We run on EOS. 

EOS is the Entrepreneurs Operating System. It is a simple yet impactful operating system to run your business on.

It has helped up to 3x the business in a sustainable way.

If you want to learn more about EOS click here.

We recently attended the EOS conference in sunny San Diego.

The keynote speakers were motivating and inspiring.

The breakout sessions covered practical tips on leveraging the tools.

But the thing that really stuck out to us was the tone of the conference.

Everyone seemed to have a level of vulnerability that was so refreshing.

There were lots of top-notch leaders getting very honest with themselves and the people they were sharing their stories with.

We believe that Companies rise and fall based on leadership and management. 

So we wanted to share our top takeaways that you can apply to your business to help it grow.

In this article, you will learn about: 

1. Top insights from the EOS conference
2. Actionable steps you can take even if you don’t run on EOS
3. Top 3 takeaways

Let’s dive in.

Top Insights from the EOS Conference

Even if you don’t run on EOS, the tools and insights can help you grow your business.

We are living proof that they work.

Attending the conference was like drinking from a fire hose.

We are going to blast you with a list of our insights from the speakers and then dive a bit deeper into a few that really resonated with us.

Here we go:

1. Mastery of the right tools and critical skills is important to grow your business. So ask yourself, have I mastered “this tool” and do my results prove I have mastered this?
2. Our greatest power lies in our ability to be fully present.
3. Our proven process is critical to getting out of the commodity trap and helps customers and team members know what they will become.
4. People are the number one thing to help your business grow. So ask yourself, what is the number one move I need to make each quarter?
5. Success loves discipline.
6. Discipline and consistency around the process will set you and your business free.
7. Truth equals freedom. The more true you are with yourself and others, the more freedom you will experience.
8. The more people that are vulnerable, the greater the chances of a breakthrough to happen.
9. Constantly leverage the delegate to elevate the tool. This will help you as the CEO or leader to get to the next level.
10. Identify and have the difficult customer or employee conversation you need to have. Then go have it.

These takeaways were golden nuggets offered up by the keynote speakers.

We are reflecting upon them and finding ways to apply them to our situations. And you can do this too.

As you can see, the tone was that of being open, honest, and having the courage to lean in to do the difficult work.

We are going to dive a little deeper into #1, #4, and #9 and tease out some actionable steps.

Actionable Steps You Can Take

As you can see we have identified 10 insights. Actually, there were more, but we are starting with these.

We believe that these learnings need to be applied in an effort to drive change which will drive success.

So we will break down our reflections on #1, #4, and #9 and provide some actionable “to-do’s” that we can all apply to our businesses.

Reflection #1 

Mastery of the right tools and critical skills is important to grow your business. So ask yourself, have I mastered “this tool” and do my results prove I have mastered this?

EOS has many tools. 

In fact, they have a toolbox that has about 20 tools that can be applied to help your business grow.

Click here to get a copy of the toolbox.

In the meantime, here are 3 of the tools:

• The people Analyzer
• The 3-step process documenter
• Accountability chart

Let’s dive into the accountability chart.

The Accountability Chart (AC) is similar to your Organizational Chart.

The main difference is you are focused on listing the top 3-5 core functions the team member is accountable for in the seat they are sitting in.

 

 

Ok, so you get it.

The tool is pretty simple and straightforward.

But here is the question.

Have you mastered this tool and do your results prove that you have mastered it?

We believe a big part of success is driven by identifying the right seats and then getting the right people in those seats.

And businesses are constantly changing and growing.

Is your AC changing and growing every 90 days? 

Here are some indicators that you have probably not mastered this tool.

• You had no changes in the AC over the past 90 days
• You are frustrated with a team member that is not adding value
• You are not achieving your annual goals 
• You are not achieving your financial measurables

Many issues come down to people, it is a fact.

Your AC is a tool that will help you to identify the right seats and then the right people needed in the seats to win.

By win, we simply mean to achieve the things that you are trying to achieve.

At New Economy, we are going through an internal restructuring.

On the one hand, this is difficult. Sometimes it is easier to just keep moving as is.

However, we have realized that what worked for us in the past as it relates to people and the roles they performed to get us from $1M to $1.5M in revenue will not be the same as getting us from $1.5M to $2.5M in revenue.

And that is ok.

So mastery of this tool is an ongoing task.

Consider the following questions that may relate to actionable items for your Company:

• Do you have an Accountability Chart or Organizational Chart? If not, your to-do is to create one.
• If you do have one, have you updated it for the new quarter? If not, your to do is to update the seats to make sure you have the right structure in place to support your business over the next 12 months.
• Do you have people who no longer fit in the seat they are in for whatever reason? If so, your to do is to determine if there is another seat for this team member. And to get the right people in the right seat.

This all sounds simple. 

In some ways it is but in other ways, it is not.

The tool requires mastery which entails going deep and doing the work.

This requires focus, intentionality, and often difficult decisions to be made.

And once you do this, you will start to see your business grow and produce the results you are looking to achieve.

Reflection #4 

People are the number one thing to help your business grow. 

People matter.

We believe every person has unique gifts, and strengths and loves to contribute to the mission, vision, and goals of every organization.

Your job is to find the right people and get them in the right seat. 

And this can be hard, especially with a growing business.

This should be an ongoing continuous process.

And let’s face it, with people, you encounter challenges.

Think for a moment.

Are you feeling frustrated about a team member? And to this point, you have spent a lot of time talking about that frustration and have not actually done something about it?

You are not alone. But you owe it to your Company, your customers, and your team to fix the people issue.

Why? 

People are the ones that will help you achieve your goals.

Oh, and there is a tool for this, it is called the people analyzer which you can find here.

This tool measures employees against your core values and what you are asking them to do. You are trying to determine if they are receiving a “passing grade”. 

If they are not, then you give them 30 days to fix it by placing them on a development plan. And you give them a few chances over a 90 period.

If things don’t change, you counsel them out.

So, mastery of this tool is an ongoing task.

Consider the following questions that may relate to actionable items for your Company:

• Do you provide your people with feedback every 90 days? And do you hold them accountable for areas where improvement is needed? If not, your to-do is to start booking meetings and provide real feedback.
• Are you making key people moves every quarter? This requires some vision in your staffing plan. If you are not considering key hires to make every 90 days, start building out a future staffing plan based on the AC tool above.
• Are you investing in training and development for your team? Especially your leaders and managers? If not, your to-do is to create a training budget and plan to increase your team’s skills which will allow them to contribute more value into your mission and goals.

This is simple stuff, but we often get distracted and don’t focus on things that matter, like people.

Do the work.

 

Reflection #9

Constantly delegate to elevate

Want to make $250,000 per year?

Then stop doing $25 per hour work.

That should get your attention 🙂 

And we actually did a longer post on this topic here.

As we grow and build our companies, AC charts, and people up, we need to let go of things that do not require our unique ability.

We need to constantly be pushing work down.

Every 90 days, we encourage folks to delegate one thing down.

This frees you up to focus on your top priorities that will get you closer to your goals.

Consider the following questions that may relate to actionable items for your Company:

• Are you doing work that does not bring you joy or is not in your sweet spot? If so, your to do is to delegate this work to someone else.
• Do you understand the things that only you can do based on your gifts? If not, your to-do is to reflect upon that. If so, your to do is to do a self-evaluation to make sure you are spending your time in that area.

These are some powerful insights, they are golden nuggets.

We have found that when we take this knowledge and apply it it becomes wisdom that changes things for the better.

You got this, let’s go!!

 

3 Key Takeaways

At New Economy, we want to help you gain control of your finances to make smart decisions. Part of that is understanding your finances and how to drive business performance.

Here are 3 key takeaways.

1. We believe that you need to unplug and connect. We have found it very motivating, inspiring, and great learning opportunities to attend the annual EOS conference. So ask yourself, if you are investing enough yourself to fill yourself up so you can then fill up others.
2. Master the tools. Maybe you don’t run on EOS but there are common business tools that require mastery. Make sure you have a solid understanding of these tools like the organizational chart, budget, and even scorecard. Master them as they will help you get the results you are looking for.
3. People matter. You matter. Invest in yourself and the people around you. By leaning into tools and even taking the time to reflect on the insights mentioned above you will increase the probability of achieving your goals and financial measurables.

There you have it 🙂

New Economy Team Members are Experts in Accounting for Entrepreneurs

If identifying ways to decrease your taxes is not in your skill set or you want to gain control of your finances to make smart decisions to build and grow your business, New Economy is an excellent partner. 

We’ll help you get your accounting and taxes done, and done right.

Schedule a time to meet with our Founder, Jeff, and discuss how we can add value to your situation.

First off, we would like to say that culture eats strategy for lunch – but that post is for another day.

At New Economy, and in terms of strategy, we believe a big part of our success has been in creating and communicating compelling visions for our team.

We invest lots of time in getting everyone to see the vision of where the business is going and how we are going to get there.

Sounds easy, right? Well, it’s not.

For instance, you may not have a documented vision or are struggling to create vision. Or maybe you do have vision but some staff are moving in one direction and others are moving in a different direction, causing a lack of alignment. 

We believe in creating a clear vision and communicating it to everyone.

Full disclosure, we are a Company that runs on EOS, and we happen to be data experts. 

The system has helped us to grow the Company 3x since graduating from implementation. Even if you don’t run on EOS, this post will surely help you out. 

We know firsthand as some of the thoughts and frameworks have helped us get better.

In this article, you will learn about: lll

1. 8 key questions to help you create a compelling vision
2. 3 key takeaways

Let’s dive in.

8 Key Questions to Help You Clarify Your Vision

At New Economy, we love questions. We find they help us to think, reflect, and be more mindful in our approach. We have taken the time to answer these 8 questions.

The questions will help you to clarify exactly what your vision is. 

If you need some background on what exactly vision is, check out Jim Collins’s article published in the Harvard Business Review entitled Building your Company’s Vision. You can find it here. 

Much of this is inside work that no one can do for you. The questions we will present will help you along the way.

Here they are:

1. What are your core values?
2. What is your core focus?
3. What is your 10-year target?
4. What is your marketing strategy?
5. What is your 3-year picture?
6. What is your 1-year plan?
7. What are your top priorities over the next 90 days?
8. What are your issues?

This is a two-part post. In part 1 we will cover questions 1-4 and in part 2 questions 4-8.

Let’s run through each question. 

We will provide a bit of background and provide the answer we came up with at New Economy.

Question #1 – What are your core values?

These are a small set of guiding principles for your Company that will never change. They define your culture and who you are as people. 

You will hire, fire, and attract people based on these values. They will be used to make decisions and are traits that your A players exhibit. These are so foundational for your business that we could not imagine operating without them.

Our core values at New Economy are:

1. Deliver awesome service
2. Embrace change
3. Be passionate, own it
4. Continuous learning and growth
5. Open and honest relationships

It took us some time to nail down our core values so don’t be discouraged. This deserves your time and attention. The things you value are right in front of you; they just got lost in the day-to-day chaos of running the business.

Here are some tips for coming up with your core values:

1. Schedule time with your leadership team to specifically discuss the things you value
2. Consider all the qualities that your A players exemplify
3. Narrow the list down
4. Make the tough decisions as to what is truly core
5. Limit the list to 3-5

Question #2 – What is your core focus?

With everything going on in business, it’s easy to get off track. As a leadership team, we have focused on establishing a core focus and not letting anything distract us from it.

Your core focus is also known as your mission statement. It is your “why you do what you do” or “why your organization is alive”.

All things lead back to your mission. It prevents you from chasing shiny objects and heading down a dead-end path.lllo

Our core focus at New Economy is To Unleash the full potential of the Entrepreneur.

Here are some tips for coming up with your core focus:

1. Schedule time with your leadership team to identify why your Company is alive
2. Keep it to 3 to 7 words and use simple language
3. Let it be bold and come from the heart
4. Make sure it’s bigger than a goal

Keep working at it. This type of work takes time and comes from within but it’s worth the investment of your time.

 

Question #3 – What is your 10-year target?

Think about where you want to be in 10 years.

One habit of successful companies is the habit of setting and achieving goals. 

In the Jim Collins article referenced above, he uses the term BHAG which stands for Big Hairy Audacious Goal. This helps to create a longer-term vision that is so daring in scope it might seem impossible to achieve.

Our 10-year plan at New Economy is To build a $5M Company where high performers come to achieve their full potential in life.

Since we started business at $0, it seemed to us that $5M was a stretch. We are halfway there and only 4 years in.

Here are some tips for coming up with your 10 Year Plan:

1. Schedule time with your leadership team to identify where you want to take the Company
2. Consider a revenue number
3. Make sure everyone is motivated and on the same page
4. Make sure it is specific and measurable

We had some fun creating this. 

For us, we landed on $5M as that number creates some financial upside for everyone but also leaves room for a lifestyle, which is important to us. We are keen on attracting A players, which are high performers.

Have some fun with this and be bold. Reset every 10 years.

Question #4 – What is your marketing strategy?

The point of this question is to create a laser-sharp focus for your sales and marketing efforts. 

We are finding the more focused we get the more we are closing on the right kind of business. This will help with creating a foundation for marketing materials, plans, messages, and advertising.

To work through this we have considered our target market and 3 uniques.

Target market

Your target market is your ideal customer.

You know who they are, where they are, and what they are. You know their demographic, geographic, and psychographic characteristics.

At New Economy, we keep working on this. We look at our best customers, the ones we love to work with, and seek out the commonalities.

Our Ideal Customer is:

1) A Growth Stage Co that is:

1. Mission-driven, values-based, and has a growth mindset and runs on EOS
2. Revenues and/or investor funding in excess of $2M 
3. 10+ Employees
4. Located anywhere in the US
5. Leverages technology and process
6. Wants an engaged accounting and finance partner to help them use data to grow
7. Will be able to afford $3K per month as they grow

We do our best to make sure that our new customers are meeting this criteria. The reason for this is the Company, team, systems, and technology we have assembled will best be able to serve this type of customer.

3 Uniques

These are the things that make you different from your competitors. They make you stand out from others.

If you were to line yourself up against your competition, they might have 2 of these but not all 3.

Our 3 uniques are:

1. Team-based approach
2. Entrepreneurs serving Entrepreneurs
3. Focus on helping you achieve your goals by leveraging data

At New Economy, we provide accounting, financial, and tax services. It’s common and often viewed as a commodity with technology. 

Summary

Ok, there you have it. We have covered core value, mission, 10-year target, and marketing strategy all in one post. We have found that focusing on these topics has helped us to create a  foundation to grow New Economy. 

And you can too.

In Part 2 of this blog post, we will cover the concept of the 1-year plan, 3-year plan, quarterly priorities and issues. So stay tuned.

3 Key Takeaways

This is some heavy and impactful stuff. It will help you to build a solid foundation to build and grow your business. We are living proof.

Here are 3 key takeaways.

1. Do the deep work of reflecting on the above questions. Don’t focus on getting it right on the first try. In fact, a better perspective is seeking the best answer. And many of these answers are within you, you just need to pull them out. This will take time so schedule a series of meetings over a 90 period and keep at it.
2. Involve others in the process. We hired an EOS Implementer to help us. Also, we included our team and mentors in these conversations. Having others come alongside you as a sounding board will provide some clarity and get you out of your own head.
3. Be prepared to share this information. Once you have this all solidified, your job will be to share it with your team to create alignment and have everyone rowing in the same direction. So make sure that you believe it, and can see it as you are going to be asking others to join in your vision.

There you have it 🙂

We are living proof that this system works.

New Economy Team Members are Experts in Accounting for Entrepreneurs

If identifying ways to decrease your taxes is not in your skill set or you want to gain control of your finances to make smart decisions to build and grow your business, New Economy is an excellent partner. 

We’ll help you get your accounting and taxes done, and done right.

Schedule a time to meet with our Founder, Jeff, and discuss how we can add value to your situation.