What did the Olympic Games in London teach us about team leadership and the importance of maintaining strong leadership through business coaching in order to be successful? Plenty! The Summer Olympics captivated millions around the world, as teams competed for the prized gold medals. Take a hard look at the teams and individuals who competed in your favorite events. Olympic competitors are among the top athletes in the world, yet they didn’t get to compete in the Olympics just because they were the top in their sport. Each of the tremendously talented athletes had to rely on the hard work of a strong team leadership with a common, focused goal, working together to make it to the top.

How is your business doing so far this year? Are you satisfied you are doing all you can do to insure your top line will grow or your bottom line won't shrink?

As I began to read this book, I was reminded of a book co-authored by Chip and Dan Heath in which they explain why a few ideas "stick" but most don't. It can also be said about business initiatives in that some have "traction" but most don't. That is Gino Wickman's core thesis. As he explains, most entrepreneurs experience one or (probably) more of five common frustrations: lack of control, underperforming workers, insufficient (if any) profits, limited growth potential, and dysfunctional operations. In a phrase, they can't "get a grip" on their business. What they need is what Wickman characterizes as a "holistic, self-sustaining system that addresses the six aspects of a business": Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, and Traction. What he offers is the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) that, if "mastered" (i.e. installed and then maintained properly), will enable business leaders to integrate the six components of their business "into a powerful framework that will help [them] gain traction and realize the vision [they've] always had for [their] company."

Traction, is a fantastic resource for business owners (one person businesses and up) who want to understand the PROCESS side of their business. The tag line for the book is "get a grip on your business", which is exactly what this book is written to help you do. Guiding you through a process to think through the stages of HOW a business works and apply that to your own business. Like many business books, you are thinking about the parts of your business: vision, marketing, plans, obstacles, etc. But the difference in this book, is thinking about these concepts from a SYSTEMS approach. This is invaluable and the glue that binds many concepts together. Many business owners have many of the ingredients of their business (vision, mission, goals, etc.) but struggle to know how to implement all the elements in a system that is sustainable. The traction concepts help to put it all together in a process that supports the owner to stay focused, clear and positioned to move forward.

The acronym “S.M.A.R.T.” is a filter to create goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. Each is important to setting goals but it’s the last one, “timely” that creates the urgency necessary to achieve a goal. And, nothing ensures timeliness like a deadline. Setting and then meeting business deadlines creates traction, and traction is the real test of an effective, cohesive leadership team. Without traction people are just spinning their wheels.