Thriving During The Pandemic With EOS®

Labor Relations Institute (LRI), located in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, is a labor and positive employee relations consulting firm helping companies protect and deepen their direct relationship with employees.

The Labor Relations Institute (LRI) recently celebrated its 40th anniversary in business. Its current president and owner, Phil Wilson, took over the company after his father retired. As a labor and positive employee relations management consulting firm, LRI faced the same challenges as other companies when the pandemic hit. Instead of allowing the pressures of remote work crush them, however, they ended up thriving during the pandemic with EOS®.

“I don’t know if we would’ve made it without EOS during the pandemic,” Phil said.  “The timing literally could not have been better.”

The Labor Relations Institute, based out of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, started implementing EOS just ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic. Going into lockdown, they hadn’t even officially rolled out The Accountability Chart™ yet.

Removing Silos When Physically Apart

Normally, remote work would’ve made the silo tendencies already ingrained in the LRI culture much worse. Instead, working apart brought them together and strengthened the entire company. How?

Although still early in the EOS Process®, LRI had begun using agendas in meetings and implementing the EOS Scorecard™. And the leadership team had just gotten used to communicating openly and honestly with one another.

“When we had to go remote, we’d already opened ourselves up to each other,” LRI business manager Debbie Barnett said. “That helped us be more vulnerable with employees, which turned out to be a very good thing.”

The experience strengthened the company by pushing everyone to come up with innovative ideas for the business. Because of that push to do better, Debbie said LRI has some really exciting developments in the works.

Recognizing a Problem

Until EOS, Phil had had his hands in everything. And since LRI continued to experience success, he saw no reason to operate differently. Nothing felt broken and he didn’t feel a need to push people out of their siloes. But with the unexpected departure of a key member of the leadership team, Phil knew something had to give.

In desperation, he reached out to an old entrepreneurial networking colleague, basically trying to recruit him as his chief of staff. That colleague, Professional EOS Implementer® Nate Brim, helped Phil see he didn’t need a chief of staff. LRI needed a business operating system!

“I was already on the edge and when the leader left I thought, ‘I’m going to break,’” Phil said. “I was at an inflection point and the leadership team saw that we had three options. We could fly by the seat of our pants, chase shiny objects, or use EOS. We’d already tried operating under the first two options and they hadn’t worked.”

Allowing Integrators to Integrate

When Phil’s dad started talking about retirement, Debbie begged him not to retire until she did. She readily admitted to not wanting to work for Phil… and then she read Rocket Fuel. The book validated her experiences and put names to the emotions she felt.

Reading Rocket Fuel, Debbie saw how through real, honest communications and using EOS that LRI could come out stronger. Phil read Rocket Fuel, too. That was when he recognized that Debbie had been doing all the work of an Integrator all along.

Convincing her to fully embrace the role and title proved difficult.

“I was reluctant, and I asked Phil, ‘Are you really going to do this?’” Debbie said. “If you’re going to let me do the Integrator role, then I’m doing it. And I’m not going back.”

Phil admits she asked a fair question. LRI had tried to implement other systems in the past. They’d had a few false starts over the years with half-hearted attempts at strategic planning that faltered with siloed groups. He saw other leaders holding back, waiting to see if this was just another “flavor of the month” solution.

Putting the Visionary Back in the ‘Box’

Phil also admitted that he’d had the most work to do. With his hands in everything, he’d only served as a bottleneck. It took the first few months for him to really understand how his behavior affected the team.

Because they communicated more openly with one another, they started to call him out. When he interfered with their efforts after he’d tasked them with a job, they used common language to identify it. “Get back in your box” became a phrase that Phil lightheartedly accepted as constructive feedback.

“I’m learning the system more and learning to trust the team,” he said. “I’ve grown a lot, but it’s a journey. I’ve told my team, don’t ever hesitate to tell me to get back in my box.”

Phil said he’s reminded daily how awesome his team is and regrets not implementing EOS sooner. He thinks about where they’d be today if they’d done this exercise 10 or 15 years ago.

Leaving Behind a Legacy

Over the past 40 years, LRI has provided livelihoods to a lot of people and been a great benefit to the world. Phil said he’s not about to see that end on his watch. He’s started talking about how to sustain the company beyond his generation.

Through the use of Scorecards, LRI has much better visibility into the business than ever before and provides accountability. The leadership team can have more proactive planning sessions, making Phil confident LRI will continue when he leaves one day.

“I want to build this company and continue to have an impact after I’m gone,” Phil said. “EOS relieved a lot of my frustrations, and I can see how to make this sustainable. That’s the legacy I want to leave behind.”

“I hope that any new employees feel that they came home,” Debbie said. “After I leave, I want them to see a well-oiled machine operating like a family with high values and integrity.”