This past weekend, the fuseStarter Leadership Team broke away for 2 days/nights offsite to beautiful Twin Coves Park on Lake Grapevine for one of our favorite activities… BUSINESS PLANNING!

YUCK!!! What??!! Are you a sadist?? (You may be saying this!)

Well, yes, I’ve said that in the past. Back in my days with big corporate, it went something like this:

• Leadership team travels offsite to some cool place (everyone is excited).
• Day 1: morning session – everyone’s ready! This time it will be different! We will get a say in this beast and make something happen! (the CEO even just said to “not hold back” – the closest thing to today’s idea of a “safe space” as we got back then); pontification from CEO and favorite officer; lots of review and numbers.
• LUNCH! “working lunch” where no one really works – becomes opportunity for myriad whispering sidebars that will later wreak havoc.
• Day 1: afternoon session – After lunch “team building” exercise – everyone hates these but plays along to impress CEO; productive activity rapidly degenerates and blame and shame games begin.
• Day 1: conclusion – way off-track, battle lines between team members drawn, hope fading, but wait it’s not over yet…
• DRINKS AND DINNER! Oh boy! Just what you want after a long day of stress and mess. Socializing with lots of people you would never hang out with in real life. Everyone finds their one “friend” and talks about what an ass everyone else is. Get ready for tomorrow.
• Day 2: Wake up ridiculously early (overstuffed and hungover) because we need to prove that we are really working hard on this junket.
• Day 2: morning session – recap yesterday’s “progress”; try to get something productive done – now the fiefdoms that have formed over day 1 and drinks wage their turf wars.
• Day 2: afternoon session – day ends with giant lists of unclear projects that are all “high priority” and no thought given to dependencies, staff workloads, and resources.
• Travel back to office disheartened, exhausted, confused, and with even more work to do than when you started.
• Figure out how to unload it all on your staff without losing their respect.

Sound somewhat familiar?

Well, that doesn’t happen at fuseStarter. We use a process called the Entrepreneurial Operating System, or EOS. This is a light-weight management methodology for small to medium sized companies. It is the easiest and most productive system I’ve ever used (and I’ve used many).

HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN

EOS allows your organization to cut through the chaos and arrive at what is truly important – a schema called Vision/Traction Organization (V/TO) – and also provides all the processes needed to define your VISION and execute on it, or gain TRACTION. It starts with a recurring Annual Planning session (usually a 2-day event) and has a “Quarterly Pulse” session each quarter (1-day event). These meetings are like nothing you’ve ever experienced! You will love them and look forward to them (unlike the scenario painted above!). These sessions are led by what is called an EOS Implementer. This is a person experienced in the EOS system. This way, a third-party takes the team (as equals) through the process, eliminating the B.S. that usually ensues when an interested party (CEO, etc.) leads a session.

There is much more to it, so look here and here to learn more.

GIVE IT A TRY

Over the years some of the fuseStarter team have led these sessions and can help you adopt EOS to move your business effectively to the next level. Please give us a call to discuss EOS and if we can help you get started.