In Chapter 6 of Traction, Gino Wickman shares ten “commandments” of a team that’s great at solving issues. Because solving an issue often requires one or more decisions to be made, they are also referred to as the Ten Commandments of Good Decision Making in the eBook, Decide! If you or your team are stuck and making little or no progress when solving issues, it’s time to assess whether you’re following these commandments.

If you’re like many entrepreneurs, you started your business with a great idea and did everything yourself. You generated sales, delivered your products or services, handled the finances, managed customer service and emptied the wastebaskets. As your business grew, did you fully remove yourself from most of these functions, replacing yourself with a more energetic, competent version of yourself? Did you begin with those things you weren’t good at and didn’t enjoy, or happened to be good at and didn’t enjoy? Did you “let go” once the new person was in place and established their competence?

Over the last 10 years, I’ve helped more than one hundred leadership teams implement the Entrepreneurial Operating System® in their companies. These entrepreneurs and teams all came to me for one simple reason – they weren’t getting what they wanted from their businesses. In our journey to clarify, simplify and achieve a company’s Vision, I’ve found that 80 percent of the time, one or more people change on the leadership team within the first two years.

Some people are great at avoiding conflict in the workplace. All you need to do is keep your mouth shut or yield to the strongest voice in the room. If I am describing you, I want you to consider how damaging that behavior is for both you and your team. I also hope to give you some simple, practical suggestions for becoming a healthier fighter.

In the last quarterly session with a client, the team reported record financials in the last 90 days. They exceeded their revenue and profit targets, and they completed over 90 percent of their rocks. By all estimations, they had every reason to celebrate. But when it came time to grade the quarter, they gave it a C+ / B–. Surprised by the low grade, I asked them to explore this a bit. What they discovered has the potential to change their company for years.