Many entrepreneurs are frustrated because they aren't getting what they want from their business. Most of them don't understand why they've hit the ceiling, and they're left spinning their wheels without gaining any traction.
Wondering why you aren't getting what you want from your business? It comes down to one or more of the following seven business problems.
You're Doing It All Yourself
If you're like most business owners, you have a hard time letting go of your business. When you first started, you had to do everything, because you were the only one to do it. But now that you have people who are accountable to various core processes, you need to let go and trust them to do the work they excel at.
You can't do it all. No one can. And the most successful entrepreneurs in the world are those who know what to let go of. Surround yourself with the best experts you can, and let them do what they do best.
You Have a Vision Problem
Entrepreneurs are visionaries by nature. They know exactly what they want to achieve, and they go for it. But they don't always do a great job of communicating that vision to others.
For your business to gain traction, you must constantly communicate your vision to everyone in your company, at all levels. Do it often, and do it in various ways. When you're tired of hearing yourself repeating your vision, that's probably the moment when your people are starting to pick up on it. Keep sharing it!
The EOS® Vision/Traction Organizer™ is your most valuable tool for capturing your vision, communicating it to the entire company, and setting a plan for achieving it.
You Have a People Problem
When it comes down to it, there are only two people problems you can have in your company – and chances are, you have both.
- Someone is in the wrong seat – They're a terrific fit for the company, because they share your values and fit your culture well. But they're not excelling in their position and they are underperforming in their job.
- They're the wrong person – They know their job and hit the ball out of the park. Performance isn't an issue, but their character is. If they're the wrong person, they don't share your company's core values and they are negatively impacting the company culture. If they aren't doing it already, they will soon be driving away good employees and customers.
Need to deal with a people problem, but don't know what to do? You don't want to fire someone if you don't need to, but there's a lot of truth to the saying, "hire slow, fire fast." The longer you wait to fire a wrong person, the greater the long-term damage to your company.
The EOS People Analyzer™ is designed to help you determine whether you have the right person in the right seat or not. Use this tool to analyze everyone in your organization, as a part of their quarterly reviews. If there's a people problem, that doesn't mean you need to fire anyone – it simply means that it's time to start using IDS™ to work through the issue until it's resolved.
You Don't Know Your Measurables
Many businesses track key performance indicators for the business, but often they don't know what those numbers are. Other businesses don't track any numbers at all, except perhaps sales revenue.
If you don't know your key numbers, you won't be able to reach your business goals. A core part of EOS is the practice of identifying a set of numbers that must be tracked every week to make sure you're on target to reach your company goals. Every department should have a scorecard that tracks key measurables, and every employee should have at least one number they need to reach. This way, you have a measurable way to know if each person in the organization is contributing to the company's goals.
You're Solving Symptoms, Not Issues
Problems in your business can be hard to deal with, because it means digging down to the root cause and looking at some messy truths about you, your people, or your company. Instead of getting to the root issue, many companies treat symptoms – and so the same problem keeps popping up again and again.
EOS helps you get to the root of the issue in a simple way, so that you're solving real issues for good. It's not always easy, but the IDS method is a proven tool that guides you through the process in a healthy way. Companies that implement EOS consistently rave about the number of issues they've finally been able to solve, for good.
You Don't Follow Your Core Processes
If you're feeling like your business lacks control or freedom, there's a good chance it's a core process issue. Your core processes drive your company. If they aren't documented and followed by everyone, your organization will run roughly and unevenly. You'll have inconsistent performance and a degree of chaos throughout the company.
Find consistency, control and freedom by documenting your core processes and getting them followed by everyone in your organization. There are three basic steps to this:
1. Identify your handful of core processes. These typically include:
- HR process
- Marketing process
- Sales process
- Operations processes
- Accounting process
- Customer-retension process
2. Document your core processes. Use a 20/80 approach – document only 20% of the steps that yield 80% of the results. Think high-level Cliff's Notes documentation, not a "how to" training manual.
3. Get your processes followed by all. Communicate, communicate, communicate! Retrain everyone, and keep them accountable for following their process.
Once your core processes are followed by all, you'll be amazed at the difference in your business.
You Aren't Executing
None of the best practices above will matter in your company if you aren't executing them properly. You need to establish discipline and accountability, and it comes by establishing Rocks and a Meeting Pulse™.
Rocks are the most imporant priorities that your company must make progress on in the next 90 days. The Meeting Pulse is your company's heartbeat. It helps establish the necessary rhythm for gaining the traction your company needs, by establishing weekly meetings that keep things moving forward and quarterly meetings that establish vision and direction.
Next Steps
If you're frustrated because you aren't getting what you want out of your business, EOS can help you find the consistency, results, and traction you've been looking for. You can break through that ceiling you've hit and achieve the next level of success.
- Download a free chapter of Traction, the book that shows you how to solve these 7 business problems.
- Order What The Heck Is EOS? for every employee in your company. Save 50% off the retail price when you order 20+ hardcover copies of the book from our publisher.
This post originally appeared on the GPS For Small Business Blog on July 26, 2017.
