Some time ago, a client of mine had a ridiculously long Issues List that was getting out of control. They never seemed to be making progress on resolving their issues - in fact, their issues seemed to be exploding!

EOS^® promises to help you solve your company's issues for good. Over time, you should be seeing fewer issues and gaining new ground as an organization. But what if your Issues List isn't working? It seems like you're rehashing the same issues over and over again, and frankly the Issues List seems to grow rather than shrink.

You've got Issues List Fatigue.

Imagine you arrive at the office one Monday morning. You flip on your laptop, go get a cup of coffee, and come back to your desk – only to discover the blue screen of death. Your laptop is completely unresponsive and you can't do a thing because your operating system (OS) has crashed.

Without an OS, your laptop can't function. And without an operating system for your company, your organization can't function, either. Like your computer, your business needs an operating system to organize the way the organization functions. An OS ensures smooth communication between your leadership team and all your employees.

I’ve noticed a pattern recently. In meeting with several leadership teams for the first time, I always ask the questions, “What do you want from your business? What’s your big goal?” And lately I’ve heard the same answer from business owners at three different businesses: "I want a business that can run itself. I want to be on vacation for a month and have no one notice!"

But how can you build a business that runs itself when your company has hit the ceiling?

"I'm not sure I'm the right person to run this company."

As I started the EOS^® process with a marketing agency, the CEO told his leadership team that he wasn't sure that he was the right person to run the business. He gave everyone full permission to speak up at any time during their exercise if they thought he wasn't the right person.

It was clear that he was anxious. He wanted to do the right thing for the team and the business, and he didn't want any elephants in the room.

This CEO was unusual—not because of his doubts, but because of his honesty.

I have a client with two brothers on the leadership team, who disagreed about how to handle employee-challenge situations. The company has three locations with multiple shifts. Frustrations among midlevel managers were brewing when one of the leaders came across as harsh and cold over something that others considered to be a small issue. The trouble was that the leader didn't have an awareness of how his actions affected the midlevel managers. They were frustrated, hurt, and demotivated by this repetitive behavior.