s definitely attainable. Once a Core Process™ is documented, simplified, and approved by the leadership team, FBA is about building a mechanism with four steps:
- Train everyone in your organization who will perform one or more steps in the process. Make sure they clearly understand how to do it right, and how often it needs to be done to consistently get the desired results.
- Measure performance on the right scorecard(s), looking for three things:
- Are the steps in the process being done properly?
- Are they being done frequently enough to get the desired results?
- Are we getting the desired results?
- Manage (LMA): Use the data provided by step two to lead and manage your people, and to drive accountability for following the process. Reward and recognize those who do things well and get the desired results. Coach or retrain those who don’t follow the process, don’t do it often enough, or can’t get the results you want. Long-term failure here is a good indicator that someone doesn’t “GWC” their seat.
- Update each Core Process regularly. Things change in an entrepreneurial company. Can we further simplify the process? Is this still the right and best way to do this work? When you’re IDSing an issue, remember that the process may be a root cause – don’t be afraid to change it. And when you make changes, restart the FBA mechanism by training everyone on what’s changed.
Once that four-step mechanism is built around each of your Core Processes, you’ll know when people are following your processes and getting the desired results. When the scorecards throughout your company indicate otherwise, you’ll be confident that leaders and supervisors are responding to solve those issues at the root.
That’s what FBA means. If you want your business to generate consistently excellent results, make people and processes easier to manage, and help you scale the business to whatever size you choose – consider documenting, simplifying and getting your Core Processes “followed by all.”
Next Steps
- Download a free chapter of Traction, the book that reveals how to get your Core Processes followed by all
- Request a free 90-Minute Meeting with an EOS Implementer to get a clear picture of what it looks like to run your company on EOS.
