EOS Worldwide Blog | Tips & Advice for Entrepreneurs and Leaders of Growing Companies

Three Impactful Words

Written by Gino Wickman | July 9, 2013

We've just passed the halfway point of 2013, and here are a couple of thoughts to help you finish the year strong. The average growth rate across all U.S. small businesses last year was 8 percent, according to Libby Bierman, an analyst at Sageworks. I'm proud to say that my clients' average growth rate for that same period was 18 percent. You might be interested to know that there is a specific reason for this, and it's three words.

At EOS Worldwide, we are obsessed with these three words, and we apply them to everything we do internally as well as externally with our clients to achieve the results that we achieve.

I urge you to ponder these three words during your next clarity break and consider how applying them to your organization might have an impact. They are as follows:

Real

People who value being real are people who are authentic and surround themselves with people who are also genuine and authentic. They lower their guards, are comfortable being themselves with no facades, are capable of being vulnerable, and admit their weaknesses. This typically leads to an environment that is more open and honest, where things move faster.

The opposite are people who subscribe to the philosophy of "never let 'em see you sweat." They pretend that they are bulletproof, their guards are always up, and they feel that they always must have the answers. This typically leads to a more artificial environment, where things are bureaucratic and political.

Are you being real?

Simple

People who value simplicity are people that believe less is more, love reducing things to their bare essentials, and love rooting out and eliminating complexity. They believe in the 20/80 rule, subscribing to a philosophy of only doing the high-gain 20 percent activity that achieves 80 percent of the results and saying "no" more than they say "yes." This typically leads to getting more done in less time with less effort and higher profits.

The opposite are people who are highly intellectual, love hyper-analyzing everything, love trying everything, love complexity, and are offended by simplicity. This can lead to organizational indigestion and analysis paralysis.

Are you keeping it simple?

Results

People who value results are people who don't waste time. All of their actions are in alignment with their goals. They make sure that everything they are doing (meetings, conversations, action items, and projects) are in sync with the objective. This typically leads to a high level of achievement and satisfaction.

The opposite are people who are afraid to measure, fear accountability, and tend to go through the motions. This typically leads to finger pointing, mediocrity, and "everyone gets a trophy" environments.

Are you focused on results?

I hope being real, keeping things simple, and focusing on results gives you something to think about for your organization--and life, for that matter. Let us know if we can help.

We are at the halfway point! Finish strong and outpace the national average. Fill out the organizational checkup to make sure you are firing on all cylinders.

Thank you for all of your help and support. I'm excited to announce that we now have over 50 world-class EOS Implementers all over North America. If you know of anyone who would make a great EOS Implementer, please have them watch this video.

Stay focused,

Gino