What’s the Big Deal With “Traction” and EOS?

Truth At Work staffer, Dave Abernathy, is our resident EOS expert and implementer. He writes about the value of the system, from a business and biblical perspective, and highlights from the popular book, “Traction” by Gino Wickman, that helps organizations learn to implement it. 

Traction and EOS

“Our CEO has read a book, and he wants to implement it.”

My first reaction to this news was, ‘Oh no. Which self-proclaimed guru-turned-author are we following for the next few months?’

This was a knee-jerk reaction, but not necessarily without good reasoning behind it, and very often from experience.  Commonly, when we hear about implementing something new, valid concerns begin creeping in: It’s never as easy as the guy writing the book says it is. We’ve tried something like this before and it was a disaster. Nobody is going to be on board. Are we actually going to DO it, or just pick and choose the parts we like? 

The book in question turned out to be Traction by Gino Wickman, and the implementation was the Entrepreneurial Organization System (EOS).  Cautious optimism was probably the best-case scenario in describing my feelings as our organization slowly moved into reading and implementing EOS. However, I very quickly went from skeptic to champion as EOS clearly, effectively, and quickly takes a systemic best-practice approach to running an organization that answers key questions of What? Why? Where? Who? How? There is maddening familiarity with these age-old questions, in part because they can be a merry-go-round of not knowing where to start, or lead to frustrating, tail-chasing meetings and discussions that never produce results.

EOS and the Universal Issues of Organizations

Wickman’s strategy is not to take a revolutionary new approach in creating a system, but rather in large part take existing strategies and package them in a logical, consistent, and harmonious way. There are no new concepts in the book; he takes a ‘best of the best’ approach in applying proven strategies to address key universal issues for organizations and businesses: 

• • • What? And Why? Fundamental to the EOS process is first answering certain questions about the organization: What are our Core Values? What is our Core Focus? What makes us unique? What are our goals?  EOS provides the framework and tools for organizations to take what can easily be squishy questions and give them real and functional meaning. 
    • Where?  Once we have a foundation for what we are and why we exist, where do we see ourselves in 10 years, 3 years, 1 year, next quarter?  
    • Who? Now we know why we’re here and where we’re going, who’s taking us there?  How do we determine the right people, and equip, engage, and hold them accountable? 
    • How? Finally, what’s the plan? How do we get there? 

EOS and Biblical Concepts

EOS is not only a matter of organizing and addressing these questions once and for all, but it provides a cadence for reviewing and revisiting these questions and adjusting along the way as needed. Furthermore (and most importantly), this is a system that aligns beautifully with biblical concepts that are on the mind of those leveraging their business as a ministry in the marketplace:

• • • Orderliness (Genesis 41:46-49, Psalm 104:19, Proverbs 21:5, Luke 14:28-32, 1 Corinthians 14:33) There is strong encouragement and examples from Scripture to have orderly and structured planning in our endeavors.  Who among us doesn’t have examples of times where lack of planning led to confusion, miscommunication, and frustration? 
    • Stewardship (Genesis 2:15, 1 Corinthians 4:1-2) Stewardship goes hand-in-hand with orderliness. Time is arguably the most valuable of our commodities, and a structured, consistent system creates a space for the faithful stewardship of time, which in turn magnifies other resources. 
    • Wise Counsel (Proverbs 15:22, Proverbs 20:18) Having advisorsleaders who give good counsel is an undeniable benefit, and having a consistent structure (documentation, space, and accountability) for discerning and building on wise counsel helps to build upon great discussion and ideas rather than having a reactive environment that produces little fruit. 
    • Empowerment (Numbers 3:32, 2 Kings 12:11, Matthew 25:14-30) Throughout both the Old and New Testament we see examples of empowerment and oversight being given to those in a variety of positions. While many parables are pointing to eternal things, empowering those in our business and organizations creates a sense of belonging as well as ownership. 

Implementation of EOS

Implementing anything new and foundational to operations can be daunting, but there is elegance in the simplicity of taking proven processes that are scalable and relatable to any sized business or organization; it may be likely your business already utilizing some of these processes independently. If the processes and concepts introduced are new to you, Traction does an excellent job of walking you through putting the right pieces in place at the right time and on a pace that’s right for your business. 

Early on, it felt overwhelming in taking a high-level view of all the moving parts, but therein lies the beauty of planning the work, then working the plan: while it may be complex, you always have guidelines that give you an indicator of where you are and what the next step is in virtually any situation without simply giving you a box to check or a rote task to complete. This doesn’t mean EOS is perfect, nor does it mean that another system might not be a better fit for a particular company. However, for those looking to commit to a straightforward, logical, and proven approach that confirms and aligns with a Christian worldview, I would strongly recommend it for consideration. 

Are you interested in joining a conversation like this to grow your faith and business with a Christian peer advisory group?