No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy.
― Helmuth von Moltke the Elder
If you run your business on the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS®), you’re being hit by the economic sledgehammer of the Coronavirus just like everyone else. Right now, my clients are all asking me how, as EOS Companies, they should respond to what’s happening.
The EOS tools, like anything that works, must adapt to the facts on the ground. Embrace and adapt the EOS tools to help you navigate the current challenges and you’ll create a stronger team and a more resilient business.
Here are three tools and how your team may want to adapt them for the near term:
Meeting Pulse™ ― Everything should become more frequent. Your quarterlies become weekly. Your weekly Level 10 Meetings™ become daily war room huddles. Your goal is to be ahead of the competition. Those who take a “wait and see” approach are likely to fall behind or fail. Anything less than quick and decisive action is not an option. You’re already good at the discipline of IDS™. This skill is more critical than ever before. Identify, Discuss, and Solve all issues immediately. The bottom line is that the urgency level for everything you do must be cranked up in all areas. In this environment, perfect is the enemy of done.
Rocks and To-Do’s ― Instead of quarterly, your Rocks become weekly mandates. Check on whether they’re on- or off-track at the daily war room huddle. Instead of weekly To-Do’s, they become daily accountabilities. You create certainty in uncertain times by setting simple, well-defined short-term goals. Each person must be crystal clear on exactly what is expected and when.
Data Component ― The data doesn’t lie. Now more than ever you need to be fanatical about the data. Your Scorecard is the dashboard and cash flow is fuel that will get you through this crisis.
EOS Scorecard™ ― Review your Scorecard metrics on a daily basis. Everyone must be executing at the highest level. Address any off-track Measurables immediately during your daily meetings. Consider modifying the goal or baseline for activity-based Measurables. If before Coronavirus, your salespeople made 20 calls to get one sale, they may now need to make 40 calls to get the same results. Absolute accountability is key. Everyone must understand the situation and embrace an “all hands on deck” attitude to save the company.
Cash Flow ― If you usually review cash flow monthly, make it weekly or daily. A liquidity crisis could mean you can’t make payroll, buy supplies, or fulfill orders. If cash was king before, this is 10X more true now. Ensure you’re taking every measure possible to get your top 10 expenses down to the absolute minimum. I recommend sooner skipping eating for one day rather than go a day without questioning every expense. Aggressively collect on your A/R while delaying your A/P as long as possible. Consider extending existing customer contracts month-to-month rather than attempting to renegotiate another annual agreement right now.
Focus obsessively on your Scorecard, seeing results, and cash. Expect more from everyone and insist on accountability. Seek out ways to grab market share in your daily IDS sessions while your competitors freeze in panic mode. If you embrace and adapt the EOS tools, it will get you through the current crisis and make your team stronger and your business more resilient.
Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.
― Confucius
This article was co-authored by Benjamin Wolf. Mr. Wolf is an EOS Implementer and the founder of Wolf’s Edge Consulting, a New York-based firm dedicated to helping people get everything they want from their business.
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