APRIL 2020

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.

~ Scoreboard~

STEP 1: Spend an hour with your leadership team. Imagine you’re on a desert island somewhere. None of you can talk to anyone, access e-mail, or talk on the phone. All you have is a piece of paper with a handful of numbers on it. These numbers must allow you to have an absolute pulse on your business. What are all of the numbers that must be on that piece of paper? As a rule of thumb, you should end up with five to 15 numbers—hopefully closer to five. There is such a thing as too much information, so keep it simple.

STEP 2: In the left-hand column, list who is accountable for each of the numbers. Only one person is ultimately accountable for each, and it’s usually the person heading up that major function.

STEP 3: Decide and fill in what the expected goal is for the week in each category.

STEP 4: Put next week’s date in the first date column in preparation for filling in your Scorecard next week.

STEP 5: Decide who is accountable for collecting the numbers and fill in the Scorecard every week for the leadership to review.

STEP 6: Use it! You must review your Scorecard every week to ensure that you’re on track for your vision. The real magic of using a Scorecard is not limited to managing it on a weekly basis. You will soon see 13 weeks (three months) at a glance, which enables you to see patterns and trends. ---------Don’t forget to check out the 3 Rules of Thumb in the book.

Wickman, Gino. Traction (p. 116-119). BenBella Books, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Personal Tips:

~ Work through email from the bottom up ~

I use this strategy daily and although it doesn’t always happen, I try to respond to emails at the same time each day. "Working on my oldest, unread emails creates a sense of urgency to reply sooner. It's been the most effective strategy I've used to clearing my inbox."

--Guy Marion, founder and CEO of Brightback, a customer retention automation software company used by subscription businesses which recently launched out of stealth with more than $10 million in venture funding

Tools & Tech I am using:

Reading

There is a great book by Chris Brady called “Turn the Page.” The book outlines how to really read a book and get things out of it. Most people have always just read how they have been taught, left to right, top to bottom, and so on. There is more to it and your life of reading has much in store if you pick up this book.

            Electronically, I use the Bible app “ESV” and Audible for my electronic media. Other than that, I prefer to put pen and pencil to paper to devote the proper time and study a good book deserves.

            Speed reading is a good practice to learn. There are many free resources out there to study, but the book above is a good start. Remember, leaders are readers, and the more that you can devour, apply, and help others the better you will be able to serve.

Life Skills:

~Personal Vision (What on Earth am I here for?)~

“What on Earth am I here for?”  Wrong Question – meaning is not to be found inside ourselves – “What do my parents, friends, family, society need from me?  How can I best help others? Jesus Christ once said, “Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.”

What drives you?  Guilt?  Resentment?  Fear?  Materialism?  Approval?  Social comparison?

The Arbinger Institute distinguishes between two forms of emotional living – “In the box” vs “Out of the box”.  “In the box” is reactive – your emotions are reactions to world and people around you.  If someone is late to your meeting, you are angry.  Out of the Box is that you are proactive about emotion – you choose the emotion that best serves the current moment.  You don’t react to people, but seek to understand what is happening in their life, what they are seeking, what they are lacking.  

Henry David Thoreau observed that people live lives of “quiet desperation,” but today a better description is aimless distraction. Many people are like gyroscopes, spinning around at a frantic pace but never going anywhere.

We are products of our past, but do not have to be prisoners of it.

George Bernard Shaw wrote, “This is the true joy of life: the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clot of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.”

Do you have a clear understanding of your values?  Have you spent some time reflecting on what is important to you?  Who are your role models that have lived these values in a strong way?  (What do you really want?)

Why do many cancer survivors look back on the cancer as a gift? – they live the rest of their lives with a true understanding of how short a time we have and what is really important in the time we have.  The unimportant drops away and leaves a powerful clarity and focus. Communication in concise terms of your personal, company, project, goal vision is way of life.

 Notable quotes: They are italicized above.

Malachi 3:6

6 “I the LORD do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.

Numbers 23:19

19 God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

Psalm 18:2

2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Something I want you to know:

Use a scorecard, read well, and determine your personal vision.