Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business

So I have been in business some 16 years. I am an expert in my field and even on the bleeding edge of the field over the last few years. I have no formal business education so I studied for years at the school of hard-knocks to get my MBA. I've read every book I could get my hand on. I applied as much as I could, but my business struggled to grow to the size I wanted and needed in order to do the level of business I wanted to do. I've read most of Michael Gerber's book based on the E-myth concept which I was certainly in. So for 5 to 10 years I worked on the business instead of in it. The big takeaway from all the E-myth books and even several E-myth Worldwide training I did. However as much as I understood the importance of processes and delegating and managing better I still struggled. Then I had a friend recommend I read Traction and the partner book Get A Grip. WOW! This stuff really made it all click. The years of business study are all now being applied in a simple and manageable way. In the first 30 days of being introduced to Traction, I read it, listened to the audio version twice and read Get A Grip and listened to half of the audio version currently. On top of that I started applying the strategy to my business. I have never been more focused and more clear about how to hit the big future goals I am going after. I know that over the next 50ish days (of Q4 year end) we will have this system up and running and my business will be in a place it has never been before… accurately predicting future projections, solving real problems and issues forever and growing at pace that we've never experienced before. I've read Good To Great a few times and you know really struggled with figuring out how a small business like mine could define and create the "right seats" so that we would understand how to attract and keep the "right people" in those seats. Although I didn't get this from Jim Collins book, the theory made sense. Implementation on the other hand was the challenge. Traction took the theory of Good To Great and made it applicable for me. Now granted I also am now working with EOS Worldwide to roll-out these strategies faster, but that is the thing… Traction is all about application. The book is titled Traction for a reason, reading opens your eye to more than just business theory, it also delivers the tools you need to get traction. At least for my company it seems to be. I have only been at this for 30-40 days and things are sick. I mean we are seriously getting TRACTION! I can't wait to see where we are at in 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 3 years, and 10 years. At this rate the future is looking pretty darn bright. If you are a small business owner or small CEO that is frustrated with your company and feels like you've done it all and wasted a ton of cash and time trying every business theory and concept that came along and have little to show for it, then you may want to read Traction. This is the best damn business book I have read EVER! Only because it is real world and it give you more then theory, it actually gives you the tools you need to run and manage your business, your people, your clients, your profits and even your personal life (if you're working like a dog and missing family time, this book will help you get control of your personal life as well)! I highly recommend this book to anyone running a business that feels out of control.

This is not a particularly entertaining book. You will find a lot of the ideas are not that new to you, and are similar to what a practical, business minded person will tell you. No ideas jumped out as shocking or exceptional. You may even call it boring. However, as I read it and the EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System began to crystallize, I realized that it is intended to be that way. It is an owner's manual for your business and owner's manuals are not designed to be entertaining. You will find multitudes of books available for pretty much every individual subject Gino covers, or as he calls them, the 6 Key Components of the EOS . But what I got out of the book was not that any of these ideas are new and stunning. His innovation is a system (EOS) that lets you apply a balance of these components to your business, and maintain them. My challenge has always been trying to figure out what I should be focusing on to strengthen in my business. Each book I read has a principle to focus on, but frankly it can get exhausting to try and apply each new thought experiment. But instead of giving you a bunch of quick fix hacks, this book gives you a way of reorganizing what you may very well already know, and create a framework that your business runs on. I plan on implementing the EOS in my business, and having this book be my reference point that I always keep laying on my desk. It will be my business instruction manual I go back to when uncertainty hits. My leadership team will review chapters of this book in monthly meetings, and assess how we can better adhere to the system. Instead of looking at every new business book as a potential life saver I will apply only what makes sense and fits into this framework. In a summary I do not know if the EOS, is the best system for your or my business. But I do know it is A system, and it is clearly articulated, practical, and complete. This is way more than any other business book has been able to offer me. I look forward to reading the other books by Gino, and gaining some Traction in my business!

Are you a growth-orientated entrepreneur who owns a small to mid-size organization? ($2 million to $50 million in revenue with 10 to 250 employees) Then some of these problems should be familiar? - Lack of control over your time, the market and your company. - You are frustrated with your employees, customers, vendors or partners - You are not all on the same page. - Not enough profit. Growth has stopped - no matter what you do. - Nothing is working: You have tried various strategies and quick fix remedies. You're spinning your wheels, and you need traction to move again. If that describes you, then the author invites you to join him on a journey to better control your business and burst through the ceiling - to have better balance, better results, more fun, and more profitability. Briefly, his Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) has six key components that go right to the roots of the six most important aspects of the business and strengthens them, eliminating the symptomatic issues by solving the real ones. The principles are not new. What is dramatically new is the integration of these best practices into a complete system for organising and operating the business. It takes two to tango. The author provides the framework and a step by step guide. You and your management must provide the energy, the orchestration and implementation. In summary, "successful businesses operate with a crystal clear vision that is shared by everyone. They have the right people in the right seats. They have a pulse on their operations by watching and managing a handful of numbers on a weekly basis. They identify and solve issues promptly in an open an honest environment. They document their processes and ensure that everyone follows them. They establish priorities for each employee and ensure that a high level of trust, communication, and accountability exists on each team." This book is practical, down to earth, and concise. It does not only provide the why and the what, but also the how. There may be differing opinions about what could or should be added to the system. However, on balance The Entrepreneur Operating System is comprehensive and solid. While the book is a 'do it yourself' manual you could add significant value to its implementation by using an objective third party to assist with the strategic review. This person need not be an industry expert. You just need someone with a good business brain and an objective view of the issues being raised. This could prove the difference between lots of chat and real strategic change.

I read Traction in April 2010 and started applying it to my consulting business. We are an information technology consulting firm, with 10 consultants (including me) working on around 5 projects at any given time. Applying the EOS has brought about a big change in the way I approach my business. Our situation is typical of other consulting firms: 99% of the energy in the firm is spent on serving our clients, so not much attention is paid to "working on the business." Rather than write a review of the book, I think some readers might benefit from seeing the practical application of the EOS model described in the book: I did the Organizational Checkup candidly and scored 53%. Here's the status of the other areas: 1. Vision: Complete. Has been reviewed and updated with the input of the team. The V/TO is a very useful tool. 2. People: In progress. The Get It / Want It / Capacity assessment has been completed (with the team). The right person/right seat is a challenge because currently one person is occupying most of the seats. The book has given us the framework for right person/right seat and we are determining how to apply it without asking our team to overcommit themselves. 3. Data: We've created our initial scorecard, and we jointly reviewed it in May and June. The next monthly review is in mid-July, and we will be adding more metrics. More info here on my blog post: [...] 4. Issues: We had an external consultant spend time with us in June to observe our operations and provide us a candid assessment. As a result, we've got a list of issues and recommendations. The implementation of the major items is not yet certain. We have to face the choice between focusing on client work versus working on the business. Some of the issues won't be addressed until I remove myself substantially from client work and act like a CEO. 5. Processes: We were already fairly strong in the processes that affect our clients (project delivery, proposals, estimating, recruiting etc.). Some of our internal processes are being improved as a result of having worked on the scorecard. 6. Traction: We're not there yet (as of early July 2010). We need to make the tough choices (and accompanying investment in the roles) before we can have proper accountability, communication and teamwork for executing our plan and achieving our goals. Our focus remains on doing innovative things for our clients, and I believe that's the right thing to do. It will not be practical to hire a new CEO. So, I will be stepping away from billable roles, and "working on the business instead of in the business." Overall, I highly recommend this book to any business owner who wants a frank assessment of what's going well and what can be done better. This book is like a mirror. In our case, it is motivational and will help provide a better experience for our team members and clients.

Good book for business owners and leadership teams.

GREAT PRODUCT.

This book gives you step by step instructions that are scalable to the point where you can have adults take over the mess you have been making trying to run a business on your own. I am looking forward to some consistency.

This is a very well written book that holds some complex matters (visioning, strategic planning, key performance indicators, etc.) in a very simple model that will help any leader diagnose and redesign their organization. Wickman's companion book to this is "Get A Grip" and is a narrative of someone going through the process that is outlined in "Traction." Personally, I need a book that gives me the pieces of a process with clarity and in a manner that I can consider using in my business. "Traction" does this, and how! The book, which is nicely linked to the material on the website, lays out: a. the six key business components that must be strengthened and developed b. the process by which you put the pieces together in the right order to redesign your work c. a tool box with actual things to do, not ideas, that will improve each of the 6 business components There is a little language that you'll have to learn, but, that language does indeed form the culture. "EOS" is short for the Entrepreneurial Operating System. It's explained very well on their website. Idea: before you buy the book, go there and see for your self. I think you'll find this system compelling enough to buy the book. I bought both. If you have struggled with running your business, you'll get some great ideas here. The thought is linear and clear. From the starting process of a "focus day" with your leadership team, the two day retreat (2 separate days that are 30 days apart), the quarterly management, the weekly meetings, and greater ACCOUNTABILITY from employees. Of course, if you have the resources, my company does not, you can have one of their experts come in and do this for you. But, even if money is no object you'd want to know this before you started down that path and not just assume this will work if someone else does it for you. Go to the website. Read the book. It will be a great investment even if you don't use the whole system there will be brilliant ideas you can adapt now.

Ce livre permet de bien décomposer les différents blocs à (re-)construire pour relancer l’entreprise. Je pense que toutes les entreprises, même les très petites, ont beaucoup à gagner de ce système.

This book was highly recommended to me. I read it a few times and now and I'm using its recommendations to improve all my foundational business processes. Many years ago I read The E-Myth Re-visited. It was quite eye-opening. Basically explaining why most small businesses fail. Traction introduces EOS ( Entrepreneurial Operating System) and showed me how I could run a small business well and avoid those common traps described in the E-Myth. EOS is a fabulous concept. At the same time it's kind of simple, common sense stuff. But when pulled together and applied across all departments and employees it really does help business run smoother. We started integrating EOS quite early in our growth. We figured it's better to start on the right track, with the right processes, as we introduce more staff so they understand their place and expectations right from the start. Our staff love it. We love it. Reading Traction is what started that ball rolling. Now I look back on other places I worked at and think about how much better those jobs would have been if the company had been built on EOS principals. Seriously a great read!

Great book!

Gino Wickman é certamente um grande estudioso das melhores práticas de gestão do mercado. Traction é um livro que apresenta um modelo altamente estruturado de gestão. Achei que o material faz uma curadoria boa das melhores práticas e foca em muitas das coisas que acredito. Por outro lado achei a abordagem um pouco tradicional demais, voltada para mercados de baixa variabilidade e pouco permissiva em relação às capacidade de aprendizagem e adaptação. O modelo é fundamentado em conceitos consagrados, como visão, valores, prestação de contas, reuniões, scorecards e por aí vai. É um livro da geração vamos colocar as pessoas certas nos locais certos, estabelecer metas, medir, acompanhar, formalizar processos, dar uma visão de longo prazo e cobrar a prática dos nossos valores. Dei 4 estrelas mais pelo que ficou de fora da obra do que pelo ficou de dentro. Considerei Traction uma obra bem curada para ensinar sobre a gestão tradicional. Não a considero necessária nem suficiente para a gestão de um negócio, mas pode ser de grande valia para colocar "ordem na casa".

En un gran libro!, este te ayuda a unir todo ese conocimiento que has adquirido anteriormente y hace que todo tenga sentido. Recomiendo leer “ Good to great por Jim Collins (mencionado también en el libro)” , para comprender mejor la “vision”.