It’s All in the Framework

July 7, 2022

Over the course of my tenure as Chair, my message focused on strategy and execution—particularly through the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) model, but any model will work. Having a framework to operate within is the important part. For EOS, the message is simple: When the six key components—vision, data, process, traction,and people—are strong, the business is healthy.

A strategic framework works to establish a clear vision for the business. It then ensures that you have the right people on the bus, in the right seats. It creates an environment with established metrics to remove emotions from decision-making and to support good decisions with objective metrics. Once the team members know where they are going, who’s on the team, and how they are keeping score, they can focus on smoking out and solving the key in the business, creating repeatable, foolproof processes to reduce the stress of growth and drive a meeting cadence and focused priority system to set and achieve the goals needed to successfully realize the vision.

None of these frameworks is easy. Strategy and execution require open and honest transparency, a willingness as the leader to be vulnerable, and a desire to work for the greater good of the organization. My articles provided some insight into some of these areas, and I am hopeful you spent some time reflecting on them and possibly implementing some of the practices in your business.

When I wrote my introductory message for BoxScore, I challenged you with five reflective questions about your business. Hopefully you took the time to score the business. I ask you today to reevaluate based upon the work you completed this past year to measure any improvement, as well as shine a light on some potential weaknesses that continue to manifest in the business. For each statement below, rank your business on a scale of 1 to 5, in which 1 is weak and 5 is strong.

We have a clear vision in writing that has been properly communicated and is shared by everyone.
All the people in our organization are the right people.
Our leadership team is open and honest and demonstrates a high level of trust.
All teams clearly identify, discuss, and solve key for the greater good and long term.
Everyone in the organization has a number.

As leaders, we have a responsibility to our team to provide the map, the message, the tools, and the help to drive successful execution. We must not take that for granted simply because we know where we are going—everyone else should know, too. Communicate with authenticity and passion, push decision-making down, be open and honest, and positive results within any strategic framework will guarantee success.