How Issue Processing Defines Your Company through EOS Implementation (2023)

Sorry, But...

In the period from mid-October until mid-February, EOS Implementers are immersed in what we call "Annual Season", the time of year when we lead many of our clients through their Two-Day Annual Planning Sessions. A major component of the Annual Planning Session is working on the health and well-being of the Leadership Team.

It is also a time for me to reflect on the healthy – and less healthy – behaviors I've seen over the years I have been an EOS Implementer. I've started calling one of these less healthy behaviors the "Sorry But".

This behavior is particularly poignant for me, because of some important feedback I got from a mentor many years ago. She told me an apology ends with "sorry", followed by a period. Then silence. It doesn't end with "sorry" followed by a comma, then "but……….".

The Sorry But often happens after someone is called out for out-of-bounds behavior. Maybe it's a disrespectful word or phrase issued during the heat of battle as the team works through an issue or situation. The person who is the object of that comment feels unvalued or disrespected. If that happens on a Leadership Team and isn't address and resolved, it erodes trust across the entire team.

When called out for hurtful behaviors, Sorry Butters often are quick to apologize. At first, it seems like we are hearing a sincere apology that will allow the team to move forward in a healthy way. Until we hear the Sorry But.

It might sound like this: "Yes, sometimes I get emotional and I say things I shouldn't. I never should have said that in that way. Really, I am working on it and trying to do better. Thank you for calling me out, you are helping me. I'm really sorry. But, the only reason I reacted that way is that you………"

A classic Sorry But.

Ironically, people who issue the most Sorry Buts often consider themselves to be very open and vulnerable. "Listen, I know I'm not perfect", they say. "I'm always admitting my short-comings, and I'm always quick to apologize for my mistakes." Except those admissions and apologies aren't sincere. They are Sorry Buts.

What they don't realize is that a Sorry But isn't vulnerability and it isn't an apology. It is a back-handed justification. And what the recipient of the Sorry But hears is "Sorry, not sorry". Rather than helping soothe the original wound, it actually re-opens the wound….and pours in a little salt. And that has a very detrimental effect on Trust across the entire Leadership Team.

Truly vulnerable people learn how to apologize sincerely. As a mentor once told this reformed Sorry Butter many years ago, "Sorry" should be followed by a period. Then silence.

Why Are You Talking?

One of my favorite parts of being an EOSImplementer is facilitating my clients through IDS (Identify-Discuss-Solve),the tool we use to address issues at their root so they go away forever. I facilitate or observe IDS sessions with myclients in our Quarterly Pulsing Sessions and on Day Two of our Two-Day AnnualPlanning Session.

This gives me an opportunity to help themhone their IDS skills, which are crucial to moving their business forward. As I facilitate IDS sessions with aLeadership Team (or observe while they facilitate themselves) I sometimesremind them of an important question:

“Why are you talking?”

At first glance this might seem like asomewhat brash rhetorical question with the message “please be quiet”. But that is decidedly NOT the point.

“Why are you talking” is a questioneveryone should ask themselves reflectively, honestly and frequently. In an IDS session, there really is only onereason for someone to be talking: to help bring the current issue toresolution. Any discussion that ishelping us down that path is valuable. Any discussion that isn’t getting us closer to a “Solve” is not.

When describing highly effective IDSsessions, I sometimes refer to the Question to Statement Ratio. That is, how much of our interaction is inthe form of questions designed to surface key information and find a solution,and how much is simply sharing information which may or may not be focused on (andmight even be distracting us from) finding a resolution.

That isn’t to say statements don’t havevalue, they very often do. But only ifthey are relevant to the issue at hand.

For instance, I sometimes find a team thathas essentially solved an issue continuing to share information and opinionsabout why that is the right solution. While emotionally comforting, that discussion consumes time that couldbe better spent moving on to the next issue.

Other times, they share experiences or divedeep into intricate details that are tangential to solving the issue. At the least, it delays the team in getting toa Solve. At worst, it re-directs theteam’s focus to a completely different topic, diverting the attention (andtime) of the group from the issue at hand. My clients often refer to this as“squirreling” (think of the dog that sees a squirrel and bolts after it, losingfocus on everything else that matters).

In effective IDS, every question orstatement is focused on the higher purpose of the discussion: getting to aSolve. So effective Leaders engage IDS while asking themselves an importantquestion:

“Why are you talking”?

Letting Go of the Vine

In our first session with a new client,Focus Day, we tell the story of a hiker who takes a perilous fall and ends upclinging precariously to a vine. Thepoint of the story is that you'll be hanging precariously forever until youfind a way to let go of that vine. "Letting Go of the Vine" becomes a metaphor for delegation: ourwillingness to let go of things that just aren't a good use of our time.

I hit this point again later in the EOSProcess when I teach a tool called "Delegate and Elevate". The tool helps Leaders identify those thingsthat are on their plate but would be better delegated to someone else, so thoseLeaders can maximize the value they provide to the organization.

Sometimes Leaders I work with give me allthe reasons they can't let those things go. Sometimes those reasons are legitimate. But sometimes the big barrier issimply the Leader's willingness to Let Go of the Vine.

"They can't do it as well as I can!"is a popular excuse I hear. My answer isalways the same:

"So what?"

If someone else can do it 90% as well asyou, or 80% or even 70%, what will happen? Will you lose customers? Will youlose money? Will your businessfail? Often as not, it doesn't need tobe perfect ("perfect" defined as however well you do it).

Part of the problem is that we've all beentold a terrible lie all our lives: "If you want something done right youhave to do it yourself". Not onlyis that not true, it is a recipe for a miserable life.

A business simply can't scale if itsleaders are bogged down in menial tasks that prevent them from getting to moreimportant work. So I implore Leaders todecide how good is "good enough"? Where do you set the bar? All you need to do is find someone who has theability to get over that bar, and spend enough time with that person to teachthem how to do it.

"That will take longer than if I justdo it myself!" I then hear. Perhapsthat is true….the first time. But if itis something you do all the time, then that training is an investment in YOURfuture. Because the second time thatperson will do better, and will need less of your help to do it. And the thirdtime will go even better. Soon they willbe doing it as well as you could – and you won't be involved at all.

Moreover, that task which is a mundaneannoyance for you may be a stretch assignment for the person you delegate to,which may excite and motivate them while giving them the opportunity to grow.

This is why "Delegate" is one ofthe Five Leadership AbilitiesTM we teach and stress in EOS. But delegation only works when Leaders arewilling to Let Go of the Vine. WhatVines should YOU be letting go of?

Structure First, People Second

One of the most critical things for any business is creatinga Great Team. In EOS, the PeopleComponent is all about building a great team, what we call "getting theRight People in the Right Seats". In a recent post, I talked about cultural fit – what we call "RightPeople". Today, I'd like to talkabout how we get those Right People into the Right Seats. This brings up what a question that should beobvious, but is often overlooked. That is, how do we know exactly what theRight Seats are ?

You see, when leaders gauge how well an employee isperforming, the yardstick for measurement is often based upon the way that particularperson does that particular job, not whether that person is doing what thecompany actually needs out of that seat!

Every leader wants to put the right person to put into everyseat. But the reality is that once theydo, they often shape the seat to fit the person. So when I ask a Leadership Team "what doyou need out of the person in this seat", they often begin by telling mewhat the current owner of the seat does. But that isn't the question I asked. I asked "what do you need out of the person in that seat?". And it may or may not be what thecurrent owner of that seat does today.

This is what makes defining the Right Seats so hard. It is natural for us to think about ourorganization through the lens of the people we already have. To overcome that bias, we use an approach wecall "Structure First, People Second". When we begin building out a company'sAccountability Chart (the tool that defines the right structure for theorganization – the very definition of what the Right Seats are), we begin bytaking the people out of it. We put allthe people on the sidelines as we begin the exercise – no one in theorganization has a job. That eliminatesthe bias of "they way things have always been."

From there, we determine what seats are needed going forward.Then we define exactly what we want tohold each seat accountable for. Onlyafter we've done those two things can we go back to those people we put on thesidelines and find out who REALLY fits that seat.

For someone to fit their seat three things MUST be true.They have to:

· Get It – This means the person isgenetically encoded to do this job – they are just wired that way. If you've ever referred to someone as a"born salesperson" or a "born engineer" you know exactlywhat this means

· Want It – They've got to be excited to dothe job. You may have someone who was been born to be an engineer, but they'vebeen in that role for 36 years and they are just sick of it. They don't want itanymore

· Have the Capacity to Do It – They areable to meet the volume and quality requirements of the job with the resourcesavailable (including time)

The goal is to get EVERY person in your organization intothe Right Seat. Imagine how much fun itwould be to part of an organization where everyone around you is great at whatthey do. This isn't utopia – I work withbusinesses that have made this reality, and it is the standard every businessshould strive for. Your business – andyour people – deserve no less.

Traction Before Vision

EOS' Proven Process begins with three full-day sessions withthe Leadership Team. In the first, FocusDay, I teach the Leadership Team the EOS tools that lay the foundation forexecution – what we call Traction®. Inthe ensuing two sessions – which occur 30 and 60 days after Focus Day – wereview and refine the team's use of the Focus Day tools and also work onbuilding out the company vision. Hereinlies part of EOS' secret sauce. We callit "Traction before Vision". Truth be told, some Leadership Teams find it a littlecounterintuitive. In the interests of"open and honest", I will confess I was among those skeptics backwhen I started implementing EOS in my own company.

"Why would we start executing before we fully defineexactly where we are going?" I asked my EOS Implementer, Ed Callahan. Ed just smiled and said "Trustme….you'll understand in 60 days". I trusted him and, boy, was he right!

It could be argued that Vision Building can be done prettyquickly. However, once we have a vision,then what? The reality is that mostteams don't have the tools, the discipline, the sense of accountability and therhythm of working together as a Leadership Team to execute on theirvision.

Without a solid foundation of execution (Traction), the teamwould leap out of the starting gate and go nowhere fast. They'd quickly losemomentum and their vision exercise would become just another thing they triedthat didn't work.

That's why we start with Traction first. In Focus Day, the team learns the basic toolsof Traction. They learn to execute with discipline. They learn to hold eachother (and themselves) accountable. Theyestablish a steady rhythm of working together as a healthy, functional,cohesive Leadership TEAM. It takes about60 days to get there – just the amount of time that elapses while we build out thevision.

So when Vision Building completes, two critical things cometogether at exactly the same time: the team is tightly aligned around their visionAND they have the muscles they need to execute on the work needed to make theirvision real.

There is an old Chinese proverb that says "if you wantto go fast, go slow". By takingthose 60 days to develop the ability to gain Traction – concurrently withVision Building – we lay the foundation for the Leadership Team to come out ofthe starting gate fully aligned around their vision AND ready to run Full SpeedAhead on the journey of turning their vision into reality.

Helping Your Wrong People Out

In our first session working with a neworganization, we explain that being a great Leadership Team is a lot like beinggreat parents (acknowledgement here to Dr. Thomas Gordon and his book ParentEffectiveness Training ). Weteach that great Leadership Teams – like great parents – have just a handful ofrules.

Later in the EOS process, I facilitateLeadership Teams to discover their Core Values. Core Value in EOS are all about culture – a bulletized list of what ismost special about the culture of an organization. Core Values are that handful of rules– the ones everyone in the organization must follow. The Right People for any organization are theones that live up to the organization's Core Values.

But what about those who don't?

When you tell your organization your CoreValues are the rules everyone must follow, 100% of the people in theorganization will try. Those who can make the trip will. Those who can't make the trip will let you know, by backsliding to behaviors that run contraryto the Core Values.

Building culture takes careful andconsistent support from the Leadership Team. Leaders need to clearly explain what each Core Value means, and do sofrequently. They need to call out rolemodel behavior when someone in the organization exemplifies a Core Value, andalso call out (privately, of course) when an individual's behavior falls short.

I often say "once is an accident,twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern." When someone's behavior consistently fails tolive up to your Core Values, they are telling you they just don't fit yourculture. That individual is the WrongPerson for your organization.

When people don't fit, you MUST act. The people around those Wrong People see thebad behavior and know they don't belong there. So if you keep Wrong People around, you are undercutting your owncredibility. You must "walk the talk".

But also think about what it is like forthat Wrong Person. As you continue buildingyour culture, those Wrong People feel left out, as they are increasinglysurrounded by people who DO fit your culture. It feels bad to know you are somewhere you just don't belong. Thankfully, Wrong People often leave on theirown accord. But when they don't, goodleaders take the steps necessary to help their Wrong People see they don't fitand ultimately help them – voluntarily or not – out of the organization.

That process is never easy for any leader.However, it is the right thing for the organization and, ultimately, for thatemployee as well. You are giving themthe opportunity to find someplace where they fit better. Someplace where they will be happier.

So helping them out of the organization reallyis helping THEM out in the long run.

The Ripple Effect

The journey I lead with my clients is tohelp them become at least 80% strong across the six key components of theirbusiness: Vision, People, Data, Issues,Process and Traction.

Recently, a client proudly proclaimedthemselves to be 80% strong in their People component because they had run thePeople Analyzer (the tool that assesses whether employees are the "RightPeople" for the organization, and if they are in the "Right Seat")and found that over 80% of their people are Right People/Right Seat (RP/RS).

I had to deliver some disappointing news.

Your strength in the People component is NOTin direct relation to the percentage of people who fit your culture (RightPeople) and who "Get it", "Want it" and have the"Capacity to do it" (GWC) their role in the company (Right Seat).

That is because of the Ripple Effect. That is, even one person who isn't RP/RS hasan impact far beyond themselves.

For instance, let's imagine you have anemployee who simply doesn't fit your culture. That person probably knows theydon't fit, and as a result they may be quietly undermining the Leaders' effortsto get everyone to fit the company's Core Values (the very definition of thecompany's culture). They will be the ones whispering to others that Core Valuesdon't matter, that it is all fluffy stuff, and predicting the Leadership Teamwill soon move on to the next "flavor of the month". Those people are toxic and they bringeveryone around them down. Moreover, whenLeaders tolerate someone like that within the business, it leads "RightPeople" employees (who can plainly see who doesn't fit) to questionLeadership's commitment to their own words.

Likewise, when one person doesn't fit their seat, it impactsthe productivity and morale of the people around them. When “Wrong Seat” peopleunderperform – missing deadlines, producing sub-standard work, needing helpfrom others who have their own work to do – it prevents the "RightSeat" people around them from being as effective as they can be. And whenthose people are less productive, the people with whom THEY interact feel it,too. Again, the Ripple Effect.

The goal is to get EVERY person in theorganization to be RP/RS. If you have 40people, then 40 out of 40 have to be Right People AND Right Seat. Everybody has to have both.

Now, getting to 100% RP/RS is hard. Andbecause people's lives change, staying at 100% RP/RS is also hard (one of myclients predicted that as soon as they get to 100% RP/RS, someone's spouse willbe transferred across the country). Thepoint is that you MUST work hard to address all your Wrong Person and WrongSeat issues.

There is no magic mathematical formula totell you what percentage of your people must by RP/RS for you to be 80% strongin the People component, but it is a good bit higher than 80% – much closer to 100%. This is why I always stress to my clients howimportant it is to address their people issues quickly and directly. Becausethe Ripple Effect will amplify the impact of those who fall short.

What is YOUR Moon Shot?

Vision in EOS is about alignment – making sure everyone onthe Leadership Team and, ultimately, everyone in the organization is crystalclear where the organization is going and how it will get there. During Vision Building, we answer 8 questionsthat together define the company's vision, providing that alignment. One of those eight is what I call the Finish Lineto the Marathon: the 10-Year Target.

In his book Good to Great , Jim Collins tell usthat great companies are great goal setters. And it begins with what he calls a BHAG: a Big, Hairy, AudaciousGoal. The 10-Year Target is a company'sBHAG. But it is also much more than that.

When you cascade your vision down through your organization,the 10-Year Target does two very important things. First, it makes sure that everyone ismarching in the same direction. In everyorganization, there are lots of important goals. But the 10-Year Target is one REALLY BIGgoal….the one thing everyone in the organization needs to support and align to.

In many organizations people may have different and varyingideas about what the organization should do (and some of those ideas are drivenby natural, ambitious self-interest). The 10-Year Target ensures that all of those ideas and ambitions arealigned to a single, common purpose. If someone'spet project is going to accelerate the company's ability to achieve this one,overarching goal then tell them to put their ears back and run! But if it isn't, then they need to step back,re-align and get on board with where you are going.

The second thing a great 10-Year Target does is give peoplethe energy to march. The 10-Year Target should be aspirational ANDinspirational. It should have an "AHA"effect that leads the "Right People" for your organization to think"Yeah, I want to be part of a company that does that" (it also canhelp the "Wrong People" realize they don't belong….but that's anotherBlog).

Every organization has its ups and downs. It is often easy to keep people movingforward when things are going well. Butduring the lulls and the challenging times, the 10-Year Target can be a beaconthat gives your people the energy to keep marching in the face of adversity.And it gives leadership confidence all your people are all marching in the samedirection.

There has probably never been a more aspirational andinspirational 10-Year Target than John F Kennedy's challenge to put a man onthe moon and return him safely to earth. That 10-year target inspired a nation. What 10-Year Target defines your "Moon Shot"?

Where are the Big Issues?

Where are the Big Issues?

In the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), the secondday of the two-day Annual Planning Meeting includes several hours just forsolving issues. On the second day of arecent Annual Planning Meeting, the Visionary interrupted the proceedings. He said, somewhat exasperated, "guys, wehave only an hour left. Why aren't we focused on our big, burning, urgent problems?"

We all looked at our Issues List. I said to him "we've been selecting andprioritizing our issues all afternoon. What big, burning problems do you see up here that we aren't talkingabout?"

After some examination of the Issues List, he said"they aren't up there". So Iasked the entire Leadership Team "what big, burning, urgent problems areout there that we haven't put on our Issues List?"

The question was met with a long silence. Finally, one member of the Leadership Teamsaid "I can't think of any". One at a time, every member of the team – including the Visionary –agreed.

Later, as we concluded the two-day session, the Visionarysaid "for the first time in 17 years of running this business, I have toget used to the idea that our business does NOT have big, burning, urgent problems."

As they begin implementing EOS, most organizations I workwith have a litany of serious, short and long-term issues. Much of the power of EOS comes from itsability to help Leadership Teams:

· Smoke out their issues

· Collaboratively devise action plans to addressthose issues

· Build a culture of accountability so actionplans are effectively implemented

Moreover, EOS establishes a healthy foundation for moreeasily resolving the most common business issues or – better yet – avoidingthem altogether.

Over time (often in the first year of an EOS implementation)the number of serious short-term issues drops dramatically while the horizonfor long-term issues becoming "hot" gets longer and longer.

Sometimes it evens leads to a Leader asking, "Where areour big issues?". My favorite answerto that question is "in the rear-view mirror".

Embracing Your Process Component

"One of them has to go", theIntegrator said. The other members ofthe Leadership Team nodded their heads in grim agreement. "Maybe both", said the Ops Leader,"We may have two 'Wrong People'."

Jen, Production Manager, and Dave, HRSpecialist, seemed to hate each other. Every time they worked together it was afight.

The EOS Implementer asked what theyfight about. "It happens every time we hire someone", said the OpsLeader, "they argue about everything….who gets the resume first. Who makesthe screening call. Who makes the offer.Every time it's an ugly battle."

"What does the process say?",the EOS Implementer asked. After a longsilence, the Finance Leader sheepishly answered, "What process?"

Two weeks later, the Ops Leader sattogether with Jen and Dave. Theyexpected the worst. What they gotinstead was a new Hiring Process. "Well that clears up a lot", said Dave, relieved. Jen nodded in agreement. Since then, the twohave gotten along just fine.

EOS' IDS process begins by identifying theroot of the issue. Spoiler alert: atleast 70% of the time, the root of the issue is in either the People Componentor the Process Component.

Now, it is easy to convince businessleaders how critical it is to get the Right People into the Right Seats. Yetmany don't realize the Process Component is just as important! In the story above, what looked like a Peopleissue was actually a Process issue.

Many issues across any business can betraced back to lack of clarity about how work gets done. It creates frustration and wastes time. It leads to inconsistent results, demotivatingemployees and confusing customers.

By contrast, organizations that strengthentheir Process Component become more consistent, predictable, manageable andscalable. People become more productive, so the business becomes moreprofitable.

Because confusion about how things getsdone is a main source of day-to-day frustration, a company that strengthenstheir Process Component becomes a more fun place to work.

Yet many business leaders tend tounderestimate the importance of their Process Component, or shy away fromtaking a systematic approach to improving their processes. Some fear the initiative will be acomplicated, expensive, time-consuming project that won't really change anything.

But strengthening the Process Component –establishing and implementing clearly defined, efficient processes – doesn'tneed to be complicated or expensive, and consumes less time than you mightthink.

EOS' Three Step Process Documenter focuseson the "critical few" processes – the ones that really matter to yourcustomers and employees – and documents them in only a few pages, focusing onthe 20% of activities that yield 80% of the result.

If all your processes were clearly defined,efficient, and consistently followed, what impact would that have on yourbusiness? If you are like mostbusinesses, it would be a game changer.

That opportunity is there for everyentrepreneur who is willing to embrace their Process Component.