DECEMBER 2019

Business Tips:

TRACTION (EOS – Entrepreneurial Operating System)

Our management is implementing a new system called “Traction”. It will provide direction over the next year through a wonderful system. We look forward to sharing it with you here. We hope you will take the journey with us.

~ EOS – What is it?~

Its an operating system. That system is a way a company organizes all of its human energy. It’s the way that the people in the organization meet, solve problems, plan, prioritize, follow processes, communicate, measure, structure, clarify roles, lead, and manage. EOS is made up of 6 key components. They are vision, people, data, process, issues, and traction. Each of these components have tools to help the business stay and keep on track. We intend to implement these tools in order to be and become better. We would like to welcome you to the journey by inviting you to read What the Heck Is EOS?: A Complete Guide for Employees in Companies Running on EOS – By Gino Wickman & Tom Bouwer. If you are reading this and you come and ask me for the book, I will make sure you get a copy. I look forward to the visit from you.

Personal Tips:

~ Resolution 13 ~

RESOLVED LEGACY – To reverse the current of decline in your field of mastery

I know that a true legacy leaves the world a better place than I found it.

The Decline of Civilizations – what we are facing

Why do civilizations rise, decline, and fall? Civilizations as diverse as the Sumerians, Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, and Chinese all declined, eventually falling under their own weight. Is decline the natural condition of life, with growth being a temporary leadership anomaly in the march of history? Arnold Toynbee, an English historian, authored A Study of History, a multi volume classic on the history of world civilizations, in which he details the rise and decline of twenty-three civilizations. Despite detecting uniform patterns of disintegration in each civilization, Toynbee insisted that leaders have a moral responsibility to end the cycle of decline.

Toynbee reserved the terms “challenge and response” for major threats and actions that impacted the well-being of the entire population. “Challenge” threatened the very survival of the existing system. “Response” would range from inaction to major change in the living conditions of individuals as well as the group. It could embody new technology, social organization, and economic activities, or a combination of various factors. “Response” was never predictable, and its outcome would only be known over time. This was the risk humans took—resulting in success or failure.

even the most successful leadership examples will not last forever. Regardless of how strong a leadership team, an organization, or a civilization appears to be, in due time, it will fall. The goal of a leader is to create a culture (current) of progress that can extend the life of his organization for as long as possible. Eventually, when leadership is lacking for a few successive generations, all progress reverses itself. Even so, this is not intended to depress potential leaders; instead, it’s intended to help leaders identify the forces working against all human progress in order to overcome them. These forces of decline can be conquered and have sometimes been overcome for centuries at a time.

The Five Laws of Decline (FLD): 1. Sturgeon’s law - This law applies to nearly everything, but it’s meaning to leadership is that 10 percent of any typical group are leaders and 90 percent are followers. 2. Bastiat’s law - 90 percent of people will do as little as possible if given an opportunity, while the 10 percent will be driven to despair because they aren’t rewarded for their productive efforts. The only proven way to combat Bastiat’s law is to develop, score, and reward performance. 3. Gresham’s law - Getting the right people on the bus and in the right seats is the only way to ensure the 90 percent do not infiltrate and eventually take over the company. What is rewarded will increase; conversely, what isn’t rewarded will decrease. 4. Law of diminishing returns (LDR) - when a certain point of production is reached, the returns begin to decrease and continue to decrease as further production proceeds, assuming all other variables are held constant. 5. Law of inertia - A good way to illustrate this is to take a group of people and have them run in one direction in a pool. When the current is flowing briskly, have them change directions. The group will be carried by the current even though they are working hard to run in the opposite direction. Leaders must overcome cultural inertia if they plan on turning around an organization. So what do we do with these things fighting against us? Leaders determine to get better and fight back.

A Leadership Legacy -  What is a true legacy? A person’s true legacy, one that will stand the test of time, it is living the thirteen resolutions and sharing them with the next generation. The objective is to provide an environment, a culture, for others to “school” themselves and build the leaders of tomorrow. Leaders who build the thirteen resolutions into their lives are able to model the standard of excellence from which newer leaders can learn. This helps every leader gain strength and confidence for his life’s mountain climb. Successful people, the legacy builders, refuse to place people on mountaintops; instead, they build bridges at every chasm on the mountain trail, helping the next generation advance. Legacy builders, through their tireless efforts to overcome the FLD, provide a positive current and teach how to maintain it by modeling the thirteen resolutions to others. In reality, the biggest gift a generation can give to the next generation is a leadership legacy. A leader’s example and teachable moments used in mentoring the next generation on how to maintain, if not increase, the positive growth current are more valuable than any of the temporary perks of money, fame, or power. WE must fight for liberty. Spiritual, Political, and Economic liberty must be set free.

Woodward, Orrin. RESOLVED: 13 Resolutions for LIFE. Kindle Edition.

. Life Skills:

Faith, Family, Fitness, Finances, Friends, Fun, Following, Freedom; we call these the 8F’s in life.

Many of these categories can tell one where their priorities are in life by measuring the time one would spend in one of the above categories. I know we don’t have it all figured out, but we have a lot of great sources that speak into these items and we welcome your comments. Please feel free to drop us a line concerning any of them.

THE DAILY DOZEN – THANK - Learn to give thanks and be grateful every day

This year we are going to use this concept to explain 1 word per month that if made into a habit, we believe your life will, no doubt, improve.

Notable quotes: They are italicized above.

Something I want you to know:

Ask about EOS, learn to leave a legacy, and give thanks!

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!