Post #1 in a mult-part series from the excellent book Traction by Gino Wickman
Every Corporation has 6 components.
- Vision: You must create a compelling vision and be able to communicate it clearly. Focus everyone on 1 thing, and amazing things will happen. This should be Simple points that define who you are as an organization.
- People: You must surround yourself with the great people. The right people in the right seats. Are all of your people the right people for your cause?Your People HAVE TO meet the GWC Standard! They must Get it. Want it. And have the Capacity to do it.|
- Data: The best leaders rely on a handful of data. Gets you out of the emotions of management. You need a scorecard – generated Weekly – to report 5-15 important metrics. This saves you from having to ask a bunch of people “how’s it going” and sifting out the truth. Keeps people accountable.
- Issues: The obstacles that must be faced to meet your vision. There really are only a handful of real issues. Must be able to identify and address in a helpful fashion.
- Processes: Your way of doing business. Most often neglected. The power of process is tremendous. Can’t just be in your head. Brings consistency and scalability.
- Traction: The most successful business leaders are the ones with traction. Reduces fear and makes the vision a reality. Vision without Traction is hallucination.
2 Disciplines:
- Everyone in the organization should have “Rocks”. Clear 90 day priorities to keep them focused.
- Implementing a Meeting Pulse to keep everyone focused and aligned. Makes meeting enjoyable, productive, and worthwhile.
Most entrepreneurs won’t get to the next level because they aren’t willing to let go of their bad baggage. Must build and maintain a true leadership team. Successful businesses are not a dictatorship. Dictatorship can’t survive you. You need to be willing to be open and honest. And empower the leaders to make changes.
Each departmental head should be better than you at their discipline. Present a united front. Can’t let kids go to mom, then dad, then grandpa.
When you are following these principles, hitting the ceiling is inevitable. Part of growth is exceeding current resources. Will hit the ceiling on 3 different levels: As a company, departmentally, and personally.
Prevent this by having a leadership team that possesses these core leadership abilities. Above all else they must be able to simplify, delegate, predict, systemize, and structure.
Simplify: KISS – Keep it simple stupid. Simplify things and how they are communicated. No state of progress and growth can be created without a new state of simplicity.
Delegate and elevate to your highest skill set. Letting go of the vine. You have to let go of the tasks that you have outgrown. And you need to focus on finding bigger and bigger things to work on.
Systemize. When certain actions become redundant, you need to systemize them. Organize them and integrate them into a whole and healthy organization. And the methods you use should be clear to everyone. This is your company’s “way of doing business”. Document and fine tune
Structure: You and leadership team need to create accountability while retaining simplicity. Most small business structure is too loose and governed by ego. Need to define responsibility and encourages expansion. You must be open minded, growth-oriented, and vulnerable.
