It’s inevitable - at times we are asked to make painful people decisions.  In my sessions with a leadership team, it’s not uncommon to find leaders struggling with tough, painful, even awful decisions.  Take a couple examples from my clients:
 

• A leader wanting to provide a manager with every possible opportunity to succeed, but knowing that the manager would never change.
• A parent seeing that one of his children was not the right person for a leadership role, but struggling to replace his own child with the right leader.

 
After both realizations, action was needed to move the organization forward, but in both situations the leader initially drifted toward inaction with the statement “I’m not sure that’s really fair to Johnny, I think we should just stay put here”. 
 
So this begs the question: “Must we be fair?”  The easy, natural response is “Yes! We must be fair!”  Heck, I’m not sure I want to work at a place that was not fair.  However, isn’t there also a weakness in a “Yes” response if it keeps the organization from making a tough decision, from moving forward? 
 
It’s definitely a dilemma: Fairness vs. Moving Forward.  So let’s change the perspective a bit.
 
Before I begin with a team I discuss the challenges with becoming strong in the People component of their business; I stress that they will be asked to make tough decisions with respect to their People.  And the truth is, those decisions are often not going to be fair:  Not fair to the person, nor will it be fair to the leader forced to make that call. 
 
So, if we must be fair, why would a leadership team make a painful and unfair decision?  Because the best leadership teams know that for the long-term, greater good of the organization, we must do what’s in the best interest of the entire organization.  Said another way, we must do what’s fair for the entire organization. 
And what’s fair to the organization is often not fair to the individuals involved.
 
If, as leaders, we can change our mindset from an individual focus to organizational focus, we can make decisions with better peace-of-mind knowing that we are doing what is “Fair” and “Moves us forward”.
 
Leaders:  What People decisions do you need to make out of fairness to your organization?
 
If you are struggling with People decisions in your organization, consider exploring a complete holistic system, such as the Entrepreneurial Operating System, to help your leaders make better, fairer decisions for the organization and help your leadership team gain the traction to move your organization forward.  To explore such a system in a no pressure environment feel free to contact me personally at erik@achievedvision.com or any of my fellow Certified EOS Implementers @ www.eosworldwide.com

The first time I saw the line “business coach” in the annual budget, I promptly removed it because I did not see the value for our organization.  Shortly thereafter I was introduced to the right coach with the right system. Since then, I’ve used 2 coaches and today I devote 100% of my professional time to coaching other leadership teams.

Despite my tremendously positive experience with business coaching, there are times when an organization may not see enough benefit from a coach. Here are 5 organizational attributes that I look for when evaluating if I can provide enough value to a leadership team:

1. One Person Accountable
The organization has 1 person accountable for running the day-to-day business and that person’s top 5 roles are essentially this:

• Lead, Manage & Hold Accountable
• Business Plan Execution / P&L Results
• Integrating Major Functions
• Resolving Cross-Functional Issues
• Communication Across the Organization

If you have a visionary leader, simply asking them to take on these roles will rarely work; it’s just not in their DNA to perform that role for the long term. For long-term success, the visionary leader must delegate accountability for the day-to-day business to another person who is gets, wants, and has the capacity to do each of the above roles.

2. One System
You have 1 system, 1 way for managing all the moving parts of your business.

You cannot run a business effectively using 2 or more different operating philosophies, methods, languages, etc. People will be confused; you must chose one.

3. You are 80% Strong
You are measurably strong in 6 Key Components of the business, but you don’t need to be 100% strong.

• Vision – More than 80% of the people know exactly where you are going with the organization and how you will get it there.
• People – More than 80% of the people possess your Core Values and perform roles that they get, want and have the capacity to do.
• Data – More than 80% of the people are accountable for a number that drives your financial future.
• Issues – More than 80% of people are in 1 weekly meeting spending time solving issues and not just discussing issues. They are great at setting up issues and knocking them down for the long-term.
• Process – More than 80% of people are aware of your Core Processes, which are documented and followed religiously.
• Traction – More than 80% of people have at least 1 goal for the quarter that will further the company’s Vision. They are in a weekly departmental meeting that provides time for great short-term planning: connecting with each other, reporting, follow through, issue identification and solution.

4. One “Right” Person Owns Long-Term Planning
You don’t need a coach every week, but every 90 days you do need 1 trusted individual that can own all aspects of your long-term planning. The “Right” person 1) has the ability to create the context before the team engages in discussion, 2) is willing to “Enter the Danger” to get down to the root cause of an issue, even if it’s painful at times, 3) should understand and possess the tools to build team health. This list goes on, but the “Right” person will not only get the job done, but will also propel your team forward.

5. Satisfied Owner
The business owner has received everything they want out of their organization. This could be profit, more time away, less frustration, etc.

If all five attributes exist in your organization, it’s questionable whether the cost and time spent with a business coach will add enough value to the organization. However, if your organization does not have all 5 attributes there is likely high value in finding the right coach. Some coaches will also teach you a system that you can learn so that you do not become co-dependent on the coach. As with anything, there are many coaches and systems in the market place. Your organization may not need a coach for a long duration while others might need one for eternity. Do your homework and if you need a coach, get one.

As my coach taught me, the absence of the right business coach is likely costing you hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. Just take 1 aspect of the above… what if 1 person is wrong for your organization? Likely costing the organization $30,000 to $300,000 per year…and that is only one change.

If you would like to explore a coach and system in a low pressure environment, I’m glad to share my time. The above 5 organizational attributes are core principals found within the system that I implement called the Entrepreneurial Operating System®.  To connect with me message me erik@achievedvision.com- You will always receive a response within 24 hours, usually same day.

So, now you say “Erik! This is not that easy, I’m stuck on step….”

Problems with Step 1? Use any template you want in PowerPoint or Keynote, and if you don’t have these tools grab a flipchart. Spend no more than 10 minutes here. Move on, you can get prettier at a later date. The content is what they want!

Problems with Step 2? Let’s agree to get this part right!

Likely Issue A: Your leadership team is not on the same page with the responses to the 8 questions. You need to address this today, because your entire company can sense it and getting there will not be overnight. Know that it may take as long as 90 days to get a strong vision, but once you are there….ohhh, imagine what your life will be like when your leadership team is no longer working in different directions or even against each other. When 100% of the company is on the same page, universal laws line up, and you will get there faster because everyone is focused in the same direction.

Here are some options to consider dependent upon your personal preference:

1. You should read Chapter 1 and 3 in Traction by Gino Wickman. Need a copy, I’ll give you one. Meet with your leadership team and answer the 8 questions through passionate debate.
2. I will meet with your entire leadership team for 90 minutes (at no cost) where we will review the 8 questions in a little more detail so that they understand the context and purpose. I will provide a Vision Traction Organizer to help organize your thoughts.

Likely Issue B: Your leadership team does not think that it’s important to address. Ahh, so they are “too busy” and doing the laundry list of things that people do when they are not on the same page. Maybe they’ll get to it when the “busy” goes away….unlikely. Here are a couple ideas to spark the interest.

1. Have them read Traction and give them one week to do it. It’s a quick read and you want them reading it at the same time. The team will collectively engage because it’s top of mind. Get the time on the calendar to answer the 8 questions. Start with 2 x 4 hour blocks and schedule a 3rd if necessary.
2. Do it yourself. Share with your leadership team. They’ll either: engage and agree (sweet!), engage and disagree (now you have their attention), or disengage. If you find disengagement, find yourself a new team (yes, I mean it the way you took it).

Likely Issue C: Your team is on the same page conceptually, but it’s not clear and concise. Can I get some more detail on the 8 questions? Be careful here, a lot of teams think they are on the same page until they go to write it down, but assuming you are on the same page, here are some quick notes help flesh out the 8 questions.

More Detail on the 8 Questions:

1. Pick 3 to 5 values that your leadership team reeks of
2. As a company decide a) what you love and b) what you are great at
3. Pick a goal 5 to 30 years out that is one sentence and wonderful
4. Agree on your perfect customer, obsess over what makes them perfect, identify 3 attributes that make you unique, create your guarantee (if any), and document your proven process (see my website for an example)
5. Create a picture 3 years from now with 5 to 15 bullets
6. Agree on 3-7 goals for the next year
7. Commit to 3-7 immovable rocks (goals) for the next 90 days
8. Get a grip by owning your issues. List them. Share them.

Want More?

1. More detail: Read the free e-book Decide! I can email this to you.
2. Even more detail: I will work with you for 90 minutes and we can flesh this out for you and give you a Vision/Traction Organizing tool.
3. Still more detail: Read Traction. Need a copy? I’ll give it to you.

Problems with Step 3? Skip it. The content is 99% of what they care about.

Problems with Step 4? Keep it simple. Concerned about the venue? Use the biggest open space you can find, even if it’s the kitchen or go outside and distribute it in paper form. Concerned about multiple locations: Open up an audio bridge for remote people, for the first session, they just need to hear you.

Attributes: The 8 Questions are just one of the tools in the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS) created by Gino Wickman. EOS® is the operating system that I ran in my businesses for over ten years. I've lived this and it completely changed my professional life. Hopefully this tool helps you get what you want out of your business.

Ok, this is weird, as I write this, I am a Professional EOS implementer; but I was not always an EOS implementer; in fact I was actually a business operator and EOS client for over ten years with 2 different organizations.  So why did I originally hire an EOS implementer?  First off, I was sold on EOS as an operating system when I joined my first private enterprise (Image One, referenced throughout the book Traction by Gino Wickman).  But when I started my own company, after some initial hesitancy by our leadership team, we decided to adopt the EOS operating system and I decided that we were going to hire an EOS implementer.  Here is why hiring an EOS implementer was a no brainer for me:

1.    Fair Play for the Integrator:  As what we call the Integrator, (day-to-day decision maker) I needed to make some substantial changes.  But on a team with strong leaders, try running an offsite and also recommending those changes.  For the other individuals in the room, your role can be confusing…. are you the Integrator, or the discussion facilitator, or the agenda moderator?…and this confusion affects the team’s ability to consider your input in the offsite dialogue.  For example, if you cut a conversation short, was your action to help with time? Or was it to avoid a tangent? Or were you just trying to have the upper hand in the discussion since you’re running the meeting?  That’s just one point of contention.  However, if you can take a seat with the team, your role immediately becomes clearer.  You’ve removed “facilitator”, “moderator”, and you are now “at the table” with your team.  Sure, the Integrator is still the decision maker, but now your role is the same as it is every day and you are now playing fair in everyone’s eyes

2.    Relaxed and Focused:  As the Integrator on the team I was a fairly intense individual.  I tried to handle everything without dropping anything.  Now try to add to that:  starting on time, facilitating discussion, deciding on breaks, achieving objectives, ending on time, etc.  I might have blown up….so rather than all that, I just needed to be 1) open and honest and 2) focus on the issue at hand.   Of course it also helped to wear jeans, shorts, or flip flops.

3.     Bounce Ideas:  An EOS implementer provided me on-demand access to a professional that knew both my business and my team.  But what made the relationship even more valuable is that he was neither in the company nor on the board of directors.  I could speak freely without consideration of personal agenda.

4.     Accountability:  I doubted our leadership team would do any self-reporting and would likely use the “busy excuse” for every missed goal.  I felt that an outside coach had a far better shot at success, especially in the first 2 years.

5.     Broker:  I needed someone to help me create the context and facilitate some of the most important conversations our leadership needed to have, such as “Who should be on the leadership team”.  That was something I could have tried over a longer period of time (likely months or even years).  But I chose to get it done in a few hours with the help of our implementer.

5.5     Price/Value: We were trying to increase the value of the organization by tens of millions of dollars in a very short window.  For less than the cost of our receptionist I had a teacher, facilitator and coach for my entire leadership team. 

These were the top factors in my decision-making process and they continued to be the same reasons why I retained my EOS implementer for the next 7 years.

While I lived in Metro New York (ok…New Jersey) we found this Italian restaurant in Hoboken, Tutta Pasta*.  They served a pasta dish called “Sunday Sauce” with meatballs, sausage, and ribs slow cooked in a sauce and served over their homemade pasta.  Ever since, I’ve tried unsuccessfully to replicate the intense flavor of the sauce. 

FINALLY, a recent halfhearted web search unearthed a gem from, of all people, Tony Danza who posted a recipe on the Food Network site. 

A few suggestions, if I may:

• Reduce the salt levels by 50% especially if you do all the meat.  Trust me, you can always add more.
• I did 50% ground beef/50% ground pork for the meatballs.
• Be sure to squeeze the tomatoes as he suggests, plus my family gets excited when I do it.
• There is an enormous amount of garlic in this recipe.  Use all of it and make sure it’s fresh.
• The recipe is a not crystal clear on the order of things, but you’ll figure it out.  Just read it a few times before beginning.
• It’s says easy, but it should also say “long”….budget 2 hours of messing around and 2 hours to cook it.

*Tutta Pasta moved to Brooklyn, NY