--- title: Five Business Lessons Every Leadership Team Needs to Learn (Part 2) description: There are a lot of surprises in business. This is part 2 in a 2-part series of the 5 most surprising things about business that leadership teams need to learn. image: http://www.eosworldwide.com/hubfs/Blog_Featured_Images/stormtrooper-1343877_640.jpg --- - [2020 EOS Conference](https://eosconference.com/) - Request a Speaker - [Become an EOS Implementer](https://eosi.eosworldwide.com) - [Find an EOS Implementer](https://eosimplementers.com/) - Contact - [**Login to Base Camp**](https://bc.eosworldwide.com) - [Base Camp](https://www.eosworldwide.com/base-camp-overview) - [Blog](https://info.eosworldwide.com/blog) [MENU](https://info.eosworldwide.com/blog/five-business-lessons-part-2#sidr) - What is EOS? - [EOS Model](https://eosworldwide.hs-sites.com/eos-model) - [EOS Process](https://eosworldwide.hs-sites.com/eos-process) - [EOS Toolbox](https://eosworldwide.hs-sites.com/eos-toolbox) - [EOS History & Team](https://eosworldwide.hs-sites.com/eos-story-team) - [EOS Implementers](https://eosworldwide.hs-sites.com/what-is-an-eos-implementer) - Why EOS Works - [Why EOS Works](https://eosworldwide.hs-sites.com/why-eos-works) - [Real World Results](https://eosworldwide.hs-sites.com/testimonials) - [EOS Books](https://www.eosworldwide.com/traction-library) - [EOS Tools](https://www.eosworldwide.com/eos-tools) - [Base Camp](https://www.eosworldwide.com/base-camp-overview) - [**Get Started**](https://eosworldwide.hs-sites.com/get-started) - [Find an EOS Implementer](https://www.eosimplementers.com) - [Become an Implementer](https://eosi.eosworldwide.com) - [Contact](https://eosworldwide.hs-sites.com/contact) - [Base Camp Login](https://basecamp.eosworldwide.com) - [Blog](http://blog.eosworldwide.com) - [Request a Speaker](https://www.eosworldwide.com/book-a-speaker) - [2020EOS Conference](https://eosconference.com/) Close ![Header-Placeholder.jpg](https://info.eosworldwide.com/hs-fs/hubfs/eos-blog2.jpg?width=1678&name=eos-blog2.jpg "Header-Placeholder.jpg") ## EOS Worldwide Blog Advice and Insight for Entrepreneurs and Leadership Teams ##### Search the Blog : # [Five Business Lessons Every Leadership Team Needs to Learn (Part 2)](https://info.eosworldwide.com/blog/five-business-lessons-part-2) Written by[Ken DeWitt](https://info.eosworldwide.com/blog/author/ken-dewitt) on January 16, 2017 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [Business](https://info.eosworldwide.com/blog/topic/business) ![Row of Lego stormtroopers](http://www.eosworldwide.com/hubfs/Blog_Featured_Images/stormtrooper-1343877_640.jpg "Row of Lego stormtroopers")Running a business is a wild ride and there are a lot of surprises along the way. But I think the thing that surprises me most is that I have learned more about business and leadership in the last five years than I did in the previous 30 years. This is part two in a two-part series of the five most surprising things about business that leadership teams need to learn. (You can [read part one here](http://blog.eosworldwide.com/blog/five-business-lessons-part-1).) ## 4) There’s No Such Thing As a “Unique” Business I hear, “But my business is unique,” all the time, usually from people using it as an excuse for why the expert advice they asked for won’t work for them. The idea that only a specialist in your industry can help you is a limiting belief that could prevent you from making any progress, ever. You may have an unusual product/service/business model, or cater to an obscure industry, but these things only account for 10-30% of your business. 70-90% of running a business is the same run-of-the-mill stuff for everybody. All business operations require the same fundamentals: - A **clear vision** of who you are where you want to go - The **right people** to help you get there - The **right data** to measure your progress - The ability to **solve issues** well - Adherence to **standardized processes** to achieve consistent results - Creating **traction to propel** your organization forward through discipline and accountability ## 5) Most of Us Know What to Do, We Just Don’t Do It A client once said to me, “Some of this stuff you’re teaching us is 20 years old.” To which I replied, “Actually, it is hundreds of years old.” The principles of good leadership and successful business are timeless. They’ve always been the same, and we’ve all heard them before. (The fact that EOS® puts them all together in a cohesive system like nothing before is a topic for another post.) But people have always been basically the same, too. We tend to want a magic wand that’s going to make all our problems disappear in an instant. If a “silver bullet” remedy doesn’t work, we look for something else that’s supposed to deliver results overnight, even though we know the problem can’t be solved in a day. ## What's Next for Your Business?  One of my personal coaches once taught me, “Ken, once you turn your problem over to a proven system, that problem is solved – it’s just a matter of time before you see the results.” With 2017 just begun, it’s a good time to think about where you want to be at the end of the year. Do you want to end 2017 with the same problems you have now? Will you be OK with just surviving for another year, or are you going to commit to embracing the real solutions that will make your business thrive? ## Next Steps - Download a [free chapter of *Traction*](http://www.eosworldwide.com/traction), the book that shows you how to get what you want from your company - Check the strength of your company with the [EOS® Organizational Checkup](http://eosworldwide.com/dl-tools/organizational-checkup/). *This article originally appeared on the [DeWitt LLC blog](http://www.dewittllc.com/five-surprising-things-business/) on December 14, 2016.* --- More Blog Posts: ← [Five Business Lessons Every Leadership Team Needs to Learn (Part 1)](http://blog.eosworldwide.com/blog/five-business-lessons-part-1) | [3 Signs a Visionary Leader Is Getting in the Way](http://blog.eosworldwide.com/blog/visionary-leader-getting-in-the-way) → ![eos-tools-dark.jpg](http://www.eosworldwide.com/hubfs/eos-tools-dark.jpg "eos-tools-dark.jpg") ## Unlock The Toolbox. 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