This article appeared in the December 2020 issue of MiMfg Magazine. Read the full issue and find past issues online.

If you found yourself making overdue staffing changes this year after a big nudge from our friend COVID-19 — that’s a sign. Granted, you’re in good company — plenty of teams recently discovered the positive impact of letting go of people who weren’t the right fit. But why wait for a pandemic to be your best manager?

The best way to build a team that routinely makes the tough calls, even without a pandemic push, is to create a clear and compelling vision. And a clear and compelling vision is just that — compelling. It’s not a lofty quote stenciled on the lobby wall… it’s a living, breathing embodiment of what your company stands for — and it articulates the dent you want to make in the universe.

One of the great privileges I have as a teacher, facilitator and coach of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS®) is being invited to help leadership teams build a shared vision. It’s not that there’s a lack of vision; rather, the issue is a lack of a unified vision. Everyone around the table is seeing a slightly different version of where the company is going.

You might be tempted to shrug off these minor differences as inconsequential but, when you’ve got one team buying technology systems to accommodate one scale of growth, the sales team ramping up on a different scale, and finance building a budget for something else altogether, there’s all kinds of “static.” And static slows you down.

If COVID was your best manager, you know exactly what I mean. After you made some tough people moves to get more of the right people in the right seats, you likely felt some combination of relief, a new lightness and the sensation that things were moving faster and more smoothly without that static. It’s not your imagination.

Imagine where you could go — how much you could grow — if you systematically continued to strengthen your organization? If your vision was clear and shared by all? If you had simple, practical tools to help you continue getting the right people in the right seats? If you had a handful of weekly key metrics providing an early warning system? If the discipline of identifying and solving issues was baked into the DNA of your entire organization?

That’s not utopia — that’s what a strong company looks like. And with the new year approaching, it’s the perfect time to build your simplified strategic plan for 2021 to clear out the static in your company.

About the Author

Catherine Juon is a Professional EOS Implementer with Ann Arbor-based Traction Training Center. She may be reached at 734-646-3201 or catherine@87plus.com.